ANSWERS
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I
just got a new Sphinx card. What's the default PIN?
The default
PIN is "12345", unless otherwise specified by your
installation.
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What
if I forget my Sphinx card PIN?
Contact your
program administrator. If you're a stand-alone user and you forget
your card PIN, you'll have to order a Sphinx replacement card
at the Sphinx support site. This is because it would be a breach
of security for the manufacturer to provide a new PIN for your
Sphinx card.
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My
Logon Entries screen does not have any information in it yet.
How do I get started?
To enter new
logon information into Sphinx, click on the "New" button
on the right side of the Logon Entries screen. The Enter Logon
Information window which pops up provides entry fields for your
logon information. Click on the "?" button, whenever
you need a more detailed description of an item.
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I
double-clicked on a website name in my selection list and nothing
happened. What did I do wrong?
Single click
on the website name, and click on the "Change" button,
to view Logon Information for this website. Check to make sure
that the web address which you designated for this website is
correct, and includes "http" or "www", if
required. The easiest way to ensure that this information is
correct is to take the web address directly from your internet
browser using the "Get URL" button.
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Why
doesn't Sphinx enter my logon information into my website/application
correctly?
Most logons
are accomplished in a standard fashion, so Sphinx will generally
log you on correctly the first time that you click on the "Logon
Now" button. If you're experiencing complications, consider
the following:
Was your cursor
in the target logon field? The most common mistake is that the
cursor was not in the first logon field (usually the user field)
of your target website or application. Usually, the cursor will
go to the first logon field automatically. However, if you click
elsewhere in the meantime for example, you'll have to click back
to the first logon field so that Sphinx knows where the logon
data should be entered. The cursor sometimes blinks, to show
that it is active.
Did you click on the Sphinx "Logon Now" button? Another
easy mistake to make is to click on the logon button of your
website or application, instead of clicking on the Sphinx "Logon
Now" button. The Sphinx "Logon Now" button must
be clicked in order to initiate the transferal of logon information
from Sphinx to the website/application.
Does Sphinx
start to enter the logon information, and stop before entry is
completed? In rare cases, a website may take too long to process
logon information, causing the Sphinx logon process to time out.
Or, if your computer hardware is slow, the Sphinx logon process
could also possibly time out. In either case, you can still use
Sphinx to securely store your user name and password information.
Use the arrow button to the right of the user name and password
to drag the information to your target website or application
fields.
Do you have
to customize your Sphinx logon setup? If you have double-checked,
and you are not making either of these common mistakes shown
above, you may have to customize the enter/tab keystrokes for
this entry. This is easy to do in Sphinx, by following the instructions
below:
1. Check the number of tab or enter key strokes which are required
by the website or application, by entering the user name and
password information manually at the website or application.
Sphinx has a pre-set default setup of a single tab keystroke
after the user name, and a single enter keystroke after the password.
2. If your logon entry differs from the Sphinx default setup,
make a note of how many tab or enter key strokes are required
after each entry field.
3. To change the logon setup in the Sphinx, single-click on the
website or application name in the Logon Entries screen, and
click on the "Change" button. Then click on the "Details"
button, to change keystroke settings for auto. entry. Click on
the "?" button, for additional assistance.
Tried all of the above, and still can't logon automatically at
a particular website or application? In the rare case that you
can't get Sphinx to perform the automatic logon for you, you
can still use Sphinx to securely store your user name and password
information. Use the arrow button to the left of the user name
and password to drag the information to your target website or
application fields.
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What's
the difference between the "Web address (URL) / application
path" and the "Pop-up location" field?
These two entry
fields allow you to set up Sphinx for the way that you want to
use it. You may want to experiment with using one or the other,
or both, depending on how you browse to websites and applications.
The advantages of the two options are discussed below:
Web address (URL) / application path: The location which you
specify here is a "browse-to" location; in other words,
a location that you can go to directly just by clicking on a
link. The easiest way to set up this location is to read the
web address or application path directly from the website / application
into Sphinx using the "Get URL" or "Get Path"
button. Thereafter, you just need to double-click on the website/application
name in the Sphinx Logon Entries screen to browse to the location.
You can use this browse-to location to go directly to the logon
screen of a website/application, or to go any other preferred
screen in the website/application.
Pop-up location:
Location for pop-up: The location which you specify here can
be either a "browse to" location or a unique "window
title". If you are using Internet Explorer to browse to
websites, Sphinx will use the website's URL to identify the location.
If you are specifying the location of an application, or if you
are using a Netscape browser, Sphinx will identify the location
using the window title. Because the browser recognizes whenever
you're at the specified URL or window location, you can have
Sphinx pop up at the location; typically, to assist with logon.
The easiest way to set up this location is to use the adjacent
"Get location" button.
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I
specified a Web address (URL) / application path (or a pop-up
location), and it used to work, but it doesn't work anymore.
What happened?
Keep in mind
that website providers especially, are continuously updating
their sites and often change web addresses or window titles.
If a "browse-to" address or a pop-up location doesn't
work anymore, set up the location again by clicking on the selection
in the Logon Entries screen and clicking on the "Change"
button.
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My
Personal Entries screen does not have any information in it yet.
How do I get started?
To enter new
personal information into the Sphinx, click on the Address, Email,
or Credit Card tab in the Personal Entries screen then click
on the "New" button. The entry window which pops up
provides entry fields for your personal information. Click on
the "?" button, whenever you need a more detailed description
of an item.
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How
do I "drag and drop" information into a website or
application?
Double-click
on a personal entry. The "drag and drop" window for
the entry will pop up. Click on the arrow to the left of an item,
and keeping your mouse button pressed, drag it to the target
website/application field. When you let go of your mouse at the
target field, the information will be left there. Alternatively,
you can copy/paste information to your target fields.
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If
I backup my Sphinx data, can someone else use it?
Sphinx backup
information is stored in an encrypted file, either on a floppy
disk or on your hard or network drive. The backup information
can only be restored to the Sphinx user who backed it up, and
they must verify themselves with their Sphinx card and enter
their card PIN to restore the information.
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What's
the safest way to store my backup information?
You can backup
your Sphinx information to a floppy disk, your hard drive, or
a to a custom path. Saving your Sphinx information to a floppy
disk which you store in a secure place is usually the best option.
However depending on your individual installation, you should
use your best judgement to consider which location you should
use. The advantages and disadvantages of each location are discussed
further in the User's Manual.
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What
happens if I restore backup information, and my Sphinx program
and/or card still has data in it?
Sphinx will
overwrite all information in your Sphinx program and card with
the information in your backup file, when you perform the restore
function.
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When
I use Sphinx with a smart card, why is it that my smart card
can be removed and the program still runs, with complete access
to my logon information? I thought that my passwords could only
be accessed from my card.
The program
reads all logon information at start-up from the card and holds
it in memory in encrypted form. This way, Sphinx can respond
faster to user requests instead of having to access the card
every time a password is needed. When you close the Sphinx program,
the data which is held in memory is gone. It's important that
you remember to close the Sphinx program before you leave your
workstation, so that noone else can access your data.
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Is
there a way that I can leave my Sphinx data accessible to me
but safe from others without closing the program, for example,
when I step away from my desk?
There are a
couple of ways you can do this. One option is to use the Windows
screen saver lock option, so that access to your computer is
locked when the screen saver is activated. In this case, you
need to insert your smart card and enter your card PIN to unlock
the workstation. See "Logon to Windows / Networks with Card"
chapter in the User's Manual for more information. Another option
is to set the PIN verification timeout to "0", so that
you will be required to enter your PIN each time that you open
the Sphinx program from the system tray. See "Options Menu"
chapter in the User's Manual for more information.
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How
secure is my Sphinx data?
Your Sphinx
data is protected by a layer of DES encryption and an additional
layer of proprietary encryption. DES encryption is widely regarded
as providing very strong protection, and is very time-consuming
to crack. The additional layer of proprietary encryption is even
harder to crack, because since it's proprietary, there are no
known routines which can be used to decipher it.
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How
can I be sure that noone else can access my Sphinx data on the
secure server?
Your Sphinx
data can only be accessed when you present your Sphinx card to
a proximity reader and enter your card PIN. This is the only
way that your Sphinx data will be de-encrypted so that it can
be read.
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How
can I be sure that someone won't access my data and de-encrypt
it themselves?
Your Sphinx
data is protected by a layer of DES encryption and an additional
layer of proprietary encryption. DES encryption is widely regarded
as providing very strong protection, and is very time-consuming
to crack. Using several layers of proprietary encryption is even
harder to crack, because since it's proprietary, there are no
known routines which can be used to decipher it. Also, since
the Sphinx secure server is regulated by your company's standard
network security protocols, you can be confident that your data
is protected from falling into the wrong hands.
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Is
there a way that I can leave my Sphinx data accessible to me
but safe from others without closing the program, for example,
when I step away from my desk?
There are a
couple of ways you can do this. One option is to use the Windows
screen saver lock option, so that access to your computer is
locked when the screen saver is activated. In this case, you
need to present your Sphinx card and enter your card PIN to unlock
the workstation. See "Logon to Windows / Networks with Card"
chapter in the User's Manual for more information. Another option
is to set the PIN verification timeout to "0", so that
you will be required to enter your PIN each time that you open
the Sphinx program from the system tray. See "Options Menu"
chapter in the User's Manual for more information.
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How
secure is Travel Mode?
When you store
Sphinx data to Travel Mode it is stored locally on the computer
that you travel with. Travel Mode data can be accessed by simply
entering your Sphinx user name and card PIN, so that no proximity
card reader is required. For this reason, you must be sure that
you will be able to protect your computer from unauthorized access.
The use of Travel Mode is not recommended if you have any doubt
that you can keep the computer that you travel with secure. In
fact, some installations do not allow the use of Travel Mode,
so that data security is not compromised.
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Is
there any other, more secure way that I can travel with my Sphinx
data?
If you need
to frequently be out of the office and traveling with your laptop,
we recommend that you use a hybrid card - a card that has both
a radio frequency capability and a smart card chip. This card
can be used both for building access and PC access, and can be
added to exisiting building access solutions. With this card,
you can store your Sphinx data to the smart card chip, so that
your data is secure and portable. Inserting a PCMCIA smart card
reader into the PCMCIA card slot on your laptop is the most convenient
way to add smart card capability to your laptop.
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Smart Card Log-on Manager
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