ActivCard

Authenticated File Encryption, 1993

PC Dynamics had been doing well with its Total Security access control and encryption product for MS-DOS, but the world was shifting toward Windows and we needed to put a stake in the ground if we hoped to keep our standing in this space. This product was introduced as an easy transition into Windows and as an early playground for what would later morph into our extremely popular SafeHouse encryption software.

We did not manufacture the physical devices. These were bought in bulk and then packaged for retail with our software which had been customized to take advantage of their access control features.

One of the reasons for choosing to market an access token like this was that we were getting lots of requests for two-factor authentication from our corporate customers. Further, the manufacturer of this specific device was looking to jumpstart use of their products in corporate markets and consequently offered us a significant pricing discount if we would customize our software to tightly integrate with their specific features.

The ActivCard token quickly grew in popularity with our corporate customers and became an essential component to our administration toolkit used for deploying and maintaining site licenses of our Windows file encryption software -- especially with regard to master keys and password recovery.

My Role

All coding, packaging and documentation. Written mostly in C++ with a little bit of 8086 assembly language.