Helium Backup browser extension

Overview

Helium Backup is a browser extension developed by TrustBuilder. It allows the user to keep his browser enrollment token (Helium, mAccessWeb and Virtual Authenticator) in the event of an unintentional or intentional deletion of browser site data (e.g. clearing your history).

To be noted

If you allow this extension in Private Browsing mode, you will be able to use Helium and Virtual Authenticator in this context as well.

Helium Backup can be used only with TrustBuilder products.

Downloading the Helium Backup extensions

You can find the correct Helium backup version for your browser on the download page of our company website: https://www.inwebo.com/en/downloads/
These versions are available in the App stores or directly on this page.

Helium Backup browser extension installation

For Chrome, Edge Chromium, Firefox

The installation process is triggered from the extension page of each store.

For Internet Explorer 11

Download and install the “HeliumBackup-IE-1.3.1.exe” from https://www.inwebo.com/en/downloads/

Using IE11 may cause compatibility issues and affect the user experience. We strongly recommend upgrading to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

For Safari

Manual Download and installation

• Download the .pkg file and place it on the desktop

• Right click on the file on it and select "open with" then select "Installer App (Default)”

• Proceed through the installation

Installing the application from Security System Preferences

• Launch System Preferences by choosing it from the Apple menu

• Select the “Security & Privacy” control panel, and go to the “General” tab

• Click on padlock at the bottom left to unlock the settings (with your PIN code)

• Check the security message that blocked from opening a package and select "Open anyway"

Helium Backup support policy by browser

The TrustBuilder support policy for Helium Backup 2.1 is:

• TrustBuilder supports chromium-based browsers, IE, Safari and Firefox.

• TrustBuilder supports the latest release of the browsers, i.e. in case of an issue, TrustBuilder will work on a fix for the latest release.

• TrustBuilder will make its best effort to provide a solution for the previous versions. If these versions are no longer supported by their vendors/suppliers, TrustBuilder recommends to use the latest release for security reasons, as the non-supported versions will not benefit from security fixes.

Support Policy for Chrome

• Recommended configuration: use latest release.

• Prerequisites: none.

Support Policy for Internet Explorer / Edge

• Recommendations: use the latest release of IE or Edge Chromium.

• Prerequisites: none.

Support Policy and recommendations for Firefox

Recommendations:

• Firefox has a track record of versatility regarding local storage and data cleanup behavior, from one version to another. TrustBuilder will support both the latest version and the latest ESR version (stable versions for the enterprise with a one-year life-cycle). Helium Backup on Firefox protects the enrollment data against closing cleanup, not user cleanup.

• As a prerequisite, it is necessary to adjust the following parameters to ensure that Helium Backup will work correctly

Recommended settings for Firefox Cookies and Site Data

Prohibited operations, leading to the deletion of cookies:

• as a user, in “Privacy and Security”, performing "Clear Data", "Cookies and Site Data" will cause a loss of enrollment.

Allowed operations:

• “Cookies and Site Data” settings, “Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed” checked.

Recommended settings for Firefox History

Allowed operations in “History” settings:

• Checking “Remember history”

• Using “Use custom settings for history”. You may have “Clear history when Firefox closes” checked, as shown below. With all boxes checked in the Settings button.

Prohibited operations, leading to the deletion of cookies:

• To manually clear history, with Cookies or Data checked.

• In “History” settings to “Never remember history”

Support Policy for Opera

• Recommended configuration: use latest release.

• Installation: go to the Chrome store at http://chrome.google.com , find Helium Backup, click on “Add to Opera”.

Support Policy for Safari

• Recommended configuration: use latest release.

• Prerequisites: none.

How to detect the installation of the Helium Backup extension in your web pages

TrustBuilder provides a javascript you may add to your pages to detect if a user has installed the backup extension.

To add the script, simply add the following line in the header of your page:

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.myinwebo.com/common/js/iwhbdetect.js"></script>

Then call the function iwhbdetect to detect the extension:

<script type="text/javascript">
   function handleDetect(res) {
     if (res == "iwOK") {
         // Helium Backup is detected, user is good to go
     }
     if (res == "iwNOK") {
         // Helium Backup is not detected, you should ask the user to install it
     }
   }
 
   // Launch function iwhbdetect on the event of your choice. Here: window.onload
   window.onload = function() {
     iwhbdetect(handleDetect);
   };      
</script>

All browsers : HTML Test Page to check your local Storage configuration

You can use this test page to test if your browser is correctly configured for Helium/VA persistence. Simply copy-paste this code in a text editor and save it as HTML, 'LocalStorageCheckPersistence.html' for example. Now upload the page on a web-server, and view it with your browser.

<HTML>
   <head>
        <meta charset="utf-8" />
        <title>Helium&VA LocalStorage Check</title>
 		<script type="text/javascript">
			// Test the LocalStorage Availablity and Persistence
			var storage;
			try {
		  		FirstLaunch=(storage = window.localStorage).getItem('FirstExec');
		  		if (FirstLaunch == 'yes') {
			  		console.log ('LocalStorage Persistence is OK');
			  		alert ('LocalStorage Persistence is OK');
			  		document.write ("<H1><font color='green'>This browser is ready for Helium or Virtual Authenticator<BR>");
			  		storage.removeItem('FirstExec');
		  		}
		  		else 
		  		{
					(storage = window.localStorage).setItem('FirstExec', 'yes');
					alert ("Please Close and Reopen the browser on THIS page. \r\n If this message is still displayed after reopening, Cookies persistence is **DISABLED**. 	Helium/VA won't work properly.");
					document.write ("<H1>Please Close and Reopen the browser on THIS page<BR> <H2> <font color='red'>If this message is still displayed after reopening, Cookies persistence is **DISABLED**. <BR>Helium/VA won't work properly</font><BR>") ;
					document.write ("See <a href='our'>our'>http://developer.inwebo.com/docs/user_guides:heliumbackup'>our developer website</a> for further explanation");
		  		}
 
 
			} 
			catch (exception) {
				console.log ('***PROBLEM*** LocalStorage Disabled. Helium/VA *will not* work');
				alert ('***PROBLEM*** LocalStorage Disabled. Helium/VA *will not* work');
				document.write ("<H1>Helium/VA won't work until you enable the LocalStorage<BR>");
				document.write ("<H2>See <a href='our'>our'>http://developer.inwebo.com/docs/user_guides:heliumbackup'>our developer website</a> for further explanation");
			}
		</script>
	</head>
	<body>
		
	</body>
</HTML>

Helium Backup Troubleshooting

In this section, we assume that the TrustBuilder Service-side configuration is correct. Only potential browser configuration errors that prevent Helium/VA/mAccessWeb/Helium backup from running are listed here. Please ensure that all the specific browser requirements are fulfilled as detailed in the sections above.

Internet Explorer

Problem: Helium/VA is not displayed

Under certain circumstances, some Internet Explorer parameters cannot be changed by you or by your administrators. If Helium/VA is not displayed on your computer, please check the following points :

• Please verify the security zones configuration corresponds to "Internet Explorer Requirements" in the "Browser requirements and configuration" section of this page. 
  To check your configuration :

  • on your login page where Helium/VA is supposed to be displayed, right click in the page (or use 'file' menu) and select 'properties'.

  • Verify the value displayed for 'Zone'. It should be:

• The parameter 'Active Scripting', sometimes called 'Scripts ASP' found under your zone configuration is mandatory for Helium/VA to be loaded in IE.

  • Determine the current zone for your page as explained above, then open the 'Internet Options' window, go to the 'Security' tab, and select the correct zone before you click the 'Custom level…' button.

  • Verify that the parameter 'Active Scripting' (or 'Scripts ASP') near the end of the options list is set to 'Enable'. If not, you must enable it for Helium/VA to work.

Problem: Helium Backup does not maintain the browser enrollment

Helium Backup ensures Helium/VA persistence by permanently maintaining a copy of the local storage data for the domain 'ult-inwebo.com'. If the local storage is cleaned, Helium Backup automatically recreates the local storage data for the domain as soon as a page containing Helium/VA (ult-inwebo.com) is displayed.

Helium Backup is considered as a “third party browser extension” by Internet Explorer. If the mechanism doesn't work on your computer, please verify the following points :

• Are third party extensions enabled ?

  • click on the settings icon or menu, and go to 'Internet Options'

  • in the Options window, go to the 'Advanced' tab, and in the 'Browsing' section find the 'Enable third-party browser extensions' parameter. The option must be checked for Helium Backup to work.

• Is the extension enabled ?

  • click on the settings icon or menu, and go to 'Manage add-ons'

  • check that Helium Backup is displayed and its status set to 'Enabled'. If not, right click on it and choose 'Enable'

Activate traces for Helium Backup for IE

Edit the following file:

C:\Program Files (x86)\In-Webo\inWebo Helium Backup\inWebo.log4net

Change line:

<level value="Error" />

With:

<level value="All" />

The log will be appended to the the following file:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\LocalLow\HeliumBackup\inWebo.log

Warning: the log produced is very verbose. Use this setting for troubleshooting only.

Compatibility table of Helium Backup with previous versions of browsers

There you will find a table summarizing the compatibility information between Helium Backup 2.1 and the various web browsers.