02-10-2003, 11:05 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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Jenneth Super-Reviews Wallet Software
Jenneth is turning into a prodigious reviewing machine. Her latest addresses something I've seen a lot of lately on our forums - which of the three popular wallet software (eWallet, FlexWallet, or CodeWallet) should you use? There's no one answer, but Jenneth has her preferences in a voluminous review. Let's just hope she didn't type this review using Fitaly... 
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02-11-2003, 03:04 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,023
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Dang... she comes off a little harsh on FlexWallet. :? It's not near as bad as it sounds.
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Originally Posted by the review
However, I would place the ability to further customise existing card (by inserting graphics and sounds) above the ability to create and edit card templates, as many people may be quite happy with the existing card templates available with the program.
Noticeably missing from FlexWallet is the ability to lock the wallet after a certain number of incorrect password attempts - for those that regularly leave their Pocket PC behind in a public place (such as a work area), such a feature is definitely necessary.
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Boy do we have different priorities... I also have no problem with numeric only passwords. They're quick to type in on both the desktop and PPC. I don't think a simple alphanumeric password is going to stop any hacker. As for locking after a number of tries... that would annoy the hacker at best. If you've got info that sensitive, why would you leave the PPC unattended in public to begin with?
She does, however, list some features I'd like to see implimented.
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02-11-2003, 04:03 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 68
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Since I own Virtual Wallet, I have to add my two cents. Virtual Wallet is a program that stores organized data in an encrypted form. It includes a free desktop program too.
I tried the others and settled on this program. It is free form so I can store my data using text and html. Anything else is just eye-candy and adds nothing to the functionality I wanted. I also have to wade through fewer screens to get at my data.
My only complaint with Virtual Wallet is it seems just a little sluggish. Regardless, I like what it does and I have not had a single problem with it. To bad the reviewer feels that the last revision date for a program excludes it from consideration. I think it would have compared favorably and should have been included. I think in many ways, it is more versatile than its competition.
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02-11-2003, 05:02 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 149
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LOL - my intention was not to be "harder" on any wallet program - I tried to be as objective as possible. That being the case, I also had to comment on what I personally felt were more important features, though of course, as I mention in the review, this is not something that everyone would agree with.
Also, the practice of locking something for a certain period of time after a number of unsuccessful password attempts is one of the most effective forms of password security. I would think that such a feature would be to deter nosy workmates or family members, rather than "hackers" (do you mean crackers?), who would likely have no desire to crack into someone else's "Palm Pilot" (I'm being ironic there).
I fully intended on including Virtual Wallet in my review. However emails I sent to Virtual Wallet regarding whether they were intending to update the product went unanswered. I also installed Virtual Wallet onto my iPAQ and learnt how it worked. It uses an entirely different paradigm to the other programs, using "pages" rather than "categories" to organise each card. Though I was impressed with the fact that you could use import html files as cards.
Part of the reason I wanted to do this review was to determine whether any one wallet program satisfied all of my needs, knowing from the outset that this wasn't going to be the case. I looked at all four programs and found that they were all lacking in at least one main respect. Based on this, I reviewed the three programs that were updated on a regular basis and thus were more likely to add these new features.
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02-11-2003, 05:30 AM
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Swami
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 4,396
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Locking the Wallet
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Originally Posted by Rirath
Dang... she comes off a little harsh on FlexWallet. :? It's not near as bad as it sounds.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by the review
However, I would place the ability to further customise existing card (by inserting graphics and sounds) above the ability to create and edit card templates, as many people may be quite happy with the existing card templates available with the program.
Noticeably missing from FlexWallet is the ability to lock the wallet after a certain number of incorrect password attempts - for those that regularly leave their Pocket PC behind in a public place (such as a work area), such a feature is definitely necessary.
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Interestingly, the comparison table on the review page says "Yes" for all three program in the Lock after specified number of incorrect password attempts row.
Given the text specifically says that's not supported for FlexWallet, I have to assume that the table is incorrect.
Steve (the review reviewer :-))
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02-11-2003, 05:44 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 149
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Oops, my bad - thanks for pointing this out  ops: I'll change this when I get home 
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02-11-2003, 07:28 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,023
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by blusparkles
LOL - my intention was not to be "harder" on any wallet program - I tried to be as objective as possible. That being the case, I also had to comment on what I personally felt were more important features, though of course, as I mention in the review, this is not something that everyone would agree with.
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Indeed, just doing my part to speak as a FlexWallet fan and rebut it's features. Don't want someone reading this to think FlexWallet is inadequate or anything.
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Also, the practice of locking something for a certain period of time after a number of unsuccessful password attempts is one of the most effective forms of password security. I would think that such a feature would be to deter nosy workmates or family members, rather than "hackers" (do you mean crackers?), who would likely have no desire to crack into someone else's "Palm Pilot" (I'm being ironic there).
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I would think family members and nosy workmates wouldn't A) be playing with your pocket pc and/or B) know it has a lock. In which case you'd come back to the unit and surprise, it's locked for the next 30 minutes because your cousin billy wanted to play solitaire. If a person really wanted the info inside, they'd probably just steal the unit and spend all the time they want on getting into it. All the more reason to simply not leave it lying around. (By the way, I haven't tested or checked... but could a soft reset get around the 30 minute wait? Just curious.)
As for hacker vs cracker, I'll stand by what I said. It was by far close enough for the purposes, and personally I think anyone trying to get access to your data would have illegal intent. Hacker: "One who illegally gains access to or enters another's electronic system to obtain secret information or steal money." - Cracker: "One who makes unauthorized use of a computer, especially to tamper with data or programs."
At any rate, I'm not trying to refute your review or say you're wrong about any of the opinions. I simply gave the opposite view from a FlexWallet fan. Which is simply that the two quotes I posted may not be drawbacks at all.
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02-11-2003, 12:30 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 813
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A great comparison none the less. Good work Jenneth. I think this is one of those types of apps that most PDA users will get a use from so this article was a long time in coming.
I personally use eWallet. I haven't tried the others, eWallet was my first but it does all I need and is simple to use. I do like the look of Code Wallet Pro but personally see no need to change at this time.
Perhaps new versions will incorporate the suggestions you made and make for a more tempting product.
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02-11-2003, 04:53 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 13
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I was a palmVx user, and was using wallet type software, but it was entirely free (forgot the name, but the encryption was good). When I switched to my e740 several weeks ago, I realized that was no such thing as free lunch in the PPC world when it comes to good wallet software.
I tried eWallet and FlexWallet, and pricing was really important to me, so I was really close to buying FlexWallet for $20. That same weekend, they dropped their price to $4, and it obviously was an easy decision now. I agree that it should support alphanumeric characters (it's pretty easy to break a numeric only password, some brute force software can run over a million combinations a second, depending on the hardware). My numeric password is VERY long, but I am hoping that they will support alpha numeric characters in their next release. Great review, eventho I personally haven't had any issues or negative feelings except for the password mechanism.
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02-11-2003, 05:12 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,023
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by etron
I agree that it should support alphanumeric characters (it's pretty easy to break a numeric only password, some brute force software can run over a million combinations a second, depending on the hardware).
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I'd just like to ask... why couldn't the same brute force program crack an alphanumeric code almost as quickly?
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