Set up PremierVPN Vault for Mac

Install the app

Vault for Mac runs in the menu bar and backs up the folders you choose on a schedule. Everything is encrypted on the Mac first, then sent to your online Vault and, if you add them, to external backup drives. You can restore from either.

What you need

Install it

1. Download PremierVPN-Vault-1.0.0.dmg, here or from the Downloads page in your account.
2. Open the DMG and drag PremierVPN Vault onto the Applications folder.
3. Open PremierVPN Vault from Applications or Launchpad. The app is signed and notarised by Apple, so it opens without warnings.
4. A vault icon appears in the menu bar at the top of the screen. The app keeps running there when you close the window, which is what lets scheduled backups happen.

To check the download, open Terminal in your Downloads folder and run shasum -a 256 PremierVPN-Vault-1.0.0.dmg. The result should be d0bd79b869ce8a6b8068e70de1c646f123541e93ceffbfcf610b5d191b0f91b1.

First-time setup

Setup takes about two minutes and ends with the first backup starting.

1. Sign in with your PremierVPN email and password. If two-factor sign-in is on, enter the six-digit code from your authenticator app (pasting it works too).
2. Step 1 of 4: your Vault passphrase.
   • If you already use Vault on the web, enter the same passphrase. Backups and web uploads then open in both places.
   • If you've never set one, create it now: at least 10 characters, typed twice, and tick that you understand it can't be recovered.
   • Optional: tick Allow unattended backups so scheduled backups run after a restart without asking for the passphrase (see Passphrase and encryption).
3. Step 2 of 4: name this Mac. Backups go into a folder called Backups › MacBook Pro (or similar) in your Vault. Keep the name generic: folder names aren't encrypted, but your files' names and paths are. If you're reinstalling or replacing a Mac, choose Continue an existing backup so files already in the Vault aren't uploaded again.
4. Step 3 of 4: choose what to back up. Tick Documents, Desktop and Pictures, and add any other folders, single files or external drives. When macOS asks to allow access to Documents or Desktop, choose Allow.
5. Step 4 of 4: when to back up. Pick Hourly, Daily or Weekly. Leave Open at login ticked so backups keep running after a restart, and Notify me about problems ticked. Click Start first backup.

The first backup uploads everything you chose, so it can take a while. Later backups only upload new and changed files.

Your passphrase and encryption

Your passphrase is the only way to open your backups. It never leaves your Mac and PremierVPN never sees it.

• What's encrypted: every file's contents and its full name and folder path, with AES-256-GCM, before upload. The Vault stores only encrypted data.
• Same passphrase as the web Vault: files backed up from the Mac open on the web, and files you upload on the web can be restored in the app.
• Unattended backups (optional): the app can keep the encryption key (never the passphrase) in your Mac's Keychain. Scheduled backups then run after a restart without asking. With it off, backups wait until you unlock the app with your passphrase.
• Forget key and Lock Vault are in Settings › Encryption. Forget key removes the stored key; Lock Vault also clears it from memory, so backups and restores need the passphrase again.
• If the passphrase is changed on the web, the app notices on the next backup, locks, and asks for the new one.

Nothing to do day to day

Overview answers three questions: are you protected, when did the last backup finish, and can you restore. The main button under the status does whatever the status needs: Back up now, Pause, Resume or Unlock.

What gets backed up, and when

The app backs up the folders, files and drives listed under Backups, on your schedule, uploading only what changed.

• Schedule: Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Custom (every 2 to 12 hours) or Manual. Daily and weekly backups start within half an hour of the time you set. If the Mac was asleep, the missed backup starts soon after it wakes.
• Only changes upload: after the first backup, only new and changed files are sent. A file that was only touched (same contents) isn't uploaded again.
• Old versions: when a file changes, the previous copy is kept for 30 days by default (7 or 90 days can be chosen). Old versions count towards your Vault storage.
• Deleted files: a file you delete on the Mac stays in the Vault for 30 days, then it's removed (90 days or keep forever can be chosen). An unplugged drive, or a folder macOS won't let the app read, never counts as deleted.
• Skipped automatically: system and temporary files (.DS_Store, Office lock files, *.tmp), caches and the Trash, and shortcuts (symbolic links). Developer build folders and your own patterns, such as *.iso, can be added in Settings › Backup.
• Large files: each Vault plan has a per-file size limit, shown in Settings › Account. Bigger files are listed in Activity and skipped; backup drives have no limit.
• Safety pause: if 40% or more of your backed-up files change or disappear at once (for example a sync problem or ransomware), backups pause and ask you to check. Choose Back up anyway only when you're sure the changes are expected.
• Removing a folder from Backups stops future backups of it. Its copies stay in the Vault and can still be restored.

Backup drives

You can also keep a copy on your own drives, free on every plan and without using Vault storage. A copy at home plus one in the Vault protects against both a failed disk and a lost or stolen Mac.

1. Go to Backups › Destinations and click Add a backup drive…
2. Choose the drive, or a folder on it. A network share works too if it's mounted. The app creates a PremierVPN Vault Backup folder inside and starts the first copy.
3. Add as many drives as you like, for example one at home and one at the office.

• When it copies: on the same schedule as the Vault, and on its own when a drive that's due is plugged in. Drive copies keep working when you're offline.
• Unplugged drives are fine: nothing is removed while a drive is away. You'll get a reminder if a drive hasn't been connected for 7 days (change this in Settings › Backup).
• Encrypted: drive copies use the same passphrase as your Vault, so a lost drive gives nothing away. Don't rename or edit anything inside the PremierVPN Vault Backup folder.
• Running out of space: the oldest old versions are removed first to make room. Current copies are never removed.
• Pause or remove a drive with its switch or bin icon in Destinations. Removing it leaves the backup folder on the drive, so you can still restore from it or add it again later.
• Same disk as the Mac: a folder on the Mac's own disk can be used, but it only protects against mistakes, not against the disk failing.

Restoring files

Open Restore to browse everything backed up, with names decrypted on your Mac.

1. If you have more than one source, pick it at the top: Vault › your Mac or your drive › your Mac. Backups from another Mac on the same account are listed too.
2. Find the file or folder in the tree, or type part of its name in Search backed-up files (⌘K).
3. For a file, choose a version: the newest is marked Latest, older ones show the date they were backed up. A folder restores the latest version of everything inside it.
4. Choose where it goes: Original location puts it back where it was; Another folder… keeps the folder structure inside a folder you choose.
5. If a file already exists, choose Keep both (adds "(restored)" to the name) or Replace.
6. Click Restore. Finder opens on the restored files when it's done.

• Never half-written: if a copy is damaged or was made with a different passphrase, it's skipped and listed.
• Delete from Vault… (or Delete from drive…) permanently removes a file and all its versions. If it's still in a backed-up folder, it's backed up again next time.
• On a new Mac: install the app, sign in, enter your passphrase, choose Continue an existing backup for the old Mac (or start a new one), then use Restore.
• Without the app (backup drives only): our support team can provide vault-drive-restore.py, which restores a drive backup on any computer with Python 3 and your passphrase.

Settings reference

Messages and fixes

Still stuck? Open a support ticket or email [email protected]. Our UK-based team answers 24/7.

Privacy and security in brief

• Zero-knowledge. Every file is encrypted on the Mac with AES-256-GCM before it leaves. PremierVPN can't open your files, see their names or see where they came from.
• Names and paths are encrypted too. The only plain-text names in the Vault are the generic folders the app creates, such as "Backups" › "MacBook Pro".
• Your passphrase is never stored. If you turn on unattended backups, the key made from it (not the passphrase) is kept in the macOS Keychain on this Mac only. Forget key removes it.
• Drive backups are encrypted as well, with a key made from your Vault passphrase. A lost drive reveals nothing without it.
• Nobody can reset your passphrase. Lose it and the backups can't be decrypted, by you or by us.
• Country rules and the dead man's switch still apply. The app pauses rather than connect from a country your Vault is set to destroy in, and automatic backups don't count as activity for the switch.
• Logs hold events only, such as "backup finished". No file names or contents are logged.