What Happens When Applications Die?

If you rely on them, it pays to prepare

Actually, what you describe happens more often than one might think.

I hear from people who have been using an application of some sort for some time and suddenly find that the company’s no longer in business and there’s no way to get an update. Sometimes, that means they can’t migrate to current versions of their operating system if they want to keep running that now-unsupported software.

It’s something I consider when selecting important software. Depending on exactly what software it is we’re talking about, there are often approaches that you can use to protect yourself from potential obsolescence or disappearance.

Preparing for the death of an app

When an app you depend on dies, you don’t have to lose your stuff. Save your data in simple formats like text or CSV, keep old copies of important tools, and store unencrypted backups safely. With a little prep, you can switch apps later without panic.

Export as backup

For utilities that keep important data in proprietary formats, like password managers such as 1Password and others, I believe it’s critical that they also support the ability to export your data into a common, simple, open file format. For example they should support exporting everything to a text file, a CSV file that can be read by Excel, or a PDF file that can be read just about anywhere.

That way, if something ever happens to the utility or its ability to provide its functionality, you have a backup.

Not only that, but you have a backup that’s in a standard file format you might use, or that you could import into a replacement utility.

This is one reason many years ago I stopped using RoboForm. At the time, it had no export capability. (I’m told it does now.)

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Unencrypted files as backup

With encryption utilities like TrueCrypt, it’s success VeraCrypt, or Cryptomator, the approach is a little different. These utilities are tasked with encrypting or providing encrypted storage for important data files.

The approach to protecting yourself from the program “going away” is fairly simple:

• Keep a copy of the program that works. Presumably, you can always use your older version to access your data. This proved true when TrueCrypt “went away” some years ago.
• Backup your data in unencrypted form separately. Secure it using a different tool or mechanism. In the case of tools like VeraCrypt, that means backing up the contents of the VeraCrypt drive or volume, not the encrypted volume itself.

As long as you have a copy of the files you need outside of the utility — albeit perhaps in a significantly less convenient yet secure format or location — then it’s no disaster if the utility actually stops working some day.

And as we’ve seen, the chances of it actually not working are slim-to-none as long as you keep a working version of the utility around, but you’re protected nonetheless.

Backups as security risks

“But Leo!”, I hear you saying, “We use tools like VeraCrypt and 1Password to keep things secure. Doesn’t keeping those unencrypted exports leave us just as vulnerable as not using the utilities at all?”

Well, sure, if you leave those unencrypted files where anyone can get at them.

Don’t do that.

To be clear, you must somehow secure those unencrypted backups. That could mean storing them offline in a secure location. It could also mean encrypting them with a different tool. If you, for example, encrypt your 1Password export using a tool like 7-Zip with encryption, then:

• everything remains secure
• you only lose access to your information if both tools become completely unusable (unlikely, as we’ve seen) at the same time (even more unlikely)

What I do

I follow my own advice, and do what I’ve described.

The unencrypted files I store in Cryptomator are backed up nightly into an encrypted .zip archive, which is then stored in a secure location.

I also periodically export my 1Password database1, which is again, bundled into a password-protected .zip file, and then stored in a secure location.

The practical risk

When it comes to popular and pervasive software like VeraCrypt or 1Password, my belief is that the risks are actually quite minimal. You may not have to all the take the steps I’ve listed. The only exception might be if you plan for your backups to be accessible decades from now. Plain text and CSV will outlast almost any proprietary format, and will be readable on whatever passes for a computer 20 years from now, I’m certain.

If a utility is destined to die, there’ll usually be lots of notice and you’ll be able to make other plans. Even though TrueCrypt’s demise was sudden, existing copies of the tool keep working, giving those so inclined plenty of opportunity to research and move to alternatives.

The actual risks are with the smaller operators or software destined for smaller markets. There may not be an equivalent “common format” to export to, or the export functionality might not be a priority2. In cases like this, there’s little to be done, other than to stay on top of upgrades, if practical, or possibly keep a copy of the utility and an operating environment in which it works for as long as possible. It might also be a time to investigate more export-able alternatives.