Confidential Notes

Identity and personal information theft continue to rise at an alarming rate! Because of this trend, we need to do a better job of securing our computers, networks, storage devices, and Pocket PCs. More and more people are using Windows Mobile Pocket PCs to carry their important personal information with them all the time. Because of this trend, Pocket PCs and Smartphones are increasingly becoming the target of identity/personal information thieves. How can you protect sensitive information on your Pocket PC?

The most important thing you can do is to keep your device secure at all times, out of the hands of thieves. But just in case the worst happens, make sure your Pocket PC's system-wide password is set (Start>Settings>Password). Finally, take a look at some of the third-party programs that offer enhanced security for your Pocket PC, including Confidential Notes 1.1 from Pocket PC Security (http://www.pocketpcsecurity.com).

Save encrypted notes on your Pocket PC

Confidential Notes 1.1 is an alternate note taking application for the Pocket PC. Like the Notes application built into all Pocket PCs, Confidential Notes lets you create text notes, audio notes, drawings, and mixed notes with text and drawings. Unlike the built-in application, Confidential Notes also lets you password protect these notes using a 256-bit AES encryption key that makes it virtually impossible to launch the program and access the notes without the password. The program has an intuitive interface and is very easy to use. For anyone who stores secure or sensitive information on their Windows Mobile device, Confidential Notes is a must-have application.

Confidential Notes installs from your desktop PC over an ActiveSync connection. Once installed, it occupies approximately 400KB in main memory, user-accessible flash ROM, or on a storage card. Pocket PC Security's Web site indicates that the program is compatible with the Pocket PC 2002, 2003 and 2003 Second Edition OS. In addition, it has been successfully installed on Windows Mobile 5.0 devices and seems to work without any problems.

Choose standard or "paranoid" security

During the installation of Confidential Notes, you're prompted to create a password to access the application. Confidential Notes provides two levels of security: "Standard" and "Paranoid." Standard security means that one password will be required to open the application (Fig. 1). Paranoid security requires two passwords (Fig. 2). No matter which password option you choose, the files created in Confidential Notes are still encrypted.

Fig. 1: "Standard" security requires one password to open Confidential Notes and access the notes.

Fig. 2 (bottom): "Paranoid" security requires two passwords.

Once you select the security level, you are prompted to enter a password or passwords, and then reenter them to ensure accuracy. Next users are prompted to enter a password reminder. This is usually a question like "What is mother's maiden name?" The user knows the answer, and the answer either is the password, or reminds the user of the password.

Once you're past the password screen, Confidential Notes presents an Explorer-like display with a list of all of the notes you've created. (Of course, the first time you do this, the list will be empty.) The taskbar at the bottom of the screen allows you to set "Options" for the application as well as create a "New" note. The New menu (Fig. 3) lets you create four types of notes: Text, Audio, Sketch, and Combo. (You can also create a new note by tapping on one of the four icons in the taskbar.

Figure 3: Confidential Notes' Explorer view displays a list of the notes you've already created. The New menu lets you create Text, Audio, Sketch, or Combo notes.