Introduction
In today’s modern society, it seems like every single company requires its customers to have a username and password. There are instances where having login credentials makes sense—your bank, apartment complex for paying rent, or mortgage company. What about big box retailers like Best Buy, Costco, or Nordstrom’s? That even makes sense; however, now there are are points systems for restaurants and cafes like your local coffee shop or frozen yogurt spot. Now, as people, we’re expected to memorize tens, if not well over one-hundred usernames and passwords. It’s an impossible task!
accoca and User App Data Privacy
That’s where accoca comes in, a secure password and notes app from Sola of America, Inc. I want you to notice something on the left-hand screenshot (accoca) below from the App Store compared to the right from IMDB…
What did you notice, have you figured it out yet? It’s the bold Data Not Collected badge under the App Privacy section for Sola. Notice the difference in collected data? The previous comment is in no way meant be a derogatory statement about IMDB. I use their app constantly to look up actors, actresses, movies, TV shows, everything, but regardless, it requests accesses to a lot of user data.
Nevertheless, in a world where companies are constantly fighting for our data to better market to us, Sola cares enough about our privacy to release an app that does collect any personal data and uses a high level of encryption for its stored data. It’s a refreshing change.
Where to Download
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6503129390
Why Password Managers are Important
In the past two months alone, me personally, the author of this article, have received letters in the mail from two companies stating my personal data may have been part of cyber-attacks carried out by malicious hackers trying to steal individual data. One of these companies was a healthcare provider and the other was Ticketmaster.
These attacks are evidence that there are individuals out in the world who want to steal your personal information, including things like SSN (Social Security Number), copies of important documents like Birth Certificates, sensitive health data, banking login information, email account logins, credit card data, anything that could be used for immediate gain or possibly sold on the dark web for profit.
Easily Guessed and Repeated Passwords
Many expose themselves online by using simple to guess passwords with pieces that are easily or relatively easily obtained. Examples could include current or previous addresses, street names, birthdays, anniversary dates, use of personal first and/or last names, or spouse/partner first and/or last names. The more times the same password is repeated, the happier a hacker becomes because by gaining access to one account, they gain access to multiple accounts.
While using additional security measures such as 2FA (2-factor authentication) after logging in, where accounts are secured by using a temporary passcode generated from a separate application or received through a text message are excellent ways to boost security, one of the best ways to stop ‘bad actors’ (people who want to steal your data) is having complex, difficult to guess passwords.
After Downloading Password Manager accoca
Use the search term Password Manager accoca in the App Store to find the software. The first time you open the software, you’ll be greeted with the screen below asking for a 6-digit access PIN. Face ID or other biometric login can be added later.
There is a brief tutorial where it shows how to add a new account (username, password, and other data) to a category, then how to sort, and how to create a new category (see gallery). There is a quick start guide with three mini-lessons on how to use the software. See the left-hand screen capture below.
There’s a sample credit card entry from the default version of accoca—labeled Fictional Bank further down. It’s under the Credit Card category. In a single instance, the user can save the necessary credit card data, as well as any associated login information for accessing an account profile with the credit card issuer.
If storing a credit card, the card number itself should be stored under the Code category. There is also the option to scan QR codes or manually enter verification codes if using an authenticator app as your 2FA method when logging in. We will discuss this in a later article.
Notes of Password Complexity
There are countless articles online about both password strength and how passwords get hacked. Earlier in the article we discussed bad actors using common and easily remembered information. Guessing passwords with names, anniversary dates, or birthdays is one common method. Another popular method is through social engineering. Social engineering is where the bad actor tricks the victim into giving access to one or more accounts. A common example is for the bad actor to pretend to be an IT professional.
For certain skilled hackers, a brute-force attack may be possible. Brute-forcing is where an encrypted password data (hashes) is cracked by powerful computers, though this method is less common, though passwords are more easily brute-forced if they contain common words, such as flower, Honda, cloud, skateboard, and so on.
Creating Difficult to Hack Passwords
The strongest passwords will contain a random mix of upper-case & lower-case characters, symbols (!@#$%^&*), and numbers in a random sequence. For example: x7FG0er#d0w$rr. The previous example is nearly impossible to memorize, which is why using an app like accoca with a copy/paste login method is best. After pasting the stored password, accoca is programmed to clear your device’s clipboard in two minutes, thereby increasing its security.
Conclusion
accoca is a secure note and password vault application where you can locally store usernames and passwords to quickly and easily access sensitive account data and reduce the risk of leaked or stolen data.
The FULLY UNLOCKED version is on special as of the time of writing this article for $7.99, reduced from $15.99. The unlocked version can store unlimited items, use OCR for text reading, and automatically generate passwords with a mix of complex characters. Many companies offering password vaults use a monthly subscription model. Some companies charge on a monthly basis what Sola is asking for as a one-time, lifetime fee.
Use the links below to download from the App Store and try it for yourself today. As always, if you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you!
Download Link
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6503129390
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