Introduction

Passro is a keyboard macro program designed to make storing a large selection of macros as easy and seamless as possible. Passro’s novel design allows users to have 36 custom macros simultaneously available on any keyboard with an unlimited amount more available by switching between dictionaries.

 

Passro works by providing users dictionaries that associate letters and numbers with character segments or functions. For example one possible dictionary can associate “a” with “alpha”, “b” with “bravo”, “1” with “one” and so on for all letters and numbers. Users can create and customize their own dictionaries by using the built in dictionary editor. When a user wants to use their macros, they activate Passro by pressing a hotkey combination, press the desired keys, and turn Passro off by pressing the hotkey combination again. When Passro is on, each key press is substituted with the association found in the active dictionary. This is called active substitution. If the user enters “abc123” with the example dictionary selected, the program will automatically substitute each character, as it's entered, which will result in “alphabravocharlieonetwothree”. 		 
 

Passro also makes it easy to associate keys with shortcuts to programs, files, folders, websites, and key combos that include Control, Shift, and Alt. This allows users to link all their commonly accessed websites, files, directories, programs, and even key macros with a key in a dictionary. Due to its simple design and ability to map 36 functions in each dictionary, Passro allows you to save a lot of time on basic tasks. A single dictionary can also have different types of associations meaning that in a single dictionary the G key might open Google, N will open Notepad, D will open your Documents folder, and A will be your address.

Passro’s unique hotkey system distinguishes itself from other software by having one customizable button combination result in every alphanumeric key on the keyboard acting as its own macro. That means that instead of pressing Ctrl+R+T to use one macro and then Ctrl+T+H for another, a user can simply activate the active substitution and then press R for one macro and T for another without having to worry about interference with any program.

  

Passro also features a Clipboard Manager that integrates directly into the macro system. You can copy an item into your clipboard, associate it with a key by clicking on the desired alphanumeric character in the Clipboard Manager, and then access it by making the Clipboard Manager your active dictionary. This allows you to store up to 36 items at a time in a temporary dictionary, which can be both quickly and easily updated as needed.

 

Features

Better Passwords


The features provided by Passro enable users to easily increase the security of their networks. Passro’s unique macro system allows users to type in simple passwords into websites and programs, while the active substitution replaces each character with longer segments. Getting users to associate each key with a longer character segment results in the following benefits:
                    

Longer and More Secure Passwords – substituting an entire word for each character of a password makes the new passwords significantly longer and thus more secure. If we use the example dictionary where “a” is associated with “alpha”, “b” with “bravo”, “c” with “charlie”, “1” with “one”, “2” with “two”, and “3” with “three”, then typing in “abc123” will result in a much longer entry. The resultant password “alphabravocharlieonetwothree” is 22 characters longer than the original password (“abc123”) from which it was derived. To put the extent of the security increase from this process in perspective: a 12 character password is roughly 308,915,776 times stronger than a 6 character password.


Easy to Remember – Because users choose their passwords rather than have them being generated or assigned to them, it is still fairly simple for users to memorize the entire length of their password should they need to log in from a system that does not have Passro installed. The ability for users to create their own dictionaries also makes it possible for users to create intuitive passwords that consist of terms that they are the most likely to remember. An added benefit is that the human brain is much more suited for memorizing chains of words than incomprehensible arrays of characters, even if the words are modified. For example the password “At0mEpsi!onEpsi!on” is significantly easier to memorize than say “$f+TPHDe$j5R[9#*|m” even though both are the same length. This means that users don’t have to struggle to memorize long passwords, even though they are still secure. 

Quick Entry – Longer and more secure passwords also take less time to enter using Passro which makes sure that the increase in security doesn't come at the cost of efficiency or convenience.


                         
Productivity

Users can apply the program to automate more than just passwords. They can use the character substitution feature to automate many other processes. For example, the user can create a dictionary that contains the information that is usually required to fill out forms, such as their name and address, and be able to fill in each information field with a single key press. Users can also employ Passro's shortcut functionality to drastically increase the speed and convince of their daily routines, such as launching multiple applications opening multiple files simultaneously.

 

To further increase productivity Passro’s Clipboard Manager allows you copy items into a temporary dictionary that can be accessed just like any of your Passro dictionaries. This feature replaces the need for more complex clipboard managers, having to recopy text whenever it’s needed, or store temporary text in a word or text file for when it’s needed.

 

Secure Storage

 

Because of the sensitive nature of passwords, especially in a corporate environment, Passro employs a variety of techniques to maintain the security of its data and operations. The first step employed is to give users the option to encrypt their dictionaries with the government standard AES-256 encryption algorithm. Passro will then require the user to authenticate themselves before they are able to access Passro's assisted entry feature or view/edit their dictionaries. With the dictionaries encrypted, no one can use or view your dictionaries without the password. The second step is the option to lock Passro automatically after a certain amount of idle time (if a password is set).

Safer Password entry

A benefit of using Passro is that it prevents potential infiltrators form attaining users' passwords by observing the key sequence that a user enters on their keyboard. This is especially beneficial for users who use terminals that are exposed to the public such as security guards and receptionists. Unlike password saving and auto-substituting software, Passro doesn’t store passwords as discrete units and doesn’t automatically substitute entire passwords. This way if the dictionary is somehow compromised or an unauthorized user is on the system they won’t have easy access to any of your credentials.

Business Security

 
Passro’s functionality extends far beyond the end-user’s experience, however. For corporate/business environments the benefits of Passro are maximized when network administrators integrate Passro into their compliance protocols. This would assure all users within the network can take full advantage of Passro’s functionality and increase both their own data security and the security of the network. There are many simple ways to enforce the new compliance protocols ranging from actions as simple as informing users about the program and requiring password lengths (>10 characters) that are longer than what would have previously been typical. Network administrators could also make users create an initial dictionary and require them to use it as they select their initial passwords. These two examples are only some of the many simple compliance protocols that network administrators could use to get the maximum security benefits out of Passro. It is also important to note that these compliance protocols are likely to be much less cumbersome for users than many of the protocols that are already used in the industry.

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