Set and answer a recovery question

This article applies to CrashPlan Enterprise and MSPs.png

Overview

A recovery question is an optional feature of the archive key password security setting. The recovery question can be used to reset your archive key password in the event that the existing password is lost or forgotten.

This article explains how to set your recovery question and how to use the recovery question to reset your archive key password. To learn how to upgrade CrashPlan app security to use an archive key password, see this article.

Considerations

  • You must know your existing archive key password to set the recovery question. The question cannot be set if the archive key password has already been lost or forgotten.
  • CrashPlan technical support engineers cannot set a recovery question for you or recover the answer to your recovery question.
Creating a strong recovery question
If you choose to use this optional feature, take great care when selecting a recovery question and answer. In general, a secure question has the following characteristics:
  • Question has hundreds, if not thousands, of possible answers
  • Question is not a question you would answer publicly (online or in person)
  • Answer is easy for you to remember
  • Answer cannot be researched online via Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
  • Answer does not change over time

Configured by an administrator

Your administrator may configure your archive encryption key setting:

  • If the archive key encryption option was enabled for you by an administrator, then the default password is set to your CrashPlan app account password until it is changed from the CrashPlan app.
  • This article assumes you have permission to change your security preferences. Your administrator may lock these settings.

Before you begin

Set a recovery question

If you use an archive key password, and you have not previously created a recovery question, follow these steps to set a recovery question for your archive key password.

  1. Sign in to the CrashPlan app.
  2. Select settings icon.png Settings.
  3. From Device Preferences, select Security.
  4. Next to Change password recovery question, click Change.
    Change Recovery Question.png
  5. Enter your archive key password.
  6. Enter a question to use as your recovery question.
    The question cannot exceed 128 characters.
  7. Enter your answer to your recovery question.
    The answer is not case sensitive.
  8. Click Save.

Answer a recovery question

If you forget your archive key password, you can answer your recovery question to change your password.

  1. Sign in to the CrashPlan app.
  2. Select settings icon.png Settings.
  3. From Device Preferences, select Security.
  4. Next to Archive key password, click Change.
    change archive key password.png
  5. Select Forgot your password?
    The Change archive key password window appears.
    security question.png
  6. Enter the answer to your security question.
  7. Enter a new archive key password.
  8. Re-enter your new archive key password.
  9. Click Change.
    Your archive key password has been changed.
Unable to answer recovery question
If the existing password is lost or forgotten and you are unable to answer your recovery question, contact your administrator.

External resources

The links provided below contain considerations you may find useful for creating a secure recovery question. However, a secure recovery question is one that only you can answer, so we discourage simply copying these examples.

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