Versions and ISPs

What is Cobar™
Cobar™ is a suite of programs that the user runs to access online storage facilities over the Internet. Cobar™ client programs securely encrypt files and transfer them to the server where they can be retrieved and decrypted at a later date. Typically, the Cobar™ service is used to store your important files off-site so that you will still have them in case a disaster strikes at home or in the office.

How is Cobar different from other solutions
Cobar™ protects the files using strong encryption before they leave your computer. This means that even if someone else gets hold of them, they cannot be used because the data is thoroughly scrambled. Your private information remains private. Other providers solutions may encrypt the data while it is transferred but it is often stored in its original state, meaning that service provider admin staff and anyone that can access the file can see your data!

By encrypting the data using a 'key' known only to you, you have full control over the protection of the data - you don't need to trust anyone else. The service provider doesn't need to provide any special security for your data and doesn't need to accept any risk associated with the security of it.

Using Cobar™ Pro, large organisations can use the Cobar™ service internally, or friends can host each other's data and you are not tied to a specific service provider.

My service provider doesn't provide a Cobar service. What are my options, as I really want to use it?
You have two options: (1) Encourage your service provider to contact us to provide the Cobar™ service, or (2) you can purchase Cobar™ Pro and use any of your available web storage accounts.

Tell me a bit about the free version of Cobar
Cobar™ Free is provided to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) at no charge to be distributed to its users. The ISP has an agreement with CapstoneBlack to only provide this product with their standard home-user account that has a limited amount of web-space (typically 10 megabytes to 20 megabytes). In fact, the Cobar-Free program is customised to only work with the ISP that you are signed up with and will only work with their standard account.

My ISP is offering a Cobar service that costs me a monthly fee - tell me about this.
In addition to the Cobar™ Free service, your ISP may provide access to larger storage areas than is normally available to other users. This means that you can store many more files off-site using this service. You are paying a monthly fee to have additional storage capacity. Associated with the additional capacity is a more powerful Cobar™ program that allows you to take advantage of the additional storage space.

What is the Pro version and why do I want it?
The most important feature about the Pro version is that it is not tied to a service provider. This means that you can use the program with any web-space that you have available, or implement your own storage solutions. You can even arrange with a friend to host each other's secure data.

Can I use the Pro version to access my existing ISP Cobar accounts?
Yes! Cobar™ Pro can be used to access many different accounts and it doesn't care who or where they are hosted.

Support

Who is responsible for Cobar support - CapstoneBlack or my ISP?
If you are using Cobar™ Free or Cobar™, then your ISP is responsible for providing all of the support and you should always contact them. You can access their support page from the Cobar Help menu. CapstoneBlack provides behind-the-scenes support to your service provider's support staff. We will not normally take direct support calls for the ISP versions of Cobar™.

If you have purchased Cobar Pro then CapstoneBlack provides full support and you should contact us directly.

Registration

What is registration about?
The Cobar programs that are provided by your ISP must be registered within 30 days or they will cease to function. The registration process lets us know the number of users that each ISP has signed up so that we can dedicate appropriate resources for the user-base.

If I use Cobar from home and at work, do I need to register twice?
No - if you use the same ISP for both then simply use the same registration details that you received in the registration email. However, if you use different ISP accounts at home and at work, you will need to register each one.

I have reinstalled Cobar and have lost my registration details - what do I do?
You should register again using the same email address that you used originally - a new registration email will be sent to your email address.

I have entered the registration details but I get the error " Invalid registration code" - what is wrong?
The registration banner will disappear when the following details are correct: FirstName, LastName, Email and RegCode. It does not matter if they are in upper or lowercase but they must be correct.The registration service not support foreign characters so you must register without accents, umlaut etc.

Security

I have forgotten my passphrase - how do I access my stored files?
If you have saved your passphrase to a keyfile, then simply load the keyfile from within the passphrase dialog. If you have not saved your passphrase then your only option is to try to remember it. There is no way, repeat: no way, that the data can be recovered by anyone without the correct passphrase being used. There is no 'back-door' or any 'cracking tool' that will work. The program is designed to be secure!

What are the advantages of saving my passphrase to a keyfile?
1. You don't have to remember it, and thus can make it longer and thus more secure.
2. You don't have to enter it each time it is needed. You just need to make sure that the keyfile is available.

What are the disadvantages of saving my passphrase to a keyfile?
1. If someone else can access your keyfile then they can decode all of the files that are protected by the passphrase.
2.You must keep your passphrase securely stored where no-one else can access it.

Where should I save my keyfile?
You should store your keyfile on a removable media - a USB memory 'stick' is ideal as you can take it with you at all times. An even better solution is to use a USB memory stick that has an additional level of privacy such as a password or a fingerprint reader. You could save it to a floppy disk or other removable media but this may not be as convenient to use.

We strongly recommend against storing the keyfile on your hard-drive because it is more easily accessible to others. If you must store it on a hard-drive, consider storing it on an encrypted drive.

Connecting

When I try to connect, I get a 'Login Failed' message box telling me : " The Username and/or Password for this connection have been refused..." - what am I doing wrong?
Check your that you entered your username and password correctly in the appropriate settings page - on the 'General' setting page for ISP versions and on the 'Connections' page for the Pro version. Ensure that you have added the '@domain.com' part if it is required by your ISP. If you have double checked and still have the error, please contact your ISP. 99 times out of 100 it will be because you have entered the wrong username and/or password - so check this carefully.

I get the error " The requested server is currently unavailable. Please try again later or contact your service provider.
Cobar™ cannot connect to the server provided by your ISP - it may be temporarily unavailable. If you repeatedly cannot connect to the server, then please contact your ISP's help desk.

I get the error message - " you cannot use this version of Cobar with your current ISP account (Reason: account size). You must upgrade this ISP account."
You are trying to use Cobar™ on an inappropriate ISP Cobar™ service. Cobar™ Free can only be used on standard ISP accounts, and Cobar™ (standard) can only be used on upgraded ISP accounts.

I get the error message - " you cannot use this version of Cobar™ with your current ISP account (Reason: account type). You must upgrade this ISP account."
You are trying to use Cobar™ on an inappropriate ISP service. Please contact your ISP's help desk.

I cannot remember my username and/or password for my ISP - what should I do?
Contact your ISP's help desk - we can offer no assistance with this problem.

Sometimes I get the message " Connection Closed Gracefully" . What does this mean?
This message is displayed when the server has unexpectedly closed the connection. The server may do this because its to busy to handle additional connections.

Settings

Why are some settings greyed out?
Not all options are available for all versions. Cobar Free has limited extended features and many of the options are greyed-out. Cobar™ Pro has all options enabled.

The 'Connections' tab shows a lot of settings that are greyed out - how can I enable them?
The settings for the ISP versions of Cobar™ do not allow you to change any connection settings, as they are provided by the ISP in its connection settings file. The Pro version of Cobar™ allows you to specify multiple connections to servers and has these options enabled.

I need to use a proxy server because my work doesn't allow me to directly connect to the Internet. How do I configure Cobar to use it?
Firstly, you cannot use Cobar™ Free as it does not support the use of proxy servers. There are many different types of proxy servers used and Cobar™ currently supports the 6 most common types. Please consult your workplace IT admin staff about the type of proxy server to configure within Cobar™, as your ISP will not be able to assist you with this.

Uploading

Sometimes I get the message " Access Denied" when I try to upload a file.
Normally this problem is caused because the file already exists on the server and is read-only or you don't have appropriate permissions to overwrite it.

General

What is the Log Window?
The Log Window shows the communication between Cobar and the server. It can sometimes help to examine the Log Window if unexpected events are occurring.