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Secure documents on BlackBerry with WatchDox

Aliza Sherman — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 07:34:01 +0000

As mobile devices become more prevalent at work, the need for security continues to rise. WatchDox provides document control, tracking and security features through a web app, apps for iPad and iPhone (we covered it late last year) and now for BlackBerry. WatchDox aims to ease concerns about mobile devices being a risky way to transmit and view sensitive documents by adding a layer of security and control to documents sent through its system.

On the BlackBerry, WatchDox users can render PDF and Microsoft Office. It offers features allowing users to:

Share and view documents securely on BlackBerry devices.
Restrict shared documents from being copied, printed or forwarded.
Eliminate documents remotely, if needed.

The company also announced updates to its Apple iOS app, including:

Document sync. Users can securely sync their online documents or their virtual data room folders through the secure app versus less secure consumer-grade syncing methods.
Passcode protection. In case of device loss or theft, a passcode provides an additional layer of security against information leaks.
Performance enhancements. Access to documents should be speedier.

While there are several subscription levels for WatchDox including Personal, Team and Virtual Data Room, pricing is customized so you’ll need to contact the company for a quote, although general plans typically start at $49.99 per month per user. The company does offer a 14-day free trial.

How are you securing your documents on your mobile devices?

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WatchDox Brings Secure Documents to iPad and iPhone

Aliza Sherman — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 15:00:24 +0000

Smartphones and Wi-Fi-enabled devices are without a doubt essential business tools for many of us. With mobile communications and connectivity comes security issues, though. How can we share and manage sensitive documents over the airwaves?

WatchDox is one solution. It’s document management and security application that lets you control, track and protect your digital documents. Confidela — the maker of WatchDox — just announced that its software is now available on iOS devices as a native app. WatchDox’s web-based secure document platform is built using Flash, and while it has been available on Android devices for a while, the use of Flash has kept it off of the iPhone and iPad until now.

While you can’t generate secure digital documents from your iOS device, you can open and read documents that have been secured using WatchDox. With a subscription, you can use the website’s tools to secure your documents, including authenticating users and restricting the forwarding, copying or printing of those documents. You can track activity on a document, including who opened it, what they did with it, and even if they accessed it from their iPhone or iPad. You can also watermark your digital documents, or put in a “time bomb” to limit the duration any user can view it.

Note: The application was still pending approval from the App Store at press time. You can read more from our previous coverage of WatchDox at:

How do you manage mobile document security?

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WatchDox Bringing Document Security to Android Devices

Aliza Sherman — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:00:16 +0000

The document management and security product, WatchDox by Confidela, will today announce a new offering for Google’s Android platform. A BlackBerry version is coming later this year, as soon as BlackBerry supports Adobe Flash, and a native iPhone/iPad app is also in the works.

I initially wrote about Watchdox when it first launched and then again when it discontinued its free service and went pro. Since that time, the company has:

Added an Outlook plug-in to give you easy access to security and management features for documents you share with others.
Offered an offline MS Office PDF plug-in so you’re not locked into the browser-based viewer (both parties need to download the plug-in). This feature allows document collaboration.
Opened up APIs to developers, which means that you can integrate WatchDox functionality into other systems you’re using, including Sharepoint and Salesforce.
And, as of today, the company is rolling out mobile device support.

Some examples the company cites as ways to use WatchDox include protecting any proprietary IP and distributing e-books, training documents and other subscription-based or paid materials that you offer electronically. Graphic designers can send drafts or spec work with added WatchDox security protection so that their designs cannot be seen by anyone but the recipient. Consultants can share proprietary reports, proposals, pricing and invoices.

The individual price for WatchDox is $49.95/month.

What are you using to protect and manage the documents you distribute electronically?

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Report: The Real-Time Enterprise

WatchDox Goes Pro and Pay

Aliza Sherman — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:00:38 +0000

Recently, I wrote about WatchDox, the security application that allows you to secure and track the documents you send online. The company behind the app, Confidela, has just moved the app to a fee-based model (free accounts are no longer available). As of this week, you can test out the application for 30 days for free before selecting either the Pro version (for the individual) or the Business version (with additional features). Existing individual users are grandfathered in and can retain their free account but still have to upgrade if they want the features available in the Business account.

Some new features on all the paid accounts include the denying people the ability to take a screenshot of any documents sent through Watchdox. I tested this out by trying to take a Skitch screen grab of a protected document, and it immediately went into “curtain” mode, blurring the content.

Another nifty new feature is the “Spotlight” mode which actually prevents anyone from taking a clear digital photo of a document when enabled. The company considers this an “extreme feature,” but it’s an effective one nevertheless. Documents protected with Spotlight look like they have colored vertical bars over them. Only a small portion of the document is “spotlighted” and readable at one time — the rest is illegible.

The company also continues to improve the document viewer, which now includes a “PowerPoint presentation slide mode” that you can toggle for easier document review.

Business accounts allow for multiple users on the same account, with a company-wide administrative function. Coming soon will be the ability for the administrator to add users, remove users and change individual permissions from a central management dashboard. Business level users can access a full audit trail of all users to pinpoint how a document has distributed using Watchdox.

There is currently an MS Outlook plugin so that you can send a document securely via Watchdox with just one click, and the Gmail add-on is pending.

Confidela says it is getting some traction from industries requiring high levels of document security including finance, legal, healthcare, and manufacturing, but emphasize the value of using Watchdox security for company price lists, client proposals, contracts and human resources documents, such as hiring offers.

In a nutshell, with Watchdox, you can control, track and protect your documents at a high level for $14.95/month (charged annually) for the Pro level for a single user and $29.95/month per user for a Business account, with a minimum of 10 users. For a business license covering less than 10 users, you can contact the company directly for a custom package. Larger custom packages are also available via the company. If you need to secure and keep track of documents, it’s a well-designed service, although I have to say that I haven’t incorporated it into my workflow yet.

How are you securing sensitive documents that you distribute online?

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WatchDox Makes Document Security Simple

Aliza Sherman — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:00:21 +0000

Every so often, a new app hits my radar that gives me that “Wow! Awesome! Right On!” feeling. Launching into public beta today, WatchDox by Confidela is such an app. If you want to share a document securely with someone, WatchDox can do that. But it also does much more, namely letting you specify permissions on the document, such as the whether it can be printed, copied or forwarded. Then you can track all the activity of your document so you can see all the places your document has been sent, by whom and when, who opened it and when, who printed it and when — a complete document activity audit. Yet its features are practical, sensible and uncluttered.

Watchdox uses a secure Flash-driven viewer that requires no special software download or login. When you send or receive your first WatchDox doc, you simply enter your email address to start the quick authentication process. Access to documents is controlled via email; you are authenticated when you receive an email from the site and click on a link. Easy. Of course, you must have full control over your email address and inbox — and be confident that is also true of anyone you share your documents with — for this security model to work.

If you edit a shared document, all the recipients will see the newly updated document the next time they access it. You can revoke permissions from any recipient at any time. You can also add an expiration date to documents, after which they won’t be viewable by the recipients.

All of the documents you send and receive are stored in your “My Documents” box. You can store up to 50MB on WatchDox with the free version, and documents automatically expire after 30 days. At any given time you can send up to two documents for a total of 15MB. The system is based on Amazon Web Services, so should scalable for enterprise-level needs. WatchDox provides document security for Box.net, so you might already be using it.

Watchdox is free to use while in beta. There will always be a free version for individual users, but Confidela will also introduce premium plans starting at $15/month per sender (there is no limit to document recipients).

Right now, to send and view documents, you must visit the WatchDox site unless you have Microsoft Outlook; a plugin is available that automates the document sharing process from your inbox.

One neat security-enhancing feature is that if you click away from a Watchdox document browser window, the document is instantly blurred by a virtual “curtain.” This is a clever way to mask private and confidential content from people peeking over your shoulder.

While services like Scribd have made it much easier to share documents online, WatchDox takes things to the next level by adding no-hassle (no password required) security, including a virtual paper trail.

Of course, I concede that just sharing a document online reduces its security; however, for documents that don’t have “National Security” stamped at the top, this app seems like a winner.

How are you sending your documents securely?

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