Glossary

Quick reference for terms used throughout Necron Vault Manager and its documentation.

C

Capacity Bar

The progress bar on the Key Drive status card in the sidebar, shown only for Free tier accounts. It displays how much of the 1 GB encrypted file limit is currently in use.

D

Key Drive

A physical USB flash drive that stores your encryption key. In Necron Vault Manager, "Key Drive" refers to any USB drive that has been provisioned with a key through the app. See Key Drive Setup.

E

Edit Session

A temporary working session created when you use "Open for Edit" on a vault file. The file is decrypted to a temporary location, opened in your default editor, and monitored for changes. When you save, the app automatically re-encrypts the updated version back into the vault. See Open for Edit.

F

Free Tier

The no-cost tier of Necron Vault Manager that uses a software key stored on your computer. Offers the same encryption strength as Pro, but the key lives on the machine rather than a physical USB device. Free accounts can have a maximum of 1 GB of files encrypted at any one time. See Free vs. Pro.

G

Gatekeeper

The startup lock screen shown when Necron Vault Manager launches. It checks for a Key Drive and, if none is found, displays a login form where you can sign in or create a Free Tier account. The Gatekeeper blocks access to the main app until a valid key is loaded.

I

Inspector

The right-hand panel in the app interface. Shows details about the currently selected vault file or folder, plus action tiles for Encrypt, Decrypt, and Settings. See Interface Overview.

Integrity Check

A scan that verifies every encrypted file across all vault locations, detects corruption or tampering, and repairs damaged files from healthy copies at other locations. See Vault Health & Repair.

L

Locator

A folder path that serves as a vault storage location. Each vault can have multiple locators across local folders, cloud sync directories, and external drives. See Adding Locations.

P

Pro Tier

The paid subscription tier that uses a physical Key Drive for key storage. Provides hardware-based key security and backup Key Drive support. See Free vs. Pro.

S

Self-Healing

The automatic process of detecting and repairing missing or damaged files across vault locations. Missing files are copied from locations that have them; damaged files are replaced from verified good copies. See Vault Health & Repair.

Software Key

The file-based encryption key used by Free Tier users, stored on the computer. Functionally equivalent to a Key Drive key but protected by your operating system account rather than physical separation. See Free vs. Pro.

T

Encrypted File Limit

The maximum amount of data that can be encrypted at any one time on the Free tier (1 GB). Pro accounts have no limit. Upgrade to Pro to remove this restriction.

V

Vault

An encrypted container for your files, consisting of a name, one or more storage locations, optional TOTP authentication, and encrypted files and folders. Vault configuration is stored on the Key Drive. See Creating a Vault.

Vault Browser

The in-app file browser that shows vault contents. Displays file and folder names from encrypted metadata without decrypting file contents. See Vault Browser.