14 DAY TRIAL // With the lack of viruses, worms, trojans and other bundles of joy on the Mac, it is often hard to worry about the security of your files, unless you are a high profile target. While the Mac may not be inherently prone to information theft, it is always a rather good idea to take some precaution. While for data such as images, and other important files, backing up is the way to go, for other information such as your bank accounts, software licenses and passwords you want something different. There are quite a number of applications out there that take sensitive information and store it in on central place, but there are some that take things one step further, and also slap one huge digital lock on them, such as Safe Sphere.
What it does Safe Sphere is a secured database application. You give it any sensitive information that you want to keep around but out of sight, and it will lock it up tight. Unlike other similar applications that have a database format suited for software licenses or usernames and passwords, Safe Sphere uses a system of plug-ins that act as database presets so it can accommodate any type of data whatsoever.
Working with it Safe Sphere works with its own special files called 'Safe Bases'. These are basically encrypted documents that hold the information. There is no central database, and the files can be kept anywhere so there is nothing to give them away to casual observation. Each safe base is protected by a password that is not stored in the file or any other location, in fact, if you do happen to loose your password, it's game over.
Once your safe base is set up, you can get down to actually putting information in it. By default, the program has 4 plug-ins installed, Banks, Notes, Passwords and Software. Each one of these information categories contains a hierarchy that lets you sort everything nicely and is especially designed for holding all the specific information you want kept. The Bank module for example keeps track of banks, including their headquarters, the agency you use the most and online information. For each bank you can define accounts which contain numbers and access codes, as well as the individual permissions for that account. Last but not least, you can define any number of credit cards per account. This is comprehensive information, very nicely structured and presented, using tabs. And each plug-in is the same.
Once you have the information in there, getting it out can be done either through the clipboard, or, for those who like the mouse more, through the palette. The palette is a very nice little floating window consisting of nothing but buttons, one for each field of the currently selected node. So if you were in the passwords section, and had a certain one selected, you would a User Id and a Password button. Clicking on any of these would place the respective text on the clipboard, and for those applications that support it, you can also drag and drop them into text fields. For other purposes, you can view the contents of a node, in a structured, tree like manner, which can also be exported to XML should you need it.
Great databasing While the encryption capabilities of the program are it's main feature, this functionality is easily matched, if not surpassed, by the database. Databases themselves are not overly complex, however, the elegance and ease with which this program works with them is something rare in a small piece of shareware. It is insanely flexible, being able to hold everything from a catalogue of every tool in your garage, to a record of all you patients and any ailments suffered by them over the years. This one single application can perform all the databasing functions that any but the larger businesses need.
Additional plug-ins can be obtained from the developer's site, or custom made, since the Pro version of the application gives this option. The manual contains a section that explains the creation process and it is about as easy as it gets if you have just a basic idea of what a database is and how it works.
Extra tidbits While the main function of Safe Sphere is the secured database, it also has a few additional practical functions. The first is a password generator, which can generate wither random passwords or ones based on the username. The latter use the username and a date as a basis for generating the password with one of six algorithms, and this same information can be used to regenerate the information should you loose it.
The second function is quite amusing if not overly practical. It allows you to code information deep within an image. The information is not placed in the metadata or anywhere else that is easily accessible, instead being encoded into the actual pixels themselves. While undoubtedly Spy vs Spy material, this feature is not overly practical except for the entertainment value. However, should you actually need it, it s a very discreet way of getting information from one point to another without anyone noticing. Get an image of something that looks like standard spam, encode information into it and send it out? the perfect cover.
The Good
Good security, great databasing, and a nifty little iSpy secret code in an image function? what more could you ask for?
The Bad
The window and interface in general seems to be in pain caused by whatever the program was written in. Resizing can wreak havoc and make things seem to disappear but it is only a mild annoyance.
The Truth
If you are looking for a secured central location to keep information on, look no further. Regardless of what information you want to keep in it, Safe Sphere can accommodate it with ease.
Here are some screenshots, click to enlarge:
