secure vault
Hey everyone! Just launched Secure Vault on SaaS Hive and wanted to share it here.
The problem: Password-only encryption has a single point of failure — if your password is phished, guessed, or leaked, that's game over for your encrypted files, from anywhere in the world. And if you forget the password? Permanent data loss. On top of that, most consumer encryption tools are closed-source, so you're trusting a vendor blindly.
What Secure Vault does: It encrypts individual files and folders with AES-256-GCM, but adds a physical second factor — a registered USB drive. To decrypt anything, an attacker (or you, if you forget) needs both the correct password and the exact USB drive that was registered during setup. The USB key itself is password-wrapped, never stored in plaintext, so even losing the drive alone doesn't expose your files.
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Comments (7)
But if I lose the drive, will I be able to access my files? 🤔
Good question, and important to be upfront about: no, there's no
recovery if you lose the drive with no backup. That's intentional -
this tool is designed so that decryption is only possible with the
exact physical key, no exceptions, no master override, no "forgot my
key" reset.
What I'd actually recommend: right after registering your USB drive,
copy the key file (.vault_master.key) to a second USB drive and store
it somewhere separate and safe - a lockbox, a different location, etc.
Then losing one copy isn't catastrophic.
Also worth knowing: you need BOTH the USB key AND your password to
decrypt anything. So even the drive alone, without the password,
isn't enough - which cuts both ways: more secure against theft, but
means you also need to not forget the password on top of not losing
the drive. It's a real tradeoff, and this tool won't be the right fit
for everyone because of it.
I see... Yes. It does sound very secure 👍🏻. I keep on forgetting my passwords all the time 🤷🏻♂️. This is why as much as possible I either login with OAuth account or let the local passwords manager on my computer generate a secure password for me and store it in its local secure Passwords storage. One question though, why USB? Why not biometric authentication? 🤔
Great question, and honestly the answer is: biometrics can't actually
be the key itself. A fingerprint or face isn't secret (you leave
fingerprints everywhere, your face is in photos constantly) and it's
not exactly reproducible scan-to-scan, so it can't be hashed into an
encryption key directly.
That's why Windows Hello/fingerprint unlock works differently under
the hood - your biometric just proves it's you, then releases a key
that's actually stored separately, usually in the machine's TPM chip.
Which means it's tied to that one specific computer - you can't carry
it to another machine, back it up somewhere separate, or hand it to
someone you trust. That portability was actually the whole point of
using a USB drive here.
But real talk, given what you said about forgetting passwords a lot -
this probably isn't the right tool for you specifically. If you're
already happy with OAuth + a password manager, you're likely better
served sticking with that. This is really built for someone who wants
something that works fully offline with no account/cloud dependency,
not as a replacement for a password manager for everyday use. Zero
recovery if you forget the password AND lose the drive is a real
tradeoff, not a small one.
Requiring the actual USB drive sounds more secure than anything I've heard before. Someone stealing your password from across the world has become a frequent issue. Stealing a drive sitting on your desk would put them through a lot more trouble. And I saw your answer about no recovery if the drive is lost, that's a bold product decision. Two products on SaaS Hive now, you're on a roll!
Thanks, that's exactly the trade I was going for - remote password
theft has basically become a numbers game for attackers now (phishing
kits, credential-stuffing lists, etc.), so moving the "thing that
unlocks it" into physical space actually raises the bar in a way that
matters. Someone has to be *there*, not just lucky with a leaked
password list.
And yeah, the no-recovery decision was deliberate, not an oversight -
a tool that could recover your files without the drive is also a tool
that could be forced, hacked, or tricked into doing that for someone
else. Didn't want to build in a back door disguised as a convenience
feature.
Secure Vault takes an interesting approach to a real weakness in password-only encryption. Requiring both the password and the registered USB drive makes remote attacks much harder, while keeping the USB key password-wrapped adds another thoughtful layer of protection. Making the project open-source could also help users understand and verify what is protecting their files.
I’d be interested to know how recovery works if the registered USB drive is lost, damaged, or corrupted. Balancing strong two-factor protection with a secure backup or recovery process seems especially important for this type of product. Congratulations on the launch!
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