Description
The Personal Vault System (PVS) is a secure Windows desktop application designed to store, manage, and protect sensitive personal information—such as account credentials, private notes, and other confidential content—within a locally encrypted vault file. Built using Microsoft Visual Basic .NET (Visual Studio 2022) and modern ComponentOne user-interface controls, PVS emphasizes full user ownership of data by operating entirely offline, without cloud services, third-party synchronization, or external identity providers. All information remains under the user’s control and can only be accessed with the correct master password.
At the core of PVS is a strong, transparent cryptographic design. When a vault is created or opened, the user’s master password is processed through a password-based key derivation function (PBKDF2 with HMAC-SHA-256) to generate cryptographic keys. These derived keys are then used to encrypt the vault using AES-256, a widely adopted symmetric encryption standard trusted by governments, financial institutions, and security-critical systems worldwide. AES-256 ensures that vault contents are rendered unreadable without the correct password, even if the encrypted file is copied, stolen, or inspected directly. To guard against tampering or corruption, PVS applies HMAC-SHA-256 integrity checks, allowing the application to detect any unauthorized modification—down to a single bit—before attempting decryption. If the password is incorrect or integrity verification fails, the vault remains inaccessible and no data is disclosed. In other words, PBKDF2 hardens the master password into cryptographic keys, AES-256 encrypts the vault contents, and HMAC-SHA-256 ensures that the data has not been altered and that only the correct password can unlock it. Click here for basic encryption terminology.
PVS is architected to minimize exposure of sensitive data. Cryptographic operations are cleanly separated from the user interface logic, and decrypted information exists only in memory while the application is running. Plain-text data is never written to disk. When a vault is saved, all records—including names, logins, passwords, and multi-line notes—are immediately re-encrypted. The master password itself is never stored; only transient cryptographic derivatives are used during encryption and decryption. This design enforces consistent security throughout the application lifecycle and reduces the risk of accidental data leakage.
Beyond credential storage, PVS provides practical tools to support secure daily workflows. A built-in password generator allows users to create both highly complex passwords and easier-to-remember alternatives, with configurable length and composition. Users can generate passwords containing combinations of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters, or simpler formats when usability or system constraints require it. This flexibility encourages better password practices without imposing unnecessary rigidity.
Once unlocked, vault contents are displayed using responsive ComponentOne grid controls that support sorting, filtering, zooming, and customizable visual layouts. Users can quickly search across all fields, detect duplicate records, adjust column widths, and preserve multi-line notes exactly as entered—making it easy to store recovery instructions, security questions, or contextual information alongside credentials. Import and export capabilities allow credentials to be brought in from CSV files or other encrypted vaults, with password validation and duplicate handling to prevent accidental overwrites. For reporting or offline reference, PVS can generate PDF documents of the currently visible records, reflecting active filters and preserving formatting.
User interface preferences—including window size and position, column widths, zoom level, visual banding styles, and other display settings—are stored locally in a machine-specific configuration file and restored safely at startup. This ensures a familiar and usable interface across sessions while preventing invalid or off-screen layouts when monitor configurations change.
Download
|
|
Visual Studio 2022 |
|
32 bit and 64 bit Compatible |
|
PVS uses modern cryptographic practices and thoughtful usability features. By leveraging Visual Basic .NET 2022, ComponentOne controls, AES-256 encryption, HMAC-SHA-256 integrity protection, and built-in password generation, PVS delivers a secure, transparent, and user-controlled solution for managing sensitive information—without unnecessary complexity, external dependencies, or loss of ownership over personal data. |
|||
The current version of the Personal Vault System is Loading...
Previous versions can be downloaded from here.
Registration
No registration is needed for the current version. Nonetheless, you are welcome to submit your comments to improve this app at the Contact us web page.
Developers
|
Dr. Luis O. Tedeschi
|
|
Support
The following list summarizes corrections, enhancements, and functional improvements made to the software, presented in chronological order (newest to oldest). Each entry reflects updates implemented to improve stability, usability, and overall performance.
There are no corrections, enhancements, or functional improvements to report at this time. However, several related documents, manuscripts, and reports are listed on the Publications web page.
Links
|
|
|
|||||||||
