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TypingDNA ActiveLock
User Guide

What is TypingDNA ActiveLock?

Learn more about ActiveLock

What are the terms of the complimentary license?

The complimentary ActiveLock license is free for non-commercial use so you can evaluate it and understand how the technology works on your company endpoint. If you need additional licenses, or have any questions, just let us know.

What if I want to test ActiveLock on more than one device?

Once you’re ready to roll it out as a larger test across your organization, get in touch so we can structure a POC designed for your specific workforce security needs.

Training mode

In the first 1 to 2 days of typing, the ActiveLock app will run in training mode as it learns your typing style. It is very important that you are the only person typing during this training time (roughly 2000 words). Once the initial training is completed, the app will switch automatically to active mode and will be armed.

Active mode

After the app switches to “Active mode”, ActiveLock will detect unauthorized users in real-time. In most cases, it takes less than 200 typed characters for the app to identify a non-genuine user (about the length of a tweet). If ActiveLock can’t authenticate the user, it will take instant action to lock your device or send a silent alert.

Security Level

You can also switch between multiple security levels:

  • Less restrictive: optimized for better user experience, with minimal disruptions for a genuine user

  • Balanced: the recommended setting and the perfect balance between security and user experience

  • More secure: increased security but higher chances of false rejection

Is my data secure?

We take your privacy seriously. TypingDNA ActiveLock will see HOW you type, but never WHAT you type. Running in the background, our AI-based technology analyzes your typing patterns right on your device, so your typing data never leaves your computer or gets stored in the cloud.

Download & Install

Please follow the download link sent to your email from TypingDNA, and choose the operating system you want to install ActiveLock on.

Windows:

  • Open the installation file you have downloaded and follow the instructions in the setup wizard

  • When prompted with the following message, click “More info” and then click on “Run anyway”

MacOS:

  • Open the installation package you have downloaded and follow the instructions in the wizard

  • Once installed, you will be prompted to grant System Permissions

  • Click “Open System Preferences” and go to the “Privacy” tab

  • Go to “Accessibility” and mark the checkbox next to TypingDNA ActiveLock

How to reset my training?

In the event of minor hand injuries, our solution is still able to recognize the genuine user, however, there are cases where the user will not be recognized after such an event. In this case, the profile must be reset from the ActiveLock menu.

Where can I find the log files?

The application is installed at a system level and the logs are kept at the user level. If the machine is used by multiple users, each user will have a unique typing behavior associated with them.

The logs can be found in the following locations:

  • Windows:
    C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\TypingDNAActiveLock\logs\activelog.log

  • Mac:
    ~/Library/Logs/TypingDNAActiveLock

ActiveLock incorrectly identified me as an impostor

The unlikely event when a genuine user is misidentified as an impostor (resulting in a false reject) may be caused by one of the following situations.

  • The typing pattern of a user has changed drastically due to an injury. The best course of action is to reset the training.

  • A temporary change in the typing behavior such as holding a mobile phone with one hand and typing with the other one for long periods of time.

  • Performing tasks/actions that have not been seen during the training period such as playing video games, typing in a very different language, at extreme speeds, or on a significantly different keyboard. One option to resolve these issues is to downgrade the security level. If this behavior continues, please reset the training and make sure to use all desired languages, speeds, and keyboards during the training.

If you have any questions please contact us at support@typingdna.com.

ActiveLock features
Free version
Commercial version

Lock Screen

Locks the screen when ActiveLock detects a non-authorized user. Once locked, you will be able to log back in IF you are the right user.

Alert

Opens a system alert along/instead of locking the computer.

Logs

Saves computer usage and continuous authentication data on the system in a .log file. The log contains information such as: computer name, absolute time, keyboard id, keyboard type, mouse id, application name, typing pattern characteristics (e.g. speed), training strength, authentication score, authentication result, action. The logs do not contain the actual text being type, nor the typing pattern or biometrics data.

Training

Training is set on AUTO right after installation but we also offer possibilities to manually adjust training. Once initial training is done, the app continues to train and becomes significantly better with time. On special occasions you may want to manually reset training (e.g. you break your arm, switch to a very different type of keyboard), for which we’ve built the Reset training feature.

Aggregate Logs COMMERCIAL VERSION

Aggregate the logs from each endpoint to your desired logging platform from where you can monitor each computer usage and authenticity in real time. We recommend Datadog or Grafana as a reliable log aggregation system, from which you can further communicate to your desired SIEM, data analytics or threat detection platforms.

Settings COMMERCIAL VERSION

We offer 3 security settings, Balanced (default), More Secure, and Less Restrictive. You can switch between these settings at any time but you’ll have to put in your system credentials. We recommend using the Balanced setting if you want it to be more tolerant, unless you want ActiveLock to react much faster to a potential intrusion (at the risk of rare false rejects).

Terminal Commands COMMERCIAL VERSION

Install and control the app through terminal commands. We’re currently working on adding more capabilities for terminal/powershell access. This is useful to be able to control the app remotely when running on many computers within an organization.