Locks

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Overview

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Overview top

This list displays all locks available to the current identity. It has three sections:

Local Locks are locks you have created. They display an icon of the a sample entry screen (if available) and the main parameters used to create the lock. Local locks contain private encryption keys and the access sequences to retrieve them.

Received Locks are locks which have been sent to you by someone else. They contain only public keys which you use to encrypt data for the sender of the lock. They display the image of the sender (optional) and their name, e-mail address and SMS address. Received locks act as the 'send to' list when sending secure data or messages to someone else. They are also used for signature verification if you receive signed data or messages from these persons.

Sent Locks are locks you have sent to someone else. They act as a backup and are needed (if the original lock is unavailable) to open secure data which was sent to you. On your device these locks are copies of the original. The locks which are actually sent contain only public keys.

Navigation and Tool Bars top

: return to the previous screen.

: delete selected locks. Be careful when deleting locks which you have received: you need these locks to send secure data or messages to their senders. Also be careful when deleting locks you have sent: if you receive secure data or messages you can only open them if you (still) have the appropriate lock!

: switch to the item sets for the current identity.

: create new locks. Tap 'Practice Locks' to create practice locks from a supplied list. This can help get you get started with locks and item sets. See Practice Locks.

Content top

Locks display different information depending on the section.

Local Locks section. The standard information for locks you created is as follows:
• Sample entry screen icon if available; default icon otherwise.
• Description (until changed: the item set description) or creation date.
• Security level, entry screen format and number of access sequences. The security level is a simplified measure of the strength of the lock. It is shown as 1 : (number of possible passwords). If you have 4 entry screens and a choice of 2 possible values per screen then the total number of possible passwords is 2^4 = 16 and the security level is 1:16. The entry screen format is expressed as the number of screens followed by a symbol for the variant, followed by the radix.

The symbols are:
= standard match variant,
o match variant with wrapping,
xx compare variant with 2 items per group,
xxx compare variant with 3 items per group.
*** password variant.

Lastly, the number of access sequences is appended in parentheses.
For example: Patches 1:16, 4 xx 2 (10) - one of the practice locks - uses the Patches item set. Its security level is a (very insecure) 1:16. It uses the compare variant and each access sequence consists of 4 screens with 2 groups and 2 items per group.

Received Locks section.
• Generic 'received lock' icon,

, or sender's user image with a lock icon badge. Description or creation date. If available (i.e. stored in the lock), the sender's name and e-mail and SMS addresses are shown as well.

Sent Locks section.
• Generic 'sent lock' icon,

. Description or creation date. If available (i.e. stored in the lock), the recipient's name and e-mail and SMS addresses are shown as well.

Options top

Tap on a lock to pop up its options:

Send Lock: lets you send (e-mail, SMS or AirDrop) the lock to someone else so they can send you secure data. See Sending Secure Data: Send a Lock. You cannot send received locks.

Test Access: presents one of the access sequences for the lock. You should try out a newly created lock to make sure it works for you. You cannot test received locks.

View Info: display the lock's metadata - the parameters used to create it.

Export: you can export locks as special documents for import by other identities or on other devices or to archive them. You should do this only if you really need to and delete them as soon as you can. Both exporting and importing require authentication.

Close Opened Locks: empty the cache of opened locks.

Edit Description: assign a descriptive name to the lock.

Delete: delete the lock.

Previous: Categorizing Item Sets Next: Create a Lock

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