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Starting Safe Share for Windows

Safe Share for Windows automatically starts when Windows boots up or restarts.
  • When Safe Share for Windows is running, its icon appears in the Windows taskbar notification area (either Safe Share for Windows - signed out or Safe Share for Windows - signed in ).
After starting, Safe Share for Windows may automatically prompt you to sign in with your Covata user account by opening the ‘Sign in’ dialog box, which would normally appear if you had never signed in to the application or you had signed out from a previous Safe Share for Windows session. If you had not signed out from a previous Safe Share for Windows session, then Safe Share for Windows retains your session when the application is restarted (and you will not be required to sign in). If you need to sign in but the ‘Sign in’ dialog box is not visible, you can always sign in manually to access this dialog box. If you happen to exit Safe Share for Windows or the application does not start after Windows boots up/restarts, you can manually start Safe Share for Windows. To start Safe Share for Windows manually:
  • Double-click the Covata Safe Share icon on the desktop or choose Covata Safe Share from the Windows start menu. When running, the application’s icon appears in the Windows taskbar notification area (either Safe Share for Windows - signed out or Safe Share for Windows - signed in ).

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Signing in manually

The Safe Share for Windows icon in the Windows taskbar notification area indicates:
  • Safe Share for Windows - signed out (i.e. a gray Safe Share icon with a red x sign) if you are not yet signed in to the application.
  • Safe Share for Windows - signed in if you are already signed in.
Once you are signed in, any Covata-secured files and folders associated with your Covata user account in remote storage (managed by the Covata Platform) are synchronized with your computer’s file system and can be accessed locally through Windows Explorer. To sign in to Safe Share for Windows manually:
  1. Ensure Safe Share for Windows has been started.
  2. Click the application’s icon Safe Share for Windows - signed out in the taskbar notification area to open the Safe Share for Windows application pane (which appears at the lower-right of the screen) and then click the Sign in link on this pane: Signing in
    Tip: Alternatively, right-click the application’s icon Safe Share for Windows - signed out in the taskbar notification area and choose Sign in from the pop-up menu: Signing in
  3. In the Sign in - Safe Share dialog box, enter your Covata user account’s Email address and Password into the relevant fields: Sign-in dialog box
    Notes:
    • The email address of the last Covata user account to sign in to Safe Share for Windows is automatically entered into the Email address field.
    • If you have forgotten your password, leave the Password field blank, click the Forgot your password link, follow the instructions on the subsequent page and then in your email notification to reset your password.
  4. Click the SIGN IN button (or type ‘Enter’/‘Return’).
    • If the Sign in - Safe Share dialog box requests you to enter your Authentication code, then either you have configured your Covata user account with two-factor authentication (2FA) (via Account Management) or at least one of your Safe Share Organization administrators has enforced this feature on your account. Safe Share 2FA authentication code
      1. If you have not yet configured a mobile device with your Covata user account for 2FA, then refer to the Configuring a mobile device for two-factor authentication procedure below before continuing on.
      2. Open the authenticator app on your mobile device.
      3. In the Authentication code field, enter the code from the authenticator app that relates to your Covata user account.
      4. Click the Authenticate button to complete the authentication process.
    To verify that you are signed in to Safe Share for Windows, the application pane automatically appears after signing in, with your Covata user account’s email address indicated at the top and the application’s icon in the taskbar notification area changes to Safe Share for Windows - signed in : Checking your sign-in status
    Tips:
    • If the application pane does not appear, click its icon Safe Share for Windows - signed in to access it.
    • Alternatively, you can verify that you are signed in by right-clicking its icon Safe Share for Windows - signed in and observing in the pop-up menu:
    • At any time while Safe Share for Windows is running, if you right-click the application’s icon Safe Share for Windows - signed in or Safe Share for Windows - signed out in the taskbar notification area and the application pane is not visible, you can quickly access the application pane by choosing Expand from the pop-up menu - e.g. Signing in
  • When signing in to Safe Share for Windows for the very first time after installing or upgrading the application, the Welcome to Safe Share for Windows web page is shown, containing a short tutorial of basic operation.
  • If you signed in to Safe Share for Windows either for the first time or with a different Covata user account to the one used previously, then the following Safe Share folders are (re)created within the Safe Share folder (which in turn is contained within your Windows home folder):
    • My Secured Files
    • Shared With Me
  • If the My Secured Files folder does not appear, then your account does not have the Originator role. This role can be granted to your account by the Organization administrator/s for your relevant organization/s.
  • Each time you sign in to Safe Share for Windows as a different Covata user (on the same computer), the My Secured Files and Shared With Me folders of the previous Covata user are moved to the Recycle Bin and the contents of the newly recreated My Secured Files and Shared With Me folders are updated to reflect the items in remote storage of this different Covata user.
  • Once you are signed in, Safe Share for Windows immediately begins synchronizing any files and folders in remote storage (associated with your Covata user account and accessible through Safe Share for Web), with those in the My Secured Files and Shared With Me folders. Covata-secured files within these folders appear with a size of 1 KB (or less) and have the extension .covl. However, when a file’s encrypted content is initially downloaded (before local decryption) or encrypted locally before uploading, then a copy of this file with the extension .cov may be present. This file represents the file’s locally encrypted data. However, Safe Share for Windows automatically deletes these files once the downloading/uploading process is complete.
  • A shortcut to the My Secured Files subfolder (above) as well as a shortcut to start the Safe Share for Windows application itself (called Covata Safe Share) are automatically created on your desktop. Be aware that if you initially signed in as a Covata user without the Originator role, then the My Secured Files shortcut is not created.

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Configuring a mobile device for two-factor authentication

If either you or one of your Organization administrators has configured your Covata user account with two-factor authentication (2FA), then you require a mobile device (i.e. an Android-, iPhone-, iPad-, iPod Touch- or Microsoft Windows-based one) running an authenticator application (from Google or Microsoft) to be able to sign in to Safe Share for Windows. This authenticator application (aka authenticator app) that runs on your mobile device provides the 2nd authentication factor for your account, where your password is the 1st authentication factor. To configure your mobile device with your Covata user account for 2FA:
  1. Open your Covata Notification email message containing the subject line ‘Two-factor authentication has been enabled for your account’.
  2. Follow the instructions in this email message - i.e. click the link to open the two-factor authentication configuration pages.
    Follow the remaining instructions on these pages to complete the process for configuring your mobile device and then continue with entering your authentication code (i.e. from the 2nd step of completing the 2FA authentication process above) to sign in to Safe Share for Windows.

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Accessing the web application

Safe Share for Windows provides easy access to Safe Share for Web for better integration between these two products. To access Safe Share for Web:
  1. Ensure Safe Share for Windows has been started and that you are signed in.
  2. Click the application’s icon Safe Share for Windows - signed in in the taskbar notification area and then click the ‘Safe Share Web’ icon Opening Safe Share Web at the lower-right of the application pane: Opening the web application
    After signing in to the web application (if necessary), the main Safe Share page of Safe Share for Web opens in your default web browser (configured in Windows).
Notes about using this feature:
  • Safe Share for Web is a complementary product to Safe Share for Windows. For example:
    • Safe Share for Web allows you to manage your Covata user account through Safe Share for Windows and access some file/folder information features of this web application which are not accessible through Windows Explorer.
    • Microsoft imposes a file and path size limit of 260 characters. Hence, if you need to work with secure content in a heavily-nested folder hierarchy, Safe Share for Web can be used to provide access to this content.
  • If you are not signed in before accessing this feature, then the Safe Share Sign-in page is displayed. Be aware, however, that signing in through this page and Safe Share for Windows are two independent processes (with independent sessions).
  • Your Safe Share for Windows installation may have been configured (typically by a systems administrator) to open the Safe Share Web window, which is an embedded web browser that is effectively a feature-restricted version of Safe Share for Web. For example:
    • The Download feature in the Safe Share Web window is not supported. This feature is only supported natively (i.e. with a compatible web browser) through Safe Share for Web.
    • When using the Safe Share Web window, it is not possible to navigate back and forward through pages. You can only navigate using Safe Share for Web’s own navigation features.

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Signing out

To sign out of Safe Share for Windows, either:
  • Right-click the application’s icon Safe Share for Windows - signed in in the taskbar notification area and choose Sign out from the pop-up menu: Signing out
  • Click the application’s icon Safe Share for Windows - signed in in the taskbar notification area, then click the ‘Settings’ icon Application pane settings icon at the top-right of the application pane … : Accessing the application pane settings icon
    and choose Sign out from this icon’s pop-up menu.
Once you are signed out of Safe Share for Windows, any files or folders in the My Secured Files and Shared With Me subfolders of the Safe Share folder on your computer will no longer be synchronized with items in remote storage managed by the Covata Platform.

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Exiting Safe Share for Windows

You can exit Safe Share for Windows regardless of whether or not you are currently signed in to the application. To exit Safe Share for Windows, either:
  • Right-click the application’s icon Safe Share for Windows - signed in or Safe Share for Windows - signed out in the taskbar notification area and choose Exit Safe Share from the pop-up menu: Exiting Safe Share
  • Click the application’s icon Safe Share for Windows - signed in or Safe Share for Windows - signed out in the taskbar notification area, then click the ‘Settings’ icon Application pane settings icon at the top-right of the application pane … : Accessing the application pane settings icon
    and choose Exit Safe Share from this icon’s pop-up menu.
To sign in to Safe Share for Windows again, restart the application and if you are not automatically signed in, sign in manually.