CyberScrub KeyChain - Safeguard Your Important Personal Information

As evidenced by the ease with which we installed and set up the program, the CyberScrub KeyChain UI is intuitive, although it was a bit cluttered, at least in my view. However, navigating through the options would be a breeze, with the large, hard-to-missed icons showing where you can set up your passwords, credit card and address information, and the secondary pop-up windows with easy-to-follow instructions. You can minimize the software to your windows tray, and if you're using Internet Explorer as your browser, the program also installs a toolbar [see image 3] to help you as you browse the Internet.

The CyberScrub KeyChain more than measures up to other password managers in terms of product features. What separates it from its competitors is its ability to save your information to a USB drive and, consequently, its dual-authentication feature using your Master Pass Phrase and the USB drive [see image 4].

When you use the program on a USB drive and insert the drive into another PC, it does not save any information to that PC's hard drive, ensuring that your data remains safely on the USB drive. Then, when you insert the USB drive back on the PC installed with the CyberScrub KeyChain software, it automatically synchronizes the new information on the USB drive back to the program installed on the PC [see image 5].

You can also add an unlimited number of URLs, user names and passwords, as well as countless credit card details and addresses. It also allows you to back up and/or restore all your information as well as export and import your accounts list to any media. All information are encrypted using strong encryption techniques, though it is not clear from the available product literature what encryption algorithm the product uses.

The CyberScrub KeyChain doesn't interfere in any way with your computer's performance. Your PC remains responsive even when you have the program up and running, and a USB drive attached.

The CyberScrub KeyChain comes with fairly decent online documentation to help first-time users learn the program. However, as with any program, you have to run the CyberScrub KeyChain to really appreciate its features. There is a short FAQ page on the product's website, and the software manufacturer touts the award-winning customer support available to its customers.

At $39.95, the CyberScrub KeyChain is a little pricey, considering that it can't run on operating systems other than Windows. But nothing beats the convenience of a portable password manager and form filler, and if you rely solely on Windows for your computing needs, you'd gladly pay up if you can bring your important data wherever you go. With the software, there is no need for you to remember your account information on all the websites that you frequently visit.

After running the installer, the program promptly downloaded a 1MB .MSI file. Other people concerned with security might consider this a no-no, particularly as no information was presented regarding the file that was downloaded. Other than this, installation was a breeze on both Windows XP and Vista. Setup was intuitive, as a wizard will guide you through the process, including configuring a USB drive, if you choose to have one [see image 1]. After configuration, the main program window is displayed, and depending on your choices, you'll see the currently used authentication method and whether you're using a USB drive or not [See image 2].