Service Agreement & Terms of Use
VaultGuard Backup Software Last updated: July 2026 (v3.6.0)
Please read these terms. They explain what VaultGuard Backup does, what it does not do, and what stays your responsibility. Plain language is used on purpose — if anything here is unclear, ask before you rely on the software.
A note on how this software works, and what information does and does not leave your computer:
Your backup data stays with you. VaultGuard Backup runs entirely on your own computer, and your backups are written to drives and folders that you own and control. Your backed-up files are never sent to Information Security Kentucky LLC through this software. (The one exception is described in Section 7, and it only applies if you separately hire us for hands-on managed backup service.)
Some account information does leave your computer, and we want to be plain about it. To license the software and to send you alerts, VaultGuard transmits your license key, a hardware fingerprint of your machine, and your email address to our licensing system. When you buy a license, your payment is handled entirely by our store and payment processor (Squarespace and Stripe) — we never see or store your card details — and your name, email, and license information are recorded in our customer records so we can support you. Section 6A explains exactly what we collect and why.
1. The software is provided "as is" — no warranty
VaultGuard Backup is provided "as is" and "as available," with no warranty of any kind, whether spoken, written, or implied. That includes no implied warranty that the software is fit to sell, fit for your particular purpose, or will run without interruption.
In plain terms, we do not promise that:
(a) The software will be free of errors or will never stop or crash;
(b) Any backup will be complete, accurate, or fully restorable;
(c) The software will prevent data loss, ransomware, or a security breach;
(d) Backups you place on someone else's platform (such as a cloud storage service) will stay available, unchanged, or free of outages on that service's end.
2. No backup can guarantee your data is safe
You understand and agree that:
(a) No backup system — ours or anyone's — gives absolute protection against data loss, ransomware, hardware failure, or a cyberattack;
(b) Whether a backup succeeds depends on hardware, software, and outside services that we do not control;
(c) It is your job to confirm that your backups actually complete, and that the backed-up data can actually be restored (see Section 5(d));
(d) Ransomware can encrypt your files before they are ever copied to a backup location.
VaultGuard Backup reduces several of these risks — for example, it keeps multiple dated versions of each backup copy so that a newer, possibly infected copy does not overwrite an older clean one (see Section 5(b)). These features lower the risk. They do not remove it, and you should not rely on this software as your only protection.
3. Limits on our liability
To the fullest extent the law allows:
(a) Most we can owe: Our total liability for any and all claims will never be more than the total fees you actually paid us in the twelve (12) months before whatever event led to the claim.
(b) Damages we are not responsible for: We are never responsible for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages. That includes lost profits, lost data, business interruption, or the cost of switching to another service.
(c) Things beyond our control: We are not responsible for any failure or delay caused by events outside our reasonable control — for example, natural disasters, power failures, internet outages, an outside service's failure, or government action.
(d) Restoring from an unverified backup: If you choose to restore from a backup that does not have an intact integrity record, you accept that VaultGuard Backup cannot confirm whether that backup has been tampered with, corrupted, or compromised. Restoring it anyway may bring in malware, restore incomplete or damaged files, or otherwise harm your system. You take full responsibility for the result and give up any claim against us arising from that choice. This is in addition to — not instead of — the other liability limits in this Section 3.
(e) Later restores from a backup you marked as trusted: When you accept the unverified-restore terms in Section 3(d) and go ahead, VaultGuard records a "user-established baseline" — a snapshot of that backup's state at the moment you restored it, not the state when the backup was first made. You agree that:
(i) The terms in Section 3(d) apply to every later restore from any backup version carrying a user-established baseline, not just the first one;
(ii) VaultGuard may — but does not have to — ask you to re-confirm Section 3(d) on those later restores;
(iii) We are not responsible for any outcome of restoring from a user-established baseline, including data loss, an unstable system, malware coming back, or business interruption.
4. Meeting your own regulatory requirements is your job
You are solely responsible for:
(a) Following all federal, state, and local laws and regulations that apply to you — including, for example, HIPAA/HITECH, PCI-DSS, GLBA, FERPA, and state data-privacy laws;
(b) Deciding whether your backup destinations and methods meet those rules;
(c) Keeping the documentation, audit trails, Business Associate Agreements (BAAs), and compliance records you are required to keep;
(d) Getting advice from qualified legal and compliance professionals about your specific obligations.
5. Your security responsibilities
The security measures below are your responsibility. If you skip them, you could face data loss, penalties, or a breach — and we are not liable for the result. VaultGuard Backup helps where noted, but the responsibility is yours.
(a) Encrypt your backup drive: You are responsible for turning on BitLocker (or equivalent) encryption on your backup drive. An unencrypted backup drive that is lost or stolen exposes everything on it. VaultGuard warns you if your backup drive is not encrypted, but turning encryption on is up to you. We are not liable for data exposed through an unencrypted drive.
(b) Ransomware and cloud sync folders: If you use a real-time cloud sync folder (from any provider) as a backup copy destination, understand that ransomware-encrypted files can be synced up to the cloud automatically, overwriting good copies there. VaultGuard reduces this risk by saving each backup copy as its own dated version, so a newer (possibly infected) copy does not overwrite an older clean one, and older versions remain available to restore from. This lowers the risk but does not remove it. You are still responsible for:
Turning on version history in your cloud account;
Checking now and then that your copies are not corrupted;
Keeping at least one offline or air-gapped copy that is not connected to any sync service.
We are not liable for the loss of cloud backup data caused by ransomware syncing to the cloud.
(c) Use the administrator passphrase: VaultGuard offers an administrator passphrase to protect destructive actions. We strongly recommend turning it on. We are not liable for unauthorized changes that happen because it was not enabled.
(d) Test that your backups actually restore: This is important, so read it carefully. VaultGuard checks that your backup files have not changed since they were made (it saves and compares a "fingerprint" of each backup), and it reminds you when a restore test is overdue (every 90 days by default). But a fingerprint check is not the same as a restore test. Only actually restoring from a backup — and confirming the restored data is complete and usable — proves your backup is truly recoverable. Running that test restore periodically is your responsibility. We are not liable for a backup that turns out to be unrestorable if it was never tested.
(e) Physical security: You are responsible for the physical security of your backup drive. Keep it somewhere secure, separate from the computer it is backing up. If theft, fire, or flood hits both the computer and its backup drive at once, only an offsite or cloud copy will save your data.
(f) Keep your software updated: You are responsible for keeping Windows, any cloud sync app you use, and related software up to date. Out-of-date software can carry security holes that put your backups at risk.
(g) Remote access security: If you use remote access tools (such as Chrome Remote Desktop, AnyDesk, or similar), you are responsible for:
Never sharing access codes with anyone you have not verified;
Ending remote sessions when you are done;
Immediately cutting off access if you suspect someone unauthorized.
We will never contact you out of the blue to ask for remote access. If someone claims to be us and does, it is not us.
(h) Email alerts: VaultGuard can email you about backup failures, threats, and integrity problems. You are responsible for entering a working email address and for actually reading those alerts. We are not liable for alerts you miss because of a wrong email address or unread mail.
(i) Drive health: VaultGuard runs periodic drive health checks using Windows chkdsk. You are responsible for replacing a drive that shows errors. We are not liable for data lost on a drive that had already shown health warnings.
(j) Network share backups: If you back up to a network share, you are responsible for keeping that share secured, available when backups run, and out of ransomware's reach through mapped drives. We are not liable for backup failures or data loss caused by a misconfigured share or by ransomware spreading through network shares.
(k) Follow the 3-2-1 rule: We strongly recommend the 3-2-1 backup rule: 3 copies of your data, on 2 different types of storage, with 1 copy kept offsite or in the cloud. VaultGuard supports this with a backup to a local drive plus a copy to a second location of your choice, but keeping that third, offsite copy is your responsibility.
6. You own your data
(a) You keep full ownership of everything you back up.
(b) Information Security Kentucky LLC does not claim ownership of your backup data and does not access or use it, except as needed to provide a service you have specifically hired us for.
(c) We will not sell, rent, or share your data with anyone without your explicit written permission.
6A. What information we collect, and why
We believe you should know exactly what leaves your computer. Here is the complete list:
(a) License and activation: To activate and validate your license, VaultGuard sends your license key and a hardware fingerprint of your computer (a code derived from your motherboard and processor) to our licensing system. This is what ties a license to your machines and stops a single key from being copied onto many computers.
(b) Email alerts: If you turn on email alerts, VaultGuard sends your email address, along with the alert message, through our secure relay so we can notify you about backup failures, threats, and integrity problems. Your email is used for these alerts and for supporting you — nothing else. One exception: a small number of security-critical notifications (currently, the alert sent when the app's administrator passphrase is locked out after repeated failed attempts) are sent even if routine email alerts are turned off, because those events may mean someone is trying to access your backup configuration.
(c) Purchase and billing: When you buy a license, the purchase is handled by our online store (Squarespace) and payment processor (Stripe). Your card details go directly to Stripe — we never see or store them. After a successful purchase, your name, email, and license details are passed through our automation tools to generate your license key and are saved in our customer records so we can license and support you. We do not store your payment card information at any point.
(d) What we do not collect: We do not collect, receive, or have access to the files you back up. Your backup contents never travel to us through this software.
(e) How we use it: We use the information above only to license the software, send you the alerts you asked for, bill you, and support you. We do not sell it, rent it, or share it for marketing.
7. If we hold a copy of your data as a service
This section applies only if you separately hire Information Security Kentucky LLC for hands-on managed backup service, where we keep a copy of your backup in our own business cloud storage. It does not apply to normal use of the VaultGuard Backup software — the software never sends your data to us.
When that managed service applies:
(a) After the service ends, any copy of your data we are holding will be securely deleted within thirty (30) days.
(b) If you ask in writing, we will give you a Certificate of Data Destruction confirming your data has been removed from our systems.
(c) You remain responsible for the data on drives, cloud accounts, and other services that you own and control.
8. Indemnification
You agree to defend and hold harmless Information Security Kentucky LLC, its owners, officers, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, or expenses that arise from: (a) your use or misuse of this software; (b) your violation of someone else's rights; (c) your failure to follow laws or regulations that apply to you; (d) your failure to take the security steps in Section 5; or (e) your breach of this agreement.
9. Governing law & disputes
This agreement is governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute will be handled in the state courts located in Hardin County, Kentucky, or the federal courts having jurisdiction over Hardin County, and you consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.
10. The whole agreement
This agreement works together with the Terms of Service and End User License Agreement posted on our website, and with any separate service agreement you have signed. The Terms of Service control billing and your subscription; the End User License Agreement controls the software license; this agreement controls the risk, responsibility, and data-handling terms described here. Together, those documents are the entire agreement between us and replace any earlier discussions.
11. Software license rules
(a) This software is licensed, not sold. You get a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use it on the number of computers authorized by your subscription plan.
(b) You may not copy, distribute, sublicense, sell, resell, or hand this software to anyone else.
(c) You may not reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise try to extract the source code.
(d) A license key activates the number of machines your subscription plan allows (one for the Individual plan; up to five for the Technician plan). Machines beyond your plan's limit need additional licenses.
(e) Breaking these terms immediately ends your license and may expose you to civil and criminal penalties under the DMCA and copyright law.
Information Security Kentucky LLC
Owner: David Martin
Contact: customerservice@informationsecuritykentucky.com
Website: informationsecuritykentucky.com
Kentucky, United States