Virtual Vault
Frequently Asked Questions
NEW!
As of April 2009, the Virtual
Vault now wraps your product with Foxit version 3.0 when locking
it. This version of Foxit Reader allows you to have multimedia
within your secure PDFs! You can read up about Foxit version 3.0
here;
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/reader/
How does the
Virtual Vault work with the payment processor?
First, the customer pays with
Clickbank, Paypal or other merchant account. Once their payment
is processed & approved, they are redirected to a form on
*our* server that asks for their name
& email address. When they submit this form, their access code
is generated and they are redirected to the download page, which
is a page you create and upload to *your*
server. (The secured documents are also located on
your server.)
The form that generates the
access code is a dummy URL that can only be used once and then
it is permanently discarded, preventing people from generating
additional access codes. Also, our software masks your download
link so that it cannot be shared with others.
The customer downloads the file
and will be prompted for their access code, which is their email
address. Then the file opens and that's it!
What payment
processors work with the Virtual Vault?
With so many payment processors
available, it is impossible for us to test each one for
compatibility with the Virtual Vault. We do know that the
Virtual Vault will work with ClickBank, PaySystems, 2Checkout &
PayPal.
If your
payment processor allows you to specify the Thank You
page/Download page location, then it will most likely work with
the Virtual Vault.
Try it out by
signing up for the trial version!
What operating systems does the Virtual Vault work with?
The Virtual Vault works with PC's
running Windows. It will also work with Mac computers that have
the Windows operating system installed (Mac users will need to
run Windows). This applies to both the Virtual Vault itself and
also to secured ebooks generated by the Virtual Vault.
Will I get charged
for each ebook or file that I distribute?
No! You will only be charged a
monthly fee of $29.95 US for unlimited use (Only $2.95 US for
the first month & $29.95 US after that). You may use the Virtual
Vault to secure as many ebooks or files as you wish - there will
never be an extra charge!
Try the Virtual Vault Now Risk-Free!
Only $2.95 US for 30 Days of Unlimited Use
Will the Virtual Vault protect
HTML web pages, images, or audio and video files?
The Virtual Vault only protects
EXE & PDF files.
What methods of payment do you
accept?
We currently accept VISA &
Mastercard.
What kind of customer support do
you offer?
We provide free, unlimited
support by email. In order to keep our prices low, we do not
provide support by phone. We work hard to answer all questions
promptly. It is important to us to provide good customer service
and we strive to go beyond by building relationships with our
customers. We believe that happy, satisfied
customers are the basis for our success and YOU are very
important to us!
Click here to contact us.
When was your product last
updated?
Version 2.5.3.0 was released
November 19, 2008. Our goal was to make as many features as
possible completely web-based.
The new features include:
- When locking an .exe file in
Virtual Vault, you can now brand this with your own icon or
logo (you do not have to use the default lock icon).
- There is a search feature
within all Product Statistics pages which allows you to
easily search for a specific user by date, email, or name.
- You can re-activate a code
in your Statistics which you have revoked.
- The Product Statistics page
now allows you to issue a new access code online.
- We have added security for
accessing the product Statistics page(s). All merchants must
be logged in to access their Statistics and cannot simply
paste the Stats URL in their browser to gain access.
We have also made some cosmetic
changes to this version.
Version 2.5.2.0 was released in
December 2006. Past versions of the Virtual Vault only allowed
people to read your locked PDF in very specific version of Adobe
Reader, and not in any of the other Adobe products.
Version 2.5.2.0 solves this
problem by including a custom PDF reader along with your locked
PDF file. The locked file you will distribute will still be one
file, but compressed within this file is a PDF reader that is
invoked by the Virtual Vault upon execution of your product. The
PDF reader will be executed on the fly and sent to a temp
folder, and will be deleted every time your locked file is
closed. Your end users do not have to install it.
Your customers will simply
double-click your locked PDF and then proceed to read it through
a reader that we can fully control. Now 100% of your customers
can now read your locked PDF since it comes with its own reader.
I hope you can appreciate the advantage this gives you as far as
your PDF security is concerned.
NOTE: If you allow printing of
your PDF file this new solution still allows that, it just needs
to be noted that end users will need to press and hold CTRL+P
for 3 seconds in order to invoke the PDF Print window. If you do
not allow printing during the file locking stage this feature
will be disabled for your end users.
We released version 2.5 in
November 2006. This version uses the end user's email address as
the "access code" so it is much easier for them to remember it
should they need to enter it again.
Will my customers be able to
print their ebook?
Whether or not they can print the
book is up to you & the ebook software you are using. Adobe
Acrobat® & most other ebook software give you the option to
either enable or disable printing.
Does the Virtual Vault hide the
download link to my ebook?
The download URL is hidden to a
certain extent, however, how well it is
hidden is irrelevant when using the Virtual Vault product.
Unless a person has purchased your product & has a legitimate
access code, they will never be able to open your product.
Do my customers
have to be online every time they access my locked product?
No. They will need to be online
to validate their purchase the first time they use it, but after
that they will be able to access your product without being
connected. However, you have the ability to specify the number
of days before your product MUST check in with our servers. This
way if they simply set their firewall to block access to the
Internet after they've unlocked your product (to try to trick
the Virtual Vault) it will automatically become disabled after X
amount of days. They have to check in periodically to validate.
Exactly how does
the Virtual Vault protect my ebook or software program?
The Virtual Vault locks and
encrypts your EXE or PDF file. Once locked and encrypted, your
file can only be unlocked using a valid access code, which is
generated only after a person comes through your order process
OR by you, the owner, generating an access code using the Master
Key (With the release of version 2.5 in November 2006, the
access code is now your customer's email address).
Once the purchase process is
complete, the customer runs your locked file and inputs their
access code when prompted. If this access code is entered
correctly they are granted access.
The Virtual Vault then logs an
entry onto the user's PC, also encrypted, matching that user and
that PC with that product ID and that access code.
That access code only works for that valid
user, it does not work for others. It then requires a
validation with the server at intervals set by you to ensure the
code remains valid and they remain a customer in good standing.
At any time you may monitor and
administer user rights through your stats panel. You can monitor
what access codes have been created, for what users, and all the
users' details including full name, time of registration, IP
address and email address. And you can revoke access from a
refunded customer or export all of your customer data to a .csv
file at any time.
No cookies are used
in the validation process.
Once my customer downloads the
protected ebook, can they copy it to a disk (CD or DVD)?
Yes, they can copy it to a disk
but it will not open from the disk. They will need to copy it to
their hard drive. Then it will only open if they have a unique
access code, and after this code has been used once it cannot be
shared with others.
How easy is it for my paying
customers to get my locked product?
Extremely easy! The only
difference in the purchase process from your customers'
viewpoint is that they will be asked to fill in a short
registration form to receive an access code for your product, as
shown in the screen shot below:
This access code will be emailed
to them immediately after they order. (With the release of
version 2.5 in November 2006, the access code is now your
customer's email address).
Their access code can only be
used once to unlock your product, so the same code can never be
used by anyone else.
Do you collect my customers'
information?
Absolutely not! Your customer
data is exactly that, your data. You
may use your stats page to export all your customer data in a
.csv file but again, this is for your purposes only. We will
never contact your customers or use their information in any
way.
Will my customers receive any
advertisements from you?
No.
Does the Virtual Vault protect
PDF files?
YES! You now can protect your PDF
files from being distributed freely. The Virtual Vault gives you
complete control over the use of your PDF files, and doesn't
cost several thousands of dollars per year like our competitors.
Keep in mind that
your PDF files will become an EXE file when it is locked.
More information on
PDF files:
Past versions of the
Virtual Vault only allowed people to read your locked PDF in
very specific version of Adobe Reader, and not in any of the
other Adobe products.
Version
2.5.2.0 solves this problem by including a custom PDF
reader along with your locked PDF file. The locked file you will
distribute will still be one file, but compressed within this
file is a PDF reader that is invoked by the Virtual Vault upon
execution of your product. The PDF reader will be executed on
the fly and sent to a temp folder, and will be deleted every
time your locked file is closed. Your end users do not have to
install it.
Your customers will simply
double-click your locked PDF and then proceed to read it through
a reader that we can fully control. Now 100% of your customers
can now read your locked PDF since it comes with its own reader.
I hope you can appreciate the advantage this gives you as far as
your PDF security is concerned.
NOTE: If you allow printing of
your PDF file this new solution still allows that, it just needs
to be noted that end users will need to press and hold CTRL+P
for 3 seconds in order to invoke the PDF Print window. If you do
not allow printing during the file locking stage this feature
will be disabled for your end users.
What if a customer loses their
unlock code?
No problem. You simply use your
"Master Key" to generate a new unlock code for them, then email
it to them. (With the release of version 2.5 in November 2006,
the access code is now your customer's email address.)
What if a customer needs to
re-install my product?
Easy. You simply provide them
with a locked copy of your product. The Virtual Vault will
remember if they've validated previously and won't ask them to
do so again.
What happens if I'm not happy
with the Virtual Vault?
We can't see that happening. But
in the rare off chance that it does, simply let us know and we
will immediately cancel your account. You will no longer be able
to generate access codes for your locked product(s).
Locked copies that are already distributed
will remain protected.
Does your program prevent Adobe
Acrobat Reader 6.0 feature called "save a copy”?
Most security software is
defeated when the customer clicks on File>Save a copy and saves
a copy to their desktop without the EXE security. However, this
can not happen with the Virtual Vault because it stops this
exact thing; by disabling the Save feature from within all
versions of the Adobe Reader.
How is the download page
protected and what keeps someone from coping the download page
and giving it out?
You do not need to worry about
the download page once the Virtual Vault protects your product.
Even if people discover the download location all they will get
is a locked file, and without a valid access code this file is
useless. (People can only obtain an access code if they've
purchased the product or if you generate one for them using the
Master Key. Access codes cannot be shared).
If your product uses the
customers IP address to validate them, how does your product
work for customers that do not have a static IP address?
The Virtual Vault does not use
the IP address to validate ebooks. When your customer inputs
their unique access code they are granted access. That access
code logs an entry onto the users PC that is encrypted, matching
that user and that PC with that product ID. That access code
only works for that valid user, it does not work for others.
Can the Virtual Vault be used to
lock zip files?
No, only the contents of the zip
file can be locked. A locked zip can be unlocked and the
contents exposed. Each file must be locked individually.
If I put a protected book on CD
and my customer puts the ebook on a network say 10 PC's what
will happen? Will the whole network see the ebook? What is the
protection and how?
The ebook will be visible for all
the users but all of them would require an access code to open
the ebook. The access code is stored in the local system
registry; hence, to open the ebook all 10 PC’s would require an
access key. This is the security. So yes, it is protected and
only that one PC can use the ebook.
I have software that was
developed in C++ that’s executable. The program needs to use
online services for it to function. Can your service lock and
track the program?
Yes, it certainly can.
www.prprowler.com is an executable that requires online
connectivity to run, and it is locked in the Virtual Vault and
has been for some time now, with many successful users.
If I set up a product of mine as
a Free Trial Product, will the time period that I specify for
that product begin to expire when the customer creates an access
code or after the customer uses the access code to open the
product?
When they actually
use the access code.
We are distributing specialized
reports to several users monthly in an ebook and/or .pdf format.
Can we use Virtual Vault to give our customers access to several
separate files or will they need to purchase a separate key for
each report they download and view each month?
Yes, they'll need a separate key
for each product.
Is the activation key emailed to
clients automatically or do I have to manually send out an
activation key for every client?
Yes, access codes are
automatically emailed out after the customer purchases the
product. (With the release of version 2.5 in November 2006, the
access code is now your customer's email address).
If your customer does not have to
go through a purchase process to obtain your product, then you
will need to manually generate an access code using the Master
Key.
In order for me to access the
stats panel, must my membership stay active with you, or is the
stats panel a piece of software that runs independently on my
PC?
If you cancel, you will no longer
be able to view stats.
How exactly does the stats panel
work? If a client wants a refund, am I able to completely "close
down" their ebook from further viewing?
Yes, you can revoke access from
customers from the stats panel or
through the s/w interface.
If I have more than one file to
protect, is it possible to encrypt both files using the same
unlock code?
No, each product must be locked
on its own.
Is it possible to do all the
locking automatically, using some script?
The locking you must do yourself,
but once it's locked the distribution of this locked file is
automatic.
Is it possible to store the
codes in a database on my own (i.e. use the same codes to let my
customers access the online version of the products)?
Yes, you can export the entire
access code stats panel to a CSV for
any purpose you choose.
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