Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of passwords security and management. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and a device for keeping plurality of passwords or other sensitive information in an encrypted manner.

Background of the invention

Today, users have accumulated a variety of disparate passwords for accessing services over the Internet and in the physical world. Therefore, more and more passwords and codes have to be managed by each user like Web passwords, bank accounts passwords, computer passwords, parking lots, padlocks, credit cards, voice mail, home security alarms, and more.

To make management easier, some users may attempt to keep a single password for all services. As such, users are often inclined to use character sequences that are already known to them, such as a social security number, telephone number, license plate number, birthday, or password to another system. Thus, when one service's policy requires a change, the user manually changes the password with all the other remaining services. This approach also has some security risks, since if the password is compromised, the password can be used with all other services associated with the user. Thus, if a password is compromised it is entirely likely that the other services of the users are also going to be compromised.

In some cases, the users attempt to manage these passwords themselves, which becomes difficult to achieve when the passwords have to respect some requirements according to a predefined format and to password policies. For example, it may be required that a password have at least one numeric character and an uppercased alphabetic character. Conversely, some others may require a punctuation character. Still further, it may be required that passwords be re-established or reset after a predefined elapsed period of time. Thus, the format and policies will often vary from service to service. As a result, a user can quickly become overwhelmed with managing passwords for services that the user interacts with.

One known solution is password managers for computers which are helpful. Indeed, some directory services or password services have somewhat alleviated the problem by permitting users to store their various passwords in a central database, such as "KeePass Password Safe" which is an OSI Certified Open Source Software. In general, such a password manager is a software that helps a user organize passwords and PIN codes. The software typically has a local database or a file that holds the encrypted password data for secure logon onto computers, networks, web sites and application data files. Additionally, with an approach such as this a user is not tempted to have a single password for all the various services of the user, since management can be facilitated through the password service.

However, those passwords managers for computers mainly target the passwords for services over the Internet like web passwords. They are useless for login password or codes in the physical world. In addition, they suffer from a poor usability; they lack mobility, and may have a questionable security.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device which is capable of keeping private and sensitive information such as passwords and user credentials for different services in a compact and encrypt manner.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds. Summary of the Invention

The present invention relates to a password safe tool for keeping sensitive information, comprising: at least three circular elements, each having a different diameter; said elements being ordered sequentially by diameter, concentrically superimposed, and joined by connecting means; said connecting means being configured to provide independent rotation, of said elements, about a common axis, and to expose an outermost portion of each of said elements; said elements of smallest and largest diameter being first and last elements respectively; said elements of intermediate diameter being medial elements; said outermost portion of each of said elements being imprinted with a plurality of character sets; said character sets being spaced apart circumferentially and set outwardly along said elements; said character sets on said elements being user's credentials to plurality of services; whereby one or more of said elements may be rotated to select a correct combination set on each element, by positioning a key character set on a common virtual line of said tool for deciphering said character sets to obtain a correct credential for each service.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the circular elements are disks.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the circular elements are tubular elements adapted to be inserted one within the other.

According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the circular elements are tubular elements adapted to be threaded one within the other, wherein each of the tubular elements having a different height.

In another aspect the invention relates to a method for providing password safe wheel for keeping sensitive information, comprising the steps of: providing a graphical representation of a password wheel that includes at least three circular disks, each having a different diameter; said disks being ordered sequentially by diameter and concentrically joined by connecting means; said connecting means being configured to provide independent rotation, of said disks, about a common axis, and to expose an outermost portion of each of said disks; said outermost portion of each of said disks being imprinted with a plurality of character sets and fill-in spaces; said character sets and fill-in spaces being spaced apart circumferentially and set outwardly along a radius of said disks; writing one or more character in said fill-in spaces; manipulating said disks to align selected word sets and written characters along a common axis of said wheel for presenting deciphering said character sets to obtain a correct credential for each service.

In another aspect the invention relates to a non-transitory computer- readable medium comprising instructions which when executed by at least one processor causes the processor to perform the method of the present invention for providing password safe wheel for keeping sensitive information.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a front view of a password wheel, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 schematically illustrates a side view of the password wheel of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a single disk of the password wheel, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a front view of the password wheel in an encryption state;

Fig. 5 schematically illustrates a side view of dual sided password wheel, according to an embodiment of the invention; Fig. 6A schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary password wheel made of three tubular elements, according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 6B schematically illustrates a side view exemplary password wheel of Fig. 6A;

Fig. 7 schematically illustrates an exemplary dual sided password wheel made of three tubular elements, according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

Reference will now be made to several embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying figures. Wherever practicable similar or like reference numbers may be used in the figures and may indicate similar or like functionality. The figures depict embodiments of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.

The present invention relates to a password safe tool for keeping plurality of passwords or other sensitive information in a safe and/or encrypted manner. According to an embodiment of the invention, the password safe tool is implemented in form of a password wheel. In this embodiment, the password wheel is formed of at least three circular disks, each having a different diameter. The disks are ordered sequentially, by diameter, superimposed concentrically, and joined, by connecting means, for independent rotation about a common axis. The disk of smallest diameter is designated as a last disk and the disk of largest diameter is designated as a first disk. The one or more disks of intermediate diameter, disposed between the first and last disks, are medial disks. The exemplary password wheel 10, representing an embodiment of the present invention, is shown in Figs. 1-2 and is formed of four circular disks 11, 12, 13 and 14. The disks 11-14 are ordered sequentially, by diameter, the disk of largest diameter being designated as the first disk 11, the next two disks are medial disks being designated as the second disk 12 and the third disk 13, and the last disk of smallest diameter being designated as the fourth disk 14, as shown in Fig. 1. The disks 11-14 are superimposed concentrically, and joined, by connecting means, for independent rotation about a common axis, as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. The disks 11-14 are preferably formed of stiff, flexible, and resilient material, such as card stock, card board, or plastic. Connecting means preferably comprises a rivet 15, best seen in Fig. 2, disposed in a holes (as indicated by the black dot 16 in Fig. 3) provided at the common center point of each of the disks 11, 12, 13, and 14, for retaining the disks 11-14 in independently rotatable relation about the rivet 15, with an outermost portion of each of the disks 11-14 exposed in view, as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a top view of a typical single disk, according to an embodiment of the invention. In this example, disk 11 is shown. Each disk is divided into the same number of sections. In this example, each disk is divided into eight sections, where each section can be associated with a different account. For example, the first section can be associated with a Gmail account, the second section with a financial bank account, the third section with an eBay account and so on. In this figure, each separate section is defined between two adjacent thick lines. The relatively narrow sections, as each defined by a dotted line and an adjacent thick line, is used for writing characters that some of them can be used to define a single master key code that is required to be rememebered by the user. In Fig. 1, the narrow sections and the characters (imprinted inside the narrow sections) are aligned in an order that combines the master key code, thus the correct credentials for each account are presented through/inside/on the same angular sections of the disks. Due to the structure of the password wheel, several combination of master key codes are obtained in addition to one the user is required to remember. The number of master key codes depends on the number of the sections (in this example, eight master key codes are available but seven of them can be meaningless for the user). For example, the master key code that user is required to remember can combine the user's birthdaj' date, ID number, pet's name, or any other combination of characters (e.g., combination of letters, digits, symbols, etc.). The alignment of the disks is set by rotating the disks, which can be done manually by the user. Fig. 4 schematically illustrates the password wheel in a sectional unaligned state of the master key code (i.e., in an encrypted state). Of course, the password wheel can be sectional aligned, and the characters will be aligned across the different disks, but not in the correct order radially outwards (or inwards) that combines the master key codes.

According to an embodiment of the invention, character sets are preferabky selected and imprinted, radially outward, circumferentially spaced, and in the outermost portion, on each of the disks 11-14, such that the character sets on all of the disks 11-14 remain continuously in view, as shown in Fig. 1. The character sets may comprise a single word, or a plurality of characters ordered to form credentials elements and a master key code. For the exemplary password wheel 10 shown in Fig. 1, having four disks 11-14, character sets are preferably selected for two separate services A and B, as shown in Table 1, below. Exemplary first characters sets, consisting of credentials required for accessing Gmail account, which appear in the row of Service A and are preferably imprinted on the four disks 11-14. Exemplary second character sets, consisting of financial bank account credentials, appear in row of Service B and are preferably imprinted on the first disk 11 (e.g., service name), on the second disk 12 (e.g., user name), on the third disk 13 (e.g., password) and on the fourth disk an additional access data (defined as password 2). It will be appreciated that the character sets listed in Table 1 are exemplary and additional character sets may be imprinted on the password wheel within the scope of the present invention.

Table 1

When a user wishes to reveal the protected resources (in this example: eight accounts), he or she rotates the disks such that characters that represent the master key code are sectional aligned. In this example, the master key code is "2a4b518x". Upon alignment of the correct master key code, the correct credentials of each service are obtained as they correct order is also aligned. The master key code combination can be imprinted on the narrow sections of disks 11-14 either from the outside toward the inside or vice versa. In some cases, the password can be divided into two or more parts, such that for example, the first part of the password is imprinted on one disk and the rest of the password is imprinted on another disk. For example, assuming the complete password for service A is 1234567, than the first part of the password ("1234") is imprinted on the 3 ^rd disk while the rest of the password ("567") is imprinted on the 4 ^th disk, as show with respect to password 1 and password 2 in table 1. Alternatively, the complete password (e.g., "789012") can be set on one disk, while additional required data (e.g., "abc") is set on another disk, as shown with respect to service B in table 1. According to some embodiments of the invention, a text representation of a service and/or its associated credentials may appear on the disks in an encrypted manner, thereby further enhancing the data secure.

Fig. 5 schematically illustrates a side view of a dual sided password wheel 20, according to an embodiment of the invention. The password wheel 20 includes disks from both side of the largest disk 11, thereby allowing using both sides of the password wheel for storing information. In this embodiment, the password wheel 20 includes, in addition to the set of disks 11-15 described hereinabove with respect to Fig. 1, additional set of disks 21-23. Each disks of the set of disks 21-23 having a different diameter. The disks 21-23 are ordered sequentially, by diameter, superimposed concentrically, and joined, by connecting means 15, for independent rotation about a common axis, in the same manner as the set of disks 11-15.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the password wheel is formed of at least three tubular elements, each having a different diameter and height. The tubular elements are ordered one within the other, by height, and configured for independent rotation about a common axis (e.g., the common axis can be a writing tool such as a pen or pencil). The tubular element of smallest diameter is designated as a last element and the tubular element of largest diameter is designated as a first element. The one or more tubular elements of intermediate diameter, disposed between the first and last elements, are medial tubular elements.

Fig. 6A schematically illustrates a cross- sectional view of an exemplary password wheel 30 made of three tubular elements, according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 6B schematically illustrates a side view of password wheel 30. The exemplary password wheel 30 is formed of three tubular elements 31, 32, and 33. The tubular elements 31-33 are ordered, by diameter, the tubular element of largest diameter being designated as the first element 31, the next tubular element is medial element being designated as the second element 32, and the last tubular element of smallest diameter being designated as the third tubular element 33. In this example, each of the tubular elements 31-33 has a closed end and an open end. The tubular elements are inserted one within the other through the open end for independent rotation about a common axis. The tubular elements 31-33 are preferably formed of stiff, flexible, and resilient material, such as card stock, card board, or plastic.

Fig. 7 schematically illustrates an exemplary dual sided password wheel 40 made of three tubular elements, according to an embodiment of the invention. The exemplary password wheel 40 is formed of three tubular elements 41, 42, and 43. The tubular elements 41-43 are ordered, by diameter, the tubular element of largest diameter being designated as the first element 41, the next tubular element is medial element being designated as the second element 42, and the last tubular element of smallest diameter being designated as the third tubular element 43. In this example, each of the tubular elements 41-43 is open from both ends. The tubular elements are threaded one within the other through the open ends for independent rotation about a common axis. The tubular elements 41-43 are preferably formed of stiff, flexible, and resilient material, such as card stock, card board, or plastic.

In another aspect, the password wheel can be implemented in software running on a user terminal. The user terminal can for instance be a mobile phone, a personal computer, a PDA, a tablet computer, a Laptop, a notebook or any other mobile device or computer system. The method of the invention can be implemented as software to be executed in the user terminal.

According to an embodiment of the invention, resources allocated to the password wheel software onto the user terminal are protected so that it is only accessed during enrollment process or retrieval process if the requesting user is both authenticated and authorized. In an instance, when a user wishes to access to the protected resources, he or she inputs a master Personal Identification Number (PIN) code or a biometric data, by using the terminal keypad. Upon authorization of the user, the access of the software is achieved.

For example, when a user of the user terminal desires to store password or code in the password wheel, the following process may occur:

At a first, the user terminal launches the execution of the software. Then, a graphic representation of the password wheel is displayed on the user terminal. It comprises a first area selector allowing the user to set the desired number of disks and sections, (or numbers of tubular elements and sections).

At next, the user terminal displays a message for filling-in a service/account credentials in each separate section to be associated to a secret data that is built from set of characters that, at least part of them, combines the master key code needed to be remembered by the user. For example, a message displayed on the terminal comprises a graphical aligned wheel and the following requests (of course, the order of the requests can be different):

"Please fill-in characters inside the narrow sections of one segment of the wheel for your master key code and click OK";

"Please fill-in random characters for completing the meaningless master key codes inside the rest of the narrow sections of the other sectors and click OK". Alternatively, this step can be completed automatically by the software;

"Please fill-in service/account credentials in each set of sections of the sectors and click double OK"; and Optionally, after a few seconds, the software will automatically un- align the wheel, or the user can do it manually by virtually rotating the disks.

The characters are generally recognized as a confidential word, a phrase, a sequence of alphanumeric, a sequence of characters, a combination of numerical, alphabetic or symbolic characters, or any combination thereof. The master key code portion of the secret data should be known only by the user performing the password manager software of the invention.

The service/account credentials can be, for example, access to a computer, a padlock, a credit card or bank account, a home alarm, a web service, and so on.

The user provides the master key codes and credentials by entering information through a virtual or physical kej^word or by voice commands (if available).

Optionally, the software stores into a database (e.g., of the user terminal) allocated credentials to be managed, such as a user name and a password. The resource allocated is, for example, structured in the form of a table. For example, each row of the table corresponds to a credential with a first column comprising a user name and second column of the table comprising a password associated (e.g., as shown in Table 1).

When a user of the user terminal desires to retrieve credentials previously stored on the password wheel, the user needs to virtually rotate the disks until the characters that combines the master key code are aligned correctly along the exist disks. Optionally, after a limited amount of time, the software will automatically unaligned the wheel. According to an embodiment of the invention, the software does not saves the master key code, or store the wheel at its aligned position, but only allows the user to set it graphically on the displayed password wheel (optionally, for a limited time), in the same manner it is done on a real password wheel. The software further allows the user to print the disks and to manually connect them using any suitable rivet-like element, or print the paper spreading shells to be inserted into transparent tubular elements.

As will be appreciated by the skilled person the arrangement described in the figures results in a tool adapted for keeping private and sensitive information such as passwords and user credentials for different services and accounts in a compact and encrypt manner. For example, the password wheel can be kept in a user pocket or wallet.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected b}^ the following claims. For example, In order to increase secure, one may add more disks. In order to increase the number of services one may divide the disks into more sections. Moreover, the example screen layouts, appearance, and terminology as depicted and described herein, are intended to be illustrative and exemplary, and in no way limit the scope of the invention as claimed.

All the above description and examples have been given for the purpose of illustration and are not intended to limit the invention in any way. Many different mechanisms, methods of analysis, electronic and logical elements can be employed, all without exceeding the scope of the invention.