QwicKey™ Components

QwicKey™ uses three main components: a magnetic stripe card, browser software and a secure card reader authenticator (SCRA).

Security

How safe is my personal data?
It is very safe. All of your personal data contained in the QwicK Vault can only be accessed using BOTH your registered Access Card and the Master Password you select. This is known as Strong Two-Factor Authentication, the ultimate lock to your Vault. Only the valid account holder should ever have knowledge of, and possession of, both pieces of information. Also, your QwicK Vault data is encrypted as it is transmitted to and from the QwicK Vault. This ensures protection of your data.

Does QwicKey™ encrypt my data?
Yes. QwicKey uses triple DES encryption, which is recognized by the financial and card payment industry as the gold standard for protecting data, and meets PCI DSS compliance regulations.

What if someone makes a copy of my card?
QwicKey secure card reader authenticators (SCRAs) also read the magnetic fingerprint (MagnePrint®) of your cards. A counterfeit of your card is immediately detected, and cannot be used to access your QwicK Vault. Only the original card (or cards) that you register and link to your QwicK Vault will allow you to log in to your account and view information.

How does QwicKey guard against key stroke logging attacks?
Because QwicKey allows you to swipe or mouse-click your information, there is never a need to type sensitive data on the keyboard. Thus, key logger attacks are thwarted. It also provides a digital keyboard when entering in yourMaster Password for full protection.

Access Cards

What are my Access Cards and how do they work?
Your Access Card is your key to your subscription and provides the first layer of security to access your QwicK Vault. We STRONGLY advise that you add multiple Access Cards for daily use and store your QwicKey Access Card in a secure location. For security purposes, your QwicKey Access Card is THE ONLY WAY you can access your subscription and if you lose all of your Access Cards you will also lose your subscription (much like a software key). You can however add an unlimited amount of standard magnetic cards from your wallet as Access Cards including credit, debit and ATM cards. Your card information is completely secure and is NEVER stored with QwicKey.

If I use my credit card to sign-in to QwicKey can it be compromised?
No. Your card payment data is NEVER saved with QwicKey. QwicKey encrypts and tokenizes a portion of your card data and its MagnePrint to correlate your card to your subscription. This makes it impossible for your card data to be accessed (because we NEVER have it and it is NEVER in the clear). Card data is encrypted INSIDE THE SCRA, not in the software, providing instant encryption with true end-to-end security.

Do you store my ATM, credit, debit or gift card data?
No. NEVER. QwicKey NEVER stores or asks you to type in your ATM, credit, debit or gift card data.

What do I do if my Access Cards are lost or stolen?
The basis of the QwicKey product is security. If one of your Access Cards is lost or stolen, you can continue to use your account using another Access Card and you can remove the lost Access Card from your Access Card manager. In the event that ALL of your Access Cards are lost/stolen, access will not be available to your QwicK Vault. Not even QwicKey can recoup your QwicK Vault.IF YOU LOSE ALL OF YOUR ACCESS CARDS, YOU WOULD NEED TO PURCHASE A NEW SUBSCRIPTION. THAT IS WHY WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND STORING THE QWICKEY ACCESS CARD IN A SECURE LOCATION.

How many Access Cards can I add to my QwicKey?
You must always activate a new QwicKey account by using the QwicKey Access Card that was shipped with your subscription. After that, you can add an UNLIMITED number of secondary Access Cards to your QwicKey account. It is highly recommended that you register several magnetic stripe cards, and store the original QwicKey Access Card in a safe place. This way, it is unlikely that you will lose all of your Access Cards, even if your wallet is lost or stolen.

Can a thief use my lost/stolen Access Card to access my account?
No. The thief would also have to know your Master Password.

Installation and Platforms

Do I have to install QwicKey™ software on a computer to access my QwicK Vault?
Yes. Although QwicKey is a portable product, the QwicKey Toolbar software does need to be loaded onto the PC to run the program. The QwicKey Toolbar software can be downloaded from: http://www.qwickey.com/support/download.asp. (If we receive enough requests for a “self-launching” program, we will make one available.)

Can I use QwicKey on a Mac?
No. Currently QwicKey works only on Windows platform computers, but it is on the list for development.

Will my QwicK Vault be saved if I install a new version?
Yes. You can install new software directly over your existing version without affecting any of your current QwicK Vault information. All of your QwicK Vault information including Profile, QwicK Links, QwicK Sites, and registered Access Cards will be saved with each upgrade.

QwicKey is not visible in my toolbar. How do I fix it?
Right mouse click on your toolbar and select it from your drop-down menu. This will place QwicKey on your Internet Explorer toolbar. If that does not work, in Internet Explorer open Tools: Internet Options: Advanced. Look at the Browsing section. The option "Enable 3rd party browser extensions" should be checked. If it is not checked, check it, click OK and restart all open browser sessions.

My Profiles

What is my Profile?
Your Profile is your personal information including two forms for your name, address, email, phone, and custom fill fields (which you can use for things such as date of birth or common online responses). All of these data fields can be individually dragged and dropped to complete online forms. The information is encrypted within the QwicK Vault so you know it is secure.

Does my Profile contain or store any of my ATM, credit, debit or gift card data?
No. Your QwicKey™ Profile will NEVER ask you for ATM, credit, debit or gift card data. QwicKey’s fundamental security philosophy is that you should NEVER store your card data at ANY location, nor enter it via a computer keyboard.

Can I access more than one QwicK Vault from my computer?
Yes. You can access as many QwicK Vaults as you would like. Each QwicK Vault requires a new subscription. A QwicK Vault is defined by a unique subscription and unique QwicKey Access Card. You can add unlimited Access Cards, QwicK Links, and QwicK Sites to your QwicK Vault.

How do I know no one else can access my Profile?
Only you can access your Profile. Your Profile is protected with a physical swipe of an Access Card you registered, and entry of the Master Password, that only you know.

Password Management

How is QwicKey™ better than other software based Password Managers?
Other Password Managers protect your “vault” using a “user name and password” lock. These types of “locks” can easily be defeated by keystroke loggers that steal the user name and password as it is being typed in on the keyboard or via other malware. Once criminals have this information, they can easily break into the Password Manager account, and steal all of the other account information. QwicKey is better, because it uses Strong Two-Factor Authentication to protect access to your QwicK Vault data. Strong Two-Factor Authentication is widely regarded by security experts as providing the highest level of protection available to defend access to your online accounts. Also, QwicKey NEVER STORES YOUR ATM, CREDIT, DEBIT OR GIFT CARD DATA, and NEVER asks you to type it in.

Where are my user names and passwords stored?
Your user names and passwords are encrypted and stored within the QwicK Links area of your QwicK Vault. Your QwicK Vault is securely hosted and protected at the QwicKey data center. Only you have the Master Password and Access Cards that can gain access to your QwicK Vault. There are no back doors to your information.

Password Generator

What is the password generator?
QwicKey provides you with the tools you need for secure online browsing. Our password generator creates passwords with the specifications you select and then allows you to drag and drop that information into the password field of any online site. You don’t need to remember these passwords because QwicKey remembers them for you and you can safely and easily create a new strong password for every single online account you have.

Fights Fraud

Why is it not safe to store my information locally (on my PC)?
Storing your information locally (on your PC) opens the door to Trojans, Malware and other forms of cyber attack that can access your personal data that you store on your computer.

Why is it not safe to store my information at other online sites?
Having other sites store your personal data leaves you open to cyber attacks. It spreads your information in more locations, leaving more and more windows for attack and a greater chance that your identity will be stolen.

What is Phishing?
Phishing is an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as user name passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. They often attempt this through emails and fraudulent Websites.

How does it guard against phishing attacks?
QwicK Links and QwicK Sites bring you directly to the sites you trust. When you first set up your Links and Sites, carefully evaluate the validity of the site and establish your QwicK Link or QwicK Site. Once you establish your trusted site, use your links to safely bring you back each and every time.

What is Keystroke logging?
Keystroke logging (often called key logging) is a method of capturing and recording user keystrokes…providing a means to obtain passwords or encryption keys and thus bypassing other security measures. Key loggers are widely available on the Internet. – Wikipedia.org

Master Password

What is my Master Password?
Your Master Password is a password that you select that adds the second layer of security to your QwicK Vault. Your Master Password is encrypted using triple DES encryption and not even QwicKey™ knows your password. Only you should know your Master Password and since it is the only password you will need to remember we hope you will not forget your password. We recommend creating a password that is case sensitive, alphanumeric and 8 digits.

What do I do if I forget my Master Password?
The basis of the QwicKey product is security. Not even QwicKey can recoup your QwicK Vault if you forget your Master Password. If you do forget your Master Password, you can click on “Forgot my Master Password” and we will delete your existing QwicK Vault (including all your links) and provide access to your subscription and allow you to start a new QwicK Vault. This provides maximum security for you and protects your information from malicious attacks.

How is it possible, that QwicKey data center doesn’t have my Master Password?
The QwicKey data center never stores the actual Master Password that a user has assigned to their account. Instead, QwicKey creates and stores an alternate representation of the user’s Master Password that is known as the “hash value.” The hash value can NEVER be reversed to reveal or recreate the original Master Password.

I type in my Master Password. How is my account secure?
QwicKey uses strong Two-Factor Authentication to allow account access and QwicKey provides a virtual keyboard for added protection against key stroke logging.

My QwicK Vault

What is my QwicK Vault?
Your QwicK Vault is the encrypted, personal secure online storage area that contains your personal information, QwicK Links, and QwicK Sites. Each QwicKey™ account has its own QwicK Vault area, and the data stored in this area can only be accessed and viewed by its QwicKey owner using QwicKey Access Cards and a Master Password. WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND STORING THE QWICKEY ACCESS CARD IN A SECURE LOCATION AND USING ADDITIONAL CARDS ON A DAILY BASIS. IF ALL OF YOUR CARDS ARE LOST, YOU WOULD LOSE YOU SUBSCRIPTION.

Where is my QwicK Vault located?
Your QwicK Vault exists at the QwicKey online data center providing 24 hour surveillance, protection, and monitoring of the data. You will never have to worry about your QwicK Vault data being lost if your PC/ Laptop is damaged, lost, or stolen. Most importantly, because your QwicK Vault is on a centralized server, it means that you can access your QwicKey account online from anywhere.

Who can access my QwicK Vault?
Only you can access your account using BOTH your Access Card(s) and the Master Password you create. You do have an option to a computer "Remember me" and we recommedn only doing this in isntances where you know you are on a secure computer. Even then you can select certain sites, like your online banking to still require a card swipe.

Can QwicKey access my QwicK Vault information?
No. Because QwicKey never stores or has knowledge of your Master Password, there is no way for even QwicKey to gain access to your QwicK Vault information.

How do I organize my QwicK Vault?
QwicKey provides a folder organization system that allows you to save and organize all of your QwicK Links and QwicK Sites in a manner that is logical and convenient to you. It uses a common Windows based folder system for ease-of-use.

My QwicK Links and QwicK Sites

What are my QwicK Links?
QwicK Links are a storage area within your QwicK Vault that contain the web addresses, user names, and passwords associated with your favorite existing online accounts. QwicK Links is your password manager and allows you to access and log in to an online account with one-click. QwicK Links eliminate the need to manually type URL, user name or password data into a keyboard, and provide protection against keyboard loggers and viruses.

Can I create a QwicK Link while setting up a new account?
We don’t recommend it. QwicK Links will link you back to the new account creation page, which could prove quite frustrating. We recommend setting up a new account, declining QwicK Links AutoSave at point of setup and saving the QwicK Link on your first initial log in.

What are my QwicK Sites?
QwicK Sites are a storage area within your QwicK Vault that provide one-click access to your favorite websites that you wish to bookmark and have available anywhere you go. QwicK Sites are a secure automated Website log in function.

How many QwicK Links and QwicK Sites can I store?
You can store an unlimited number of QwicK Links and QwicK Sites within your QwicK Vault providing you with the best in password management and password protection.

Where are my QwicK Links and QwicK Sites actually stored?
Your QwicK Links and QwicK Sites are stored within your encrypted and secured QwicK Vault. Your QwicK Vault is securely hosted and protected at the QwicKey™ data center. Only you have the Master Password and Access Cards that can gain access to your QwicK Vault. This allows access to you, no matter where you go.

QwickPAY

What is QwickPAY?
QwickPAY allows you to swipe your ATM, credit, debit or gift card for online shopping. Simply select QwickPAY, swipe your ATM, credit, debit or gift card in your QwicKey SCRA, and your information is automatically filled into the online shopping cart. Best of all there is no need to store your ATM, credit, debit or gift card information ANYWHERE, or to ever manually type it via a keyboard, where it may be stolen by keystroke loggers. QwickPAY provides the fastest, safest, and easiest online shopping protection.

How does my credit card data get into the online shopping cart when I make a purchase?
When you swipe your ATM, credit, debit or gift card, some of the data on the card (the account number, the name, and the card's expiration date) is transferred to your browser using SSL temporarily. You can use this to automatically fill in your online shopping form. When you close the browser, all the data is flushed from your PC. Your card data is never stored, and is always encrypted as it is moved from the SCRA to the browser.

Do you store my ATM, credit, debit or gift card data?
No. NEVER. QwicKey NEVER stores or asks you to type your ATM, credit, debit or gift card data.

What happens to my information after I Log Off (at a public kiosk)?
If you are working at a public kiosk that has QwicKey, once you log off all your data logs off as well and is no longer available.

What are Payment Protection Codes?
Payment Protection Codes are generated by the user clicking on the Protection Codes icon. These one-time codes can only be redeemed by a PCI compliant, ROC certified Payment Processor. A Merchant and online store can accept a Protection Code in lieu of cardholder, personal account data. To learn more visit our Mobile Merchant/Virtual Terminal Application wwww.qwick-pay.com

My QwicKey secure card reader authenticator (SCRA)

Can my information be compromised if my SCRA is stolen?
No. Your QwicKey™ SCRA only reads the data and has no storage capacity. It holds no personal information what-so-ever. We can deactivate your stolen SCRA by its serial number and remove any benefit to the thief who stole it. Please be sure to keep a record of your serial number.

Can I use any other QwicKey SCRA?
Yes. Any QwicKey SCRA can be used to access your QwicK Vault.

How do I get a new SCRA if mine is lost or broken?
You can contact QwicKey customer service via support@qwickey.com or toll free 877-QWICKEY to purchase a new SCRA.

I already have a card reader, can I use it instead of a QwicKey SCRA?
No. QwicKey requires a QwicKey SCRA that is MagneSafe enabled.

Do I need to clean my QwicKey SCRA?
No. Simply keep your QwicKey SCRA clean and free from debris and liquids as you would with any other electronic device.

My Subscription

Why do I need a subscription?
Since your data is stored remotely there is an annual fee for the secure storage of your data. Subscriptions are linked to Access Cards. If you purchase additional Access Cards you have access to additional subscriptions. Please note: If you lose all of your Access Cards, your subscription will also be lost. WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND STORING THE QWICKEY ACCESS CARD IN A SECURE LOCATION AND USING ADDITIONAL CARDS ON A DAILY BASIS.

Can I get additional subscriptions?
Yes. Subscriptions are linked to Access Cards. If you purchase additional Access Cards you have access to additional subscriptions.

What is the duration of my subscription?
You have the option to purchase a one-year or a three-year subscription. You will be notified when your subscription duration is about to expire and if you do not notify QwicKey™, your QwicK Vault and personal information will be wiped from our data center 60 days after your subscription lapse.

What is MagnePrint®

MagnePrint is a dynamic card authentication technology based on the unique physical properties of the magnetic stripe, also referred to as the stripe’s digital identifier or (DI).  It provides validation that the card itself is genuine and that its encoded data has not been altered.

What is MagneSafe™

MagneSafe™ is a digital identification and authentication architecture that safeguards consumers and their personal data. Designed to exceed PCI regulations, MagneSafe leverages strong encryption, secure tokenization, counterfeit detection, tamper recognition, data relevance and integrity, and dynamic digital transaction signatures, which together validate and protect the entire transaction and each of its components.   

A key feature of MagneSafe is MagnePrint® card authentication, a patented, proven technology which reliably identifies counterfeit credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, ATM cards and ID cards at the point of swipe, before fraud occurs.  MagneSafe’s multi-layer security provides unmatched protection and flexibility for safer online transactions.

What is Strong Two-Factor Authentication?

Strong Two-Factor Authentication is a security method that requires the use of two separate pieces of information: something you have and something you know. Together, they provide a comprehensive security “lock” that cannot be broken by a cyber attack. As an example, an online “bad guy” may be able to steal something you know, your user name/password but, they cannot steal or reproduce the something you have. Without the original physical card, they are unable to break the lock to access the account.