PremierVPN Vault for Mac: Automatic Encrypted Backups

Overview

PremierVPN Vault for Mac (version 1.0) backs up the folders you choose to your encrypted PremierVPN Vault, and optionally to your own external drives, automatically and in the background. Every file, and its name and folder path, is encrypted on your Mac with your Vault passphrase before it leaves, so nobody else can read it, including PremierVPN.

The app lives in the menu bar and runs on a schedule. It uploads only new and changed files, keeps older versions and deleted files for a set time, and restores any file or folder from the Vault or a drive.

Requirements and installing

1. Download PremierVPN-Vault.dmg from the Downloads page in the client area (Extras tab).
2. Open the DMG and drag PremierVPN Vault onto the Applications folder.
3. Open PremierVPN Vault from Applications or Launchpad. It's 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 its window, which is what lets scheduled backups happen.

Updating: download the new DMG and drag the app to Applications again, replacing the old one. Your settings, backup list and backups are kept.

Uninstalling: in Settings › Account choose Sign out (this stops backups and removes the stored key), quit the app from the menu bar panel, then drag it from Applications to the Bin. Files already in your Vault and on your drives stay there.

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 6-digit code from your authenticator app (pasting it works too). Forgot your password? Use the link on the sign-in screen.
2. Step 1 of 4: your Vault passphrase.
   • Already use Vault on the web? Enter the same passphrase. Files then open in both the app and the browser.
   • 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.
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.
   • Reinstalling, or setting up a replacement Mac? Choose Continue an existing backup and pick the old Mac, 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 a folder, choose Allow.
5. Step 4 of 4: when to back up. Pick Hourly, Daily or Weekly. Leave Open at login and Notify me about problems ticked. Click Start first backup.

The first backup uploads everything you chose, so it can take a few hours on a large Mac or a slow connection. You can keep using the Mac, and if it sleeps or goes offline the backup carries on from where it stopped. Later backups only upload new and changed files.

Your Vault passphrase and encryption

Your passphrase is the only way to open your backups. It never leaves your Mac and PremierVPN never sees it, so if it's lost nobody can recover your files, including our support team. Keep it in a password manager.

• What's encrypted: every file's contents and its full name and folder path, with AES-256-GCM, before upload. The Vault only ever stores encrypted data.
• Same passphrase as the web Vault: files backed up from the Mac open in the web Vault, and files uploaded on the web can be restored in the app.
• Unattended backups (optional): the app keeps the encryption key (never the passphrase) in your Mac's Keychain, so scheduled backups run after a restart without asking. With it off, backups wait until you unlock the app with your passphrase.
• Forget key / Lock Vault: in Settings › Encryption. Forget key removes the stored key; Lock Vault also clears it from memory, so backups and restores need the passphrase again.
• Passphrase changed on the web: the app notices at the next backup, locks, and asks for the new passphrase. Nothing is lost.

Finding your way round

Once set up there's nothing to do day to day. The app window has five screens, and the menu bar icon shows the status at a glance.

Other shortcuts: Cmd+B backs up now, Cmd+K searches backed-up files.

Menu bar icon: outline = idle or locked, turning dial = backing up, filled = protected, outline with ! = needs attention. Click it for a small panel with the status, Back up now and Open PremierVPN Vault.

Two looks: Glass (calm, the default) and Signal (every detail, live). Switch in Settings › Appearance; only the look changes.

What gets backed up, and when

The app backs up everything listed under Backups › Backup sets, on your schedule, uploading only what changed.

• Adding and removing: in Backups, click Add folder or file… to add a folder, a single file or a whole external drive. Removing an item stops future backups of it; its copies stay in the Vault and can still be restored.
• 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; Settings shows the exact next run. If the Mac was asleep or off, 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 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 Bin, 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 skipped and listed in Activity; backup drives have no limit.
• External drives as a source: a drive you back up is only read while it's plugged in. Unplugging it never deletes its backups.
• Safety pause: if a large share 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.

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 (NAS) works too if it's mounted.
3. The app creates a PremierVPN Vault Backup folder inside and starts the first copy.

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 or if the Vault is unavailable.
• Recognised by the drive itself: the app knows each drive whatever it's called or mounted as.
• 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 (3, 7 or 14 days, or never, in Settings › Backup).
• Same rules as the Vault: same backup sets, skip rules, version history, deleted-file period and safety pause.
• Encrypted: drive copies use your Vault passphrase, 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 other Macs 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 (Cmd+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.

• Safe restores: a restore never leaves a half-written file. If a copy is damaged or was made with a different passphrase, it's skipped and listed.
• Deleting from the backup: Delete from Vault… (or Delete from drive…) permanently removes a file and all its versions after you confirm. 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.
• From the web: files backed up by the app can also be downloaded in the web Vault with the same passphrase.
• Without the app (backup drives only): our support team can provide a recovery script that restores a drive backup on any computer with Python 3 and your passphrase.

Settings reference

Settings has five sections. The defaults suit most people; the ones worth checking are the schedule and version history.

General

Backup

Encryption

Appearance

Account

Recommended settings

For most people: Daily backups, Open at login on, Safety pause on, 30 days of versions, and at least one backup drive.

Messages and how to fix them

Most messages clear themselves; the ones below need you to do something. Activity always shows which files were affected and why.

Privacy and security

• Zero-knowledge: every file is encrypted on the Mac with AES-256 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 folders the app creates, such as Backups › MacBook Pro.
• Your passphrase is never stored or sent: with unattended backups on, only an encryption key is kept, in the macOS Keychain on this Mac. Forget key removes it.
• Drive backups are encrypted with 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.
• The dead man's switch still applies: automatic backups don't count as activity for the switch, so sign in to the client area or web Vault before the countdown ends.
• Logs hold events only, such as “backup finished”. No file names or contents are logged.

FAQ

Does it slow my Mac or connection down? Only the first backup is heavy. After that only changed files upload. Set an upload speed limit in Settings › Backup if needed.

Can I use it with the VPN connected? Yes.

Do backups use my Vault storage? Vault backups do, including old versions and deleted files still being kept. Backup drives don't.

Can I back up more than one Mac? Yes. Each Mac gets its own folder in the Vault, and all of them share your plan's storage.

What if I close the window? Backups carry on; the app keeps running in the menu bar. Quitting it from the menu bar panel stops scheduled backups until it's opened again.

Is iCloud Drive or Dropbox content backed up? Only files actually stored on the Mac. Files kept online only (not downloaded) are skipped.

I forgot my passphrase. Can support reset it? No. The passphrase is never sent to us, so backups made with it can't be opened without it.

Can I see my backups in the browser? Yes, in the web Vault under Backups › your Mac's name, using the same passphrase.