A Martus account is secured with username, password and key. Your key is a .dat file saved on your computer in your Martus directory when you create an account. In order to access your account on another computer you will need a copy of your key. This is especially important if your laptop is stolen, confiscated or damaged. Benetech cannot recover your account so making sure you can access your data is up to the user.

To ensure that you’ll always have access to your data, it is extremely important to keep a backup of your key. Martus offers two methods for backing up your key, either of which may be used, but we strongly recommend using both backup methods. The first method creates a single, password encrypted key backup file onto removable media (e.g. CD, USB storage) or a network drive; the second method backs up the key in three separate pieces (not encrypted with your password) onto multiple removable media.

1. Close all other applications on your computer.
   

   Note: You can delete records and Martus folders while other applications are open, but Martus may not be able to remove all Martus folders if other applications are open during the process.

2. Select Account > Delete Account
3. Martus will prompt you to confirm deletion. Select OK to confirm that you want to delete all your records and your account information, including your key file, from your computer. If you do not wish to continue, select Cancel.
4. Martus automatically closes.

What will be deleted?

• Records that have not been sent to the server or otherwise backed up.
• Your account key file. If you delete your key without backing it up, you will lose access to all private data you’ve sent to the server; such data would be available only to Contact accounts authorized to view your data that were created before the records were saved and sent to a server.
• Server settings, Contact accounts, default details values, custom fields, user-created folders in Martus, and interface preferences (e.g., date format, column widths).

What will not be deleted?

• The Martus application.
• Any records or account files that were copied or moved to folders outside the Martus folder, such as the desktop.
• Records or account information on any other computers where you set up your account.
• Records on a Martus server.

Remove/Uninstall the Martus Application

Windows

• Select Start > Programs > Martus > Uninstall Martus; or
• Select the uninst.exe file in the Martus\bin directory; or
• Use the Add/Remove Programs control panel:
  
  

  1. Select Start > Settings > Control Panel.

  2. Choose the Add/Remove Programs icon.

  3. Select Martus from the list of applications.

  4. Select Add/Remove, and follow the on-screen instructions.

Mac OS

Delete the Martus.app file from the location where it was installed.

Note: If you copied the Martus application (Martus.app) to your Applications folder or your Desktop (or elsewhere on your computer), it will not be removed when you uninstall Martus, which may be a security concern.

Linux

To uninstall Martus in Linux (or if you installed using an ISO file in Mac OS) without deleting your Martus records or account data, delete the martus.jar and the ThirdParty directory.

If you have lost your computer, had a hard drive failure, or lost your key for some other reason, restore your key using your backup copy. If you know your username and password and have a single file key backup, we recommend you use that file as it is more secure. However if you have forgotten your password, you will need to restore your key from multiple disks.

Restore Your Account Key from a Password Protected Key File:

1. Start Martus.
2. Select the Restore Account tab in the Martus Signin dialog box.
3. Select Restore account from backup key file.
4. Read the informational dialog box, and click OK.
5. Find the file on your hard-disk/network-drive or insert the floppy disk (or other removable media) that contains the file and navigate to it, and click OK.
6. Log into Martus using the username and password that were associated with the key at the time you created the backup file.
7. You will then be asked to create a password encrypted backup file of your key with this username and password.
   
   

Restore Your Account Key from a Multiple Disks:

1. Start Martus.
2. Select the Restore Account tab in the Martus Signin dialog box.
3. Select Restore account from multiple disks.
4. Read the informational dialog box, and click OK.
5. Insert the first disk and navigate to the file it contains; click OK; and then insert the second disk and click OK.
6. Either use your old username and password or create a new username and password for your account.
7. You will then be asked to create a password encrypted backup file of your key with this username and password. See "8a. Back up your key" for more details.
8. After the restoration is complete, be sure to re-distribute the key backup disks. Any time two of those disks are in the same place, anyone could use them to access your account, even without knowing your username or password.
   
   

Martus automatically saves backup copies of saved, versioned and shared records to the Martus server as long as your configured server is set to On in the Martus main taskbar. This is one of the most important security features of Martus. Since your data is backed up to cloud servers you can recover your valuable data should your device (E.g. computer/laptop) be lost.

All saved, shared and versioned records will be listed under the Saved label. When a record has been successfully sent to the server, a check mark appears in the On Server column though there may be a delay before the column is populated.

If you do not have an Internet connection, or if your computer cannot connect to your designated server, the record remains unsent, and the On Server column will display an X. If you have not yet configured a server, the Sent column will be blank. As soon as you connect to the Internet, and a valid Martus server is configured, Martus sends all waiting records to the server. Martus will alert you to any records waiting to be sent to the server when you end a session.

Remember that backup can also happen without internet on external drives, by importing and exporting encrypted records as .mba files. We recommend backup be done regularly and off-site. (Contacts still must be configured in order for others to read it). Refer to the section on Using Martus without internet/limited access.

The Martus Sync Manager allows you to upload and download records to/from the server as well as view where your records are located as well as which records are authored by you or your contacts.

To upload, download or eliminate records from the server, select the Sync Manager icon from the Martus sidebar. The Sync Manager may not appear immediately, depending on the speed of your Internet connection.

You can filter the records in the Sync Manager screen by selecting the following options:

All - All your records regardless of location or creator.

Local Only - Records only located on your hard drive.

Server Only - Records only located on the server.

Both - Records located on both the server and your hard drive.

My Records - Records created by you.

Shared With Me - Records created by another Martus User.

Your colleagues — or anyone else you want to share your records, contacts or forms with (e.g. an editor who wants to review the work of a journalist, or even a colleague in your same office) — can create a Martus account and be added as one of your account’s Contacts, which will permit them to view your records only if you give them permission. They will not be able to create records using your account.

Configuring Contacts

a. To add a contact to your address book, navigate to Account > Manage Contacts

b. To add a contact you need their account token. This is a 7 digit number that works like an email address. It identifies your contact and allows you to send to them. There are two ways to add a contact:

i. Add a Contact by pulling its Martus Public Account ID from the Martus server: Input the Contact’s Martus Account Access Token in the Access Token field and select Add Contact…; or

ii. Add a Contact from a Martus Public Information (.mpi) file: Select Import Contact from File… and choose the (.mpi) file given to you by your Contact.

c. Verify the Contact by reviewing the Public Code associated with the Contact’s Access Token and select Verify Now. If you select Verify Later, you can verify the Contact at another time by selecting Verify Now from the Verified column in the Manage Contacts window.

Verification is important! For example, you receive an email from a colleague saying they have lost their account and need you to send all your sensitive data to a new account. If you verify their public code by phone or messenger your colleague might say no, that’s not me, I didn’t lose my account – don’t send anything! If it is them, they can confirm the number.

d. Enter a Contact Name for the Contact. Use a label that is meaningful to you, as you may not always remember the account's public code. The Contact label might be the name of the person or organization, or the name of a city or region, for example. You can change the label later if you want to. Only you will see the label you assign; others who view the record will not see the label, for security reasons.

e. Select Save and Close.

Share your account information with another Martus account

To share your Access Token and Public Code (used to add and verify you as a Contact):

1. Select Account > Account Information.

2. Give the Access Token to the Martus user who will add you as a Contact.

3. Communicate your Public Code through a secure communications channel in order to be verified once added as a Contact.

4. Note: Be sure to securely communicate access tokens and public codes using a method such as encrypted email, Off-the-record (OTR) chat, face to face, or another communication channel where nobody can intercept your information.

To share your Martus Public Information (.mpi) file (used to add a Contact):

1. Select Account > Account Information.

2. Select Export My Public Account ID, and name the file. Martus saves the file with a .mpi extension in your account directory in the Martus folder on your hard drive by default (though you can also save it elsewhere on your computer if desired), and confirms that it has been saved.

3. Give the .mpi file to the Martus account holder who wants to add you as a Contact. If you can’t find your .mpi file on a Mac, see Frequently Asked Questions.

Share records with your Contacts

To share a record individually with a Contact:

1. Choose to Create or Edit a record and input any data.

2. Select the Add Contacts icon .

3. Select the box(es) next to the Contact(s) with whom you would like to share the record

4. Select OK.

5. Select Share to save the record.

To share all new records with a Contact by default:

1. Select Account > Manage Contacts.

2. Select the Manage Contacts button.

3. Check the Send to by Default box for the desired Contact. Note: You can still deny access to individual records as you create them.

4. Select Save and Close.

Deny a Contact access to your records

Contacts will continue to have access to any records or record versions you saved while permission was given to their accounts. However, they will not have permission to view any future records or new record versions you save once you deny them access.

To deny access to individual records:

1. Select the record that you would like to update and select Edit.

2. Select the Add Contact.

3. Uncheck any Contacts that you would no longer like to share the record with.

4. Save, Version or Share the record.

To remove a Contact (prevents access to all new records or new record versions)):

1. Select Account > Manage Contacts.

2. Select the Manage Contacts button.

3. Select the X in the Remove column for the Contact you wish to remove.

4. Select Yes to confirm removal in the Remove Contact dialog box.

5. Select Save and Close.

As soon as a record has been shared with a Contact, the information in that record will be available to that Contact. Removing that Contact later will not prevent that Contact from viewing the data that was saved when they were configured as your Contact, but it will prevent them from viewing any the data in any records (or new versions of records) you create after they were removed.