Strip Frequently Asked Questions

Click a question to view the answer. Please Contact us if you have a question that is not addressed here!

• General

  • What version am I using?

    The version number of Strip is displayed at the top of the Settings screen. To get there:

    1. Launch Strip (or Strip Lite) on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
    2. Login to Strip with your access password.
    3. Click the Settings icon (the gear) at the bottom-right corner of the screen, in the tab bar.

  • Will you charge for updates?

    We are not going to charge for bug fixes and minor product updates. If we do end up implementing a major change or enhancement to Strip, we may opt to charge for the upgrade.

  • What are the limitations of Strip Lite?

    Unlike Strip, Strip Lite is currently limited to storing up to 10 entries in the encrypted database. If you decide to upgrade to Strip and wish to retain the records you entered, there is a way to easily copy your data from Strip Lite to Strip.

  • How do I upgrade from Strip Lite?

    For those who stored important data in Strip Lite, and now wish to upgrade to Strip, there’s an upgrade path available:

    1. First, purchase Strip from the App Store.
    2. When the download is complete, ensure it is installed on your iPhone or iPod Touch by syncing with iTunes.
    3. Launch Strip Lite on your device and enter your password.
    4. Tap the Settings gear on the bottom-right corner of the screen.
    5. Tap Export Data to Strip.
    6. Strip will present an alert asking if you wish to import the data from Strip Lite. Tap Yes to accept.
    7. Use your Strip Lite password to log into Strip.

  • How do I recover from data loss?

    iTunes automatically backs up data on your iPhone or iPod Touch every time you sync your device. You can read more about this process here. If you have lost your data on your phone and need to restore from back up, do not connect your iphone to your computer just yet! If you do, the next sync will wipe out your backup.

    Follow these steps:

    1. On the computer you use to sync your device, go to: iTunes → Preferences → Devices, Check “Disable automatic syncing for all iPhones and iPods.”
    2. Now connect your device to your computer and it should show up in the iTunes sidebar.
    3. Right-click on your device and select “Restore from backup.”

  • How do I backup my data?

    Strip is automatically backed up by iTunes. There is some detailed information available from Apple about iPhone backup, but the summary is that both the software program and the encrypted database are backed up during each iPhone sync.

    The only important thing to remember is that if you somehow lose data and need to restore your iPhone, you should disable automatic sync right before you plug it in to your desktop. We encourage you to have a look at our step-by-step instructions for the restore process.

    As of this writing (Dec 22, 2009), heavy development is underway on companion software for Windows and Mac OS X to provide explicit backup and sync on demand. Updates on our development activities are posted to our blog.

  • What platforms and devices are supported?

    Updated: Dec 22, 2009.

    Strip is currently available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, supporting iPhone OS 2.2.x and OS 3.×. We have discontinued development of Strip for Palm OS, but the free software is still available, and anyone is free to download and modify the source code.

    A desktop companion to Strip for Windows and Mac OS X is currently under development, but no release date has been set for the time being.

    We are currently considering a port of Strip for the Android platform, but will likely not make any decision with regard to this until we have the desktop version out the door.

    We have not plans to pursue development for Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Symbian, or Palm Pre/webOS at this time.

    If you’d like to see your favorite platform supported, send us an e-mail and let us know. Stay tuned to our blog for updates!

• Security

  • What gets encrypted?

    In Strip (and Strip Lite), all data that you enter is encrypted. Every category name, every label, every note, every pin number, which helps to prevent “ghosting” of the encrypted data. Strip uses SQLCipher, a fully-encrypted and open source embedded database, to keep your data safe. SQLCipher uses the world-class, peer-reviewed OpenSSL library.

  • Am I susceptible to dictionary attacks?

    There’s no such thing as total security, but you can get really, really close. A strong password goes a long way, but we took it a step further. Zetetic’s open source SQLCipher project, which provides secure data storage for Strip, has been enhanced to use PBKDF2 with a per-database salt to make it even more resistant to brute force and dictionary attacks.

  • Does Strip use legit encryption technology?

    Yes, it does. Strip uses our own SQLCipher library, an extension of SQLite that provides transparent, 256-bit AES encryption of database files. Pages are encrypted before being written to disk and are decrypted when read back. Encryption is provided by the OpenSSL crypto library.

  • What if I forget my password?

    Please don’t do that. If you forget your password, we cannot help you recover your database. It’s important to set a password that’s strong (at least 8 characters), but also one that you can remember.

  • Are my back-ups encrypted?

    Yes, they sure are!

    Strip uses page-level encryption to ensure that your entire database is always stored securely. This database cannot be unlocked without the key — the password you use every time to run Strip. When iTunes backs up the Strip application, it simply copies the application and the supporting database file, which remains encrypted.

    You can learn more about iTunes backups on Apple’s website, and we’ve also got some information here on using these backups to recover from data loss.

• Usage

  • How do I delete records?

    N.B. When you delete an Entry, all Fields below it are removed from your database. Similarly when you delete a Category, all Entries below it are removed, and so on.

    To delete a Category:

    1. Select the Categories tab and navigate to the list of Categories
    2. Swipe your finger across the Category you wish to delete
    3. Tap the red Delete button that appears

    To delete an Entry you have two options:

    1. On a listing screen you can swipe your finger across an Entry
    2. Tap the red Delete button that appears

    Or:

    1. Navigate to the Entry view
    2. Tap Edit at the top right
    3. Scroll to the bottom of the view and tap the Delete Entry button

  • How does Search work?

    The Search tab provides a text field at the top of the screen. When you enter some text and tap the Search button on the keyboard, Strip searches for all names and values that match what you’ve entered with a sub-string query (e.g. '.*query.*').

    For example, if you have an Entry titled “Wall Safe” with a numeric PIN field and another Entry titled “Bank Account” that has a note with the text “Safety deposit info…”, searching for the text ‘safe’ would return both entries.

  • What kind of data can I store in Strip?

    Strip is a very flexible application, allowing you to store in it any data you care to type out. When you add a new Field to an Entry you will be prompted to choose a label, dictating what type of data you are entering (password, numeric, phone number, etc). If you don’t see an appropriate label for your field, you can add a new one and set the type to any of the following:

    • Text Field
    • Password with generator
    • PIN with generator
    • Multi Line Note
    • URL/Website
    • Numeric Field
    • Email Address
    • Telephone Number

    These field types are provided for your convenience, and to offer you a suitable keyboard. The generators go one step further by allowing you to generate random passwords (or numeric sequences). Email addresses can be launched in Mail, URLs can be launched by the registered application or Safari, Telephone Numbers can be launched in Phone.

  • How can I launch other apps with Strip data?

    Strip will automatically launch the following field types for you:

    • Email addresses (launch Mail)
    • Phone numbers (launch Phone)
    • URL addresses (launch Safari or the registered app)

    What this means is that when you are viewing an entry with an e-mail address or a phone number, you can tap the row with the number or address and you will be prompted to leave Strip and launch the other app.

    If you’d like to launch a custom application that supports a particular URL protocol (e.g. launching TouchTerm for SSH connections), do the following:

    1. Tap the Edit button on an Entry
    2. Tap the “Add new field” label at the bottom of the fields table
    3. Select URL/Website
    4. Enter the URL; for TouchTerm it would look like ssh://foo:barexample.com:11122@

  • Why does Strip lock me out?

    Whenever your iPhone or iPod touch becomes inactive, for instance when it goes to sleep, Strip immediately locks the database. When your device becomes active again, if Strip is still running, you will be prompted to login before you can continue to use the program.

    This behavior is currently dependent on the iPhone’s sleeping/locking settings. If you’d like to change the idle time, launch the Settings application, tap the General row, tap Auto-Lock, and select the duration you would prefer.

• Feature Requests

  • Can I export my old Strip DB from Palm OS?

    Updated: Dec 30, 2009.

    We have just published the Palm Strip Export Utility for Windows and Mac OS X. It will allow you to create a CSV file from your old Palm Strip database files (v2.0 databases only). See the blog post announcement for more instructions on using the exporter. The output of these files will be supported in an upcoming sync and import/export tool for the iPhone platform. Those using older versions of Palm Strip should update to version 2.0 first. This utility is not for iPhone Strip databases.

    The current version of Strip has no import facility, we’re working hard to get this feature and the companion desktop software out the door as quick as we can.

    Subscribe to our blog for updates on our progress, or join the mailing list for Strip.

  • Make random passwords easier to remember?

    A few folks have asked us about generating random passwords that are a bit easier to remember. This feature won’t be available in the initial release of Strip, but we are working on it and hope to provide it in a future update.

  • Can you add desktop synchronization?

    Strip does not currently support direct synchronization with your desktop computer. However, this is one of the must-have features that we are working hard on, and it will be available in a future update.

  • Will there be a version of Strip for my platform?

    Updated: Dec 22, 2009.

    Strip is currently available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, supporting OS 2.2+. We have discontinued development of Strip for Palm OS, but the free software is still available, and anyone is free to download and modify the source code.

    A desktop companion to Strip for Windows and Mac OS X is currently under development, but no release date has been set for the time being.

    We are currently considering a port of Strip for the Android platform, but will likely not make any decision with regard to this until we have the desktop version out the door.

    We have not plans to pursue development for Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Symbian, or Palm Pre/webOS at this time.

    If you’d like to see your favorite platform supported, send us an e-mail and let us know. Stay tuned to our blog for updates!