Understanding the ID Lock feature
Every time you or someone else using your computer enters personal information into an e-mail message or Web form—such as your credit card number, address, or social security number— it is possible that the information could be stolen. To help prevent that from happening, the ID Lock ensures that your personal information is only sent to sites you trust.
The ID Lock feature provides a secure area called myVAULT, where you can store personal information that you want to protect. The contents of myVAULT are blocked from being transmitted to unauthorized destinations, whether by you, someone else using your computer, or by a Trojan horse attempting to transmit your personal information.
The ID Lock feature is available in ZoneAlarm Pro and ZoneAlarm Security Suite.
How your personal information is protected
Zone Labs security software prevents your personal information from being transmitted without your authorization, whether in e-mail or on the Web.
E-mail transmission
When you or someone using your computer attempts to send myVAULT data in an e-mail message, Zone Labs security software displays an alert asking you whether to allow the information to be sent. If you want to always allow or always block the information from being sent to this destination, before clicking Yes or No select the check box labeled “Do you want to remember this answer...” to add the destination to your Trusted Sites list with the corresponding permission set automatically. For example, if you were to select the “Do you want to remember this answer...” check box and then click Yes, the destination would be added to the Trusted Sites list with the permission set to Allow. Conversely, if you were to click No, the permission would be set to Block.
Web transmission
When transmitting myVAULT data on the Web, Zone Labs security software allows or blocks the transmission according to the permission for the domain in the Trusted Sites list. As with e-mail transmission of myVAULT contents, if you choose to remember
When responding to an ID Lock alert that is the result of an e-mail transmission, clicking the “Do you want to remember this answer...” check box adds the domain of the intended recipient’s e-mail server—not the e-mail recipient—to the Trusted Sites list. For example, if you were to allow myVAULT data to be transmitted to your contact [email protected], and you chose to remember that answer, the next time myVAULT data is sent to ANY contact on example.com’s e-mail server, the transmission would be allowed and you would not see an alert.
Chapter 10: Protecting your data Setting the ID Lock protection level
your response to an ID Lock alert for a particular Web site, that Web site will be added to the Trusted Sites list automatically with the permission set accordingly.
IM transmission
When transmitting myVAULT data in an Instant Messaging conversation, Zone Labs security software prevents the information from being received.
Figure 10-1 shows an instant messaging conversation in which information that is stored in myVAULT is transmitted. The description of the item stored in myVAULT (in this example, My Visa Card) appears in brackets.
Figure 10-1: Transmission of myVAULT contents
Figure 10-2 shows how the transmitted information is displayed to the recipient. The protected information is replaced with asterisks so that it is unreadable.
Figure 10-2: Receipt of myVAULT contents
Setting the ID Lock protection level
The ID Lock is disabled by default. By enabling the ID Lock, you ensure that the data entered in myVAULT will be protected.
Chapter 10: Protecting your data Monitoring ID Lock status
2. In the ID Lock area, specify the desired protection level.
Monitoring ID Lock status
Zone Labs security software’s Status area keeps track of the number of items stored in myVAULT and displays the number of times your information was protected.
Figure 10-3: ID Lock status area
High Prevents the contents of myVAULT from being sent to unauthorized destinations. Zone Labs security software will block transmission of your data silently. If you are using a shared computer, this setting is recommended for maximum security.
Medium Alerts you when your identity information is about to be sent to desti-nations not listed on the Trusted Sites list. This is the default setting.
Off Identity protection is disabled. The contents of myVAULT can be sent to any destination, whether or not it appears on the Trusted Sites list.
Chapter 10: Protecting your data About myVAULT
About myVAULT
The myVAULT feature provides a secure area for entering your critical personal data—
data that you want to protect from hackers and identity thieves. When it detects an attempt to send data stored in myVAULT to a destination, Zone Labs security software determines whether the information should be blocked or allowed. By default, Zone Labs security software encrypts myVAULT data as it is entered, storing only the hash value of the data rather than the data itself. Encrypting the data keeps your information secure, as data cannot be retrieved using the hash value.
Adding data to myVAULT
While you can store any type of information in myVAULT, it is a good idea only to store information that you wish to keep secure, such as credit card numbers and identification information. If you were to store information such as your state (for example,
California) in myVAULT separately from the rest of your address, any time you typed
“California” into an online Web form, Zone Labs security software would block transmission of the data.
To add information to myVAULT:
1. Select ID Lock|myVAULT.
2. Click Add.
The Add information to myVAULT dialog box will appear.
For maximum protection, Zone Labs security software encrypts myVAULT data by default. If you do not want to encrypt the data as you enter it, clear the “Use one-way encryption...” check box.
3. Type a description of the item you are adding.
4. Select a category from the drop-down list.
If you’re unsure of the type of information that should be entered into myVAULT, refer to the pre-defined categories for guidance. To access the list of categories, select ID Lock|myVAULT, then click Add.
Zone Labs security software displays the item description in ID Lock alerts. Be sure that the description you enter is different from the value of the item you are adding and vice versa. If the information to be protected and the description contain some or all of the data, you may receive multiple ID Lock alerts.
Access PIN Personal access code or other ID number. Maximum of 6