Selecting an online password and remembering it continues to be a major hassle. That’s especially true if selecting a separate password for each and every website one uses, as security experts recommend.
Mooltipass Mini is a small USB device that protects passwords with identification done via a smart card. It integrates seamlessly with Google Chrome and Firefox support is in the testing phase, its makers say. The device uses the same security as its makers’ larger Mooltipass device that was crowdfunded in late 2014. A smart card is used to securely store an AES-256 encryption key for the user’s protected information.
That disconnects the encryption key from the user’s secured data, meaning that even if a computer is compromised, the encryption key can’t be accessed by any malicious software on the machine. If four incorrect PIN entries are entered, the card self-destructs. Backup files are encrypted using the same key stored on the smart card Mooltipass Mini ships in January at about $86. But Kickstarter backers have been able to reserve one with a pledge starting at about $51 for super early birds. Its makers are out to raise $50,588 by Nov. 7.
There are a plethora of similar products that perform the same basic task. In addition to the first Mooltipass, there have been products including Vaulteq. But Mooltipass has at least two major advantages over at some rival products: its extra-secure system and the fact that it’s been proven to work thanks to the first Mooltipass. At least some consumers who already bought that first Mooltipass, but complained of its large size, may especially like the more portable nature of the new version.