Getting started
Creating your archive
On first launch, choose « créer mon archive » (create my archive). Marianne keeps everything you give it there, encrypted. The folder where it will be stored is shown below, and you can change it. Like a USB key, the archive has a fixed size: 1 GB.
- What the lock screen shows. The account gets a random identifier, which says nothing about you. You can also show your initials or your first name.
- The passphrase. There’s no rule about which characters to use: only strength counts, and Marianne estimates it as you type. Aim for more than a billion years. Your archive could be copied and then attacked with no time limit, which is why the passphrase must be strong. Marianne can also suggest one, and « afficher » (show) reveals what you type.
Don’t worry, you’ll type the passphrase only once per computer. After that, a PIN is enough.
The recovery key
Right after creating the archive, Marianne shows you its recovery key. If you forget your passphrase, it’s the only way to open the archive. Copy or print it, and keep it somewhere else. Without the passphrase or the recovery key, nobody can open the archive again, not even us.
You can make a new one in Réglages › Phrase de passe et code (Settings › Passphrase and PIN). The old one then stops working at once.
The PIN for this computer
After you open the archive with the passphrase, Marianne offers a PIN of 6 digits or more. Next time, it’s enough to open the archive. It works only on this computer, because it relies on the system’s keychain. After 5 wrong tries, the passphrase is needed again.
To change or remove the PIN: Réglages › Phrase de passe et code.
Locking
The padlock at the bottom left, or ctrl+L, locks the archive. Marianne also locks it by itself after a while without activity, and when the computer goes to sleep. You set both in Réglages › Phrase de passe et code.
Several accounts
Each account is an archive, a .marianne file. On the lock screen, « créer un autre compte » (create another account) adds one, and « changer de compte » (switch account) goes back to the list. For an archive stored elsewhere, on a USB key or another disk, choose « ouvrir une archive ailleurs… » (open an archive elsewhere), or open the file with a double click. If another account is open, Marianne asks you before locking it.