01 / TOOL CATEGORYPassword Managers
PurposeCreate and store unique credentials and support stronger authentication workflows.
Evaluation criteriaSecurity design, platform support, recovery model, independent audits, usability, sharing, pricing, and breach history.
Material limitationsA password manager cannot protect an unlocked device, approve every login safely, or prevent all phishing.
STATUS · ACTIVE RESEARCH FRAMEWORK02 / TOOL CATEGORYIdentity Protection
PurposeMonitor selected identity, credit, or account signals and support recovery after misuse.
Evaluation criteriaMonitoring scope, countries covered, alerts, recovery assistance, insurance terms, family options, privacy, and cancellation.
Material limitationsMonitoring may detect some misuse after it occurs; it does not make identity theft impossible.
STATUS · ACTIVE RESEARCH FRAMEWORK03 / TOOL CATEGORYAntivirus & Device Security
PurposeDetect known malicious behavior and add protective controls around devices and browsing.
Evaluation criteriaIndependent test results, false positives, platform coverage, update frequency, privacy, performance, support, and renewal price.
Material limitationsNo security suite can authorize unsafe actions on your behalf or guarantee protection from every new threat.
STATUS · ACTIVE RESEARCH FRAMEWORK04 / TOOL CATEGORYVPN & Network Privacy
PurposeEncrypt traffic between a device and VPN provider and change the public IP address seen by destinations.
Evaluation criteriaProtocol implementation, audits, ownership, logging claims, speed, jurisdiction, leak protection, usability, and pricing.
Material limitationsA VPN is not antivirus, does not make a person anonymous, and cannot make fraudulent websites trustworthy.
STATUS · ACTIVE RESEARCH FRAMEWORK05 / TOOL CATEGORYData-Broker Removal
PurposeRequest removal of personal records from selected people-search and data-broker services.
Evaluation criteriaBroker coverage, verification burden, recurring scans, regional availability, reporting, privacy, and cancellation.
Material limitationsRemoval is not permanent everywhere and cannot erase public records, breaches, or data held outside covered services.
STATUS · ACTIVE RESEARCH FRAMEWORK06 / TOOL CATEGORYBackup & Recovery
PurposeMaintain recoverable copies of important files and reduce the impact of loss, device failure, or ransomware.
Evaluation criteriaEncryption, version history, restore testing, storage limits, platform support, account recovery, pricing, and support.
Material limitationsA backup that has never been tested may fail when needed; synced deletion is not always the same as versioned backup.
STATUS · ACTIVE RESEARCH FRAMEWORK