FAQ
About the Virtual Family Office
Click on the blue "My Offices" button in the top left corner of any page. All of the Virtual Offices in which you’re a member will be displayed. Select the Office you want to visit.
Both the Private Access and Private Office subscriptions provide you with Virtual Offices, a Digital Vault, and access to all Summitas content. The Private Access subscription lets you have up to 3 members in your Family Office, while the Private Office subscription lets you have up to 10 members.  Please refer to Plans & Pricing page for further differences.
Your Offices are private, password-protected, and accessible only by you and the people you personally invite to become members. No one but you and the people you give permission to can see the activities in your Family Offices.
Your Office is private, password-protected, and accessible only by you. No one but you can see the activities in your Personal Office.
From the blue "My Offices" button, select the Family Office you want. From that office, select the "Invite" tab. Enter the email address of the person you want to add, fill in the required fields, and click the "Invite" button.
Click the icon located at the top of any page. Then click the "Compose Message" button. Enter the person's Summitas Display Name (not their email address), fill in the required fields, and click the "Send" button.
About the Digital Vault
Absolutely. Every document you place in your Digital Vault is protected by the encryption standard adopted by the U.S. Government. All documents are sent over the Internet using Secure Sockets (HTTPS, 256-bit encryption for modern browsers and 128-bit encryption for older browsers).

For added security, you have the ability to assign separate passphrases to each document in your Digital Vault. Members of your Family Office can also be given selective access to the documents in your Vault, ensuring that they see only what you want.

Updated: 1/19/2016

Summitas Digital Vault supports the following browsers:

On Mac

  • Safari 9.0 or greater
  • Firefox 38.0 or greater

On PC

  • Internet Explorer 9.0* or greater (Version 11 preferred)
  • Firefox 38.0 or greater

Microsoft announced that as of January 12th, 2016 it is no longer supporting and providing updates for their Internet Explorer web browser versions 8, 9, and 10. This means that if there are any new security vulnerabilities or bugs discovered, Microsoft will not be creating fixes for them. We thus recommend you upgrade to Internet Explorer version 11. For more on this announcement, please follow this link:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/WindowsForBusiness/End-of-IE-support

Even though Summitas currently supports Internet Explorer 9 or greater, we believe you should upgrade to the latest version to insure an optimal user experience.

PLEASE NOTE: Other browsers such as Microsoft Edge (Windows 10 only) and Google Chrome can be used to browse our site but you will not be able Upload or Download content within the Digital Vault as Java is not supported in these browsers.  We are working hard to add these browsers to our supported list in the near future.

The latest version of Java must be installed on your machine in order to be able to securely transfer your documents to and from the Digital Vault. Please visit www.java.com/verify to make sure that you are using the latest version of Java available for your computer. 

Download the latest version of Java by going to Java.com
****Note to Microsoft Windows users****
Please be sure to only have one instance of Java installed.  We have seen multiple instances of installed Java cause issues with user experience when Downloading or Uploading files into the Digital Vault.  You can verify this going to Windows "Control Panel" and opening "Programs & Features" application.
You must type a passphrase that will result in encryption strength of at least 40 percent. Passphrase strength is displayed while you upload a document. The following are examples of passphrases from Average to Strong.

Average: Combining two words or a passphrase of approximately 8 to 10 characters, such as "sevensummitas?" or "himalaya".

Good: Combining special characters and numbers, such as "$makalu44?" or "!Anna$Purna".

Strong: Combining uppercase and lowercase letters and intermingling special characters, such as "$LhosTe" or ?"@Ka%me#t3".

Each day, Summitas conducts a complete backup of the Summitas Digital Vault and all other content, and stores the information in multiple, highly secure locations. Summitas disk storage is redundant and recoverable without loss-of-service.
From your Digital Vault, select the folder in which you want to place the document. Click the "Add Document" icon at the top of the page. From there, click the "Browse" button and choose the document you want to add to your Digital Vault. Fill out the required fields and click the "Upload" button.
From your Digital Vault, select the folder in which you want to place the documents. Then click the "Add Multiple" icon at the top of the page. From there, click the "Browse" button and choose the folder that contains the documents you want. Click the "Next Step" button. Select the documents you want to upload. Click the "Next Step" button. Fill out the required fields and click the "Upload" button.
From your Digital Vault, click the "Edit" icon at the top of the page. Now you can grant or restrict access to the documents in your Vault.  When giving access to a specific sub-folder, be sure to provide at least the "Visible" flag under Folder Access to all parent folders to insure Folder is visible to the member.

If you would like to grant access on a per document basis, left click on a specific "Document Title" and select "Edit".  Select specific members by clicking on a checkbox to the left of the members name and Adjust permissions accordingly. The specified Permissions will now pertain only to that document.

Click on the document title and select "Upload." Now click the "Browse" button, choose the document to upload, fill in the required fields, and click the "Upload" button.
Click on the document title and select "Download." Now click the "Browse" button, choose the destination folder, fill in the required fields, and click the "Download" button.
Click on the document title and select "History" from the pulldown menu. In the Revision History list, check the box with the title of the document version you want to download. Now click the icon, choose the destination folder, fill in the required fields, and click the "Download" button.
Any document on your computer can be securely stored in your Digital Vault, including word processing documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and photos.
You can store as much information as you like
If you delete your account, all Family Office data and Digital Vault documents will be deleted.
If you suspend your account, all Family Office data and Digital Vault documents will be preserved for 90 days. If you re-subscribe within that time, your data documents will be restored.
About Secure Email
Secure Email is a full-featured email solution that includes email encryption and other services.
  • Private Messages are free with your membership subscription and provide a convenient means of communicating instantly and privately with other Summitas subscribers without using email. All Private Messages are encrypted.
  • Secure Email can be sent to anyone. Including the word "encrypt" anywhere on the subject line of the email message will encrypt email messages and attachments.
  1. Go to "My Account" and select the "Subscription" tab.
  2. Under Secure Email, click on the "Activate" radio button, click "Save," and follow the instructions.
  3. Go to your Family Office and click the Secure Email icon to open your Summitas Secure Email account.
Yes. After you have activated your own Secure Email account (see: "How do I signup for Secure Email?")
  1. Go to "My Account" and select the "Subscription" tab.
  2. Under Secure Email, click on the highlighted word "EDIT" (next to "Additional Email Accounts Purchased."
  3. Select the members you wish to gift email accounts to by checking the boxes under "Option" in the table.
  4. After you Save your selections, your members will be notified of your gift. You can  check on the status of their email account by returning to EDIT and reading the Status and Email ID indicators in the table.
Simply include the word [encrypt], with brackets around it, anywhere on the subject line of your outgoing message. Secure Email will see the word and automatically encrypt your email message and any attachments.
They will receive an email in their inbox from you. The body of the email will contain instructions and a link to the Summitas Secure Email Encryption Center. First-time recipients of encrypted email must create a free account by entering their email address and a password. Once created, they can open your encrypted message and attachments, and reply to you.
Encrypted email is stored in an unreadable code that must be unscrambled before it can be read. Encrypted messages reside in a separate area called the Summitas Secure Email Encryption Center, where the technology to encrypt and decrypt information resides.

Regular mail is accessed via the Summitas Secure Email button in your Family Office. To send encrypted mail, include the word "encrypt" anywhere on the subject line.

Yes. The email message body will be included in the attachments as "htmBody.html." Simply open that file and save it to your computer. Regular attachments to the email will be listed to the right of "htmlBody.html," e.g. "myfile.pdf," and can also be opened and saved to your computer.

Summitas recommends storing decrypted attachments in your Digital Vault.

Google hosts Summitas Secure Email. Your data is stored in the same environment as Google's own corporate data--in a highly secure, scalable, and reliable data centers.
Neither Summitas nor Google claim ownership of your data. Your data is stored as long as your account is in good standing and will be deleted when you ask. Your data will not be shared except as strictly outlined in our Privacy Policies. For Google's Privacy Policy, see: http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.html. For the Summitas Privacy Policy, go here: https://www.summitas.com/info/privacy.
Google guarantees 99.9% uptime reliability. According to the Radicati Group, a computer industry analyst firm, Google-hosted email users typically experience less than 15 minutes of downtime per month compared to Microsoft Exchange installed on premises, which averages 60 minutes of unplanned downtime per month. The vast majority of Google email users have seen few issues and experienced no downtime.
  • Google's information security team includes some of the world's foremost experts in information, application, and network security; they are focused on keeping your information safe.
  • Google itself, as well as many corporate customers, trust Google's email system with highly sensitive corporate data.
  • Google applications are built from the ground up with security in mind. Google applications go through multiple security reviews as part of the Secure Code development process.
  • Google's application development environment is closely restricted and carefully monitored to maximize security. External security audits are also regularly conducted to provide additional assurance.
  • Summitas Secure Email is based on Google Apps. Google Apps data is fractured and obfuscated across multiple servers and disks, making it human-unreadable.
  • Summitas Secure Email data is replicated in multiple data centers for redundancy and consistent availability. To reduce exploit risks, each Google server on which Summitas Secure Email is stored is custom-built with only the necessary software components, and Google's homogeneous server architecture enables rapid updates and configuration changes across the entire network when necessary.
Summitas Secure Email enforces 128-bit encryption from your computer to the web-based servers storing your data. When you send encrypted email and attachments, they are stored separately in unreadable form using 168-bit triple DES encryption. This level of encryption is considered "highly secure" by industry standards. Summitas Secure Email is based on Google Apps. Google Apps data is fractured and obfuscated across multiple servers and disks, making it human-unreadable.
Summitas provides single-sign on access through the Summitas Virtual Family Office, sets security policies, and manages Summitas Secure Email. Secure Email relies on state-of-the-art solutions provided by the following companies:
  • Google hosts Summitas Secure Email and the Summitas Secure Email Encryption Center.
  • Secure Email is based on Google Apps, which are enhanced versions of Google's suite of communication and collaboration applications designed for corporate customers.
  • Google postini services provide spam and virus filtering.
  • Zixcorp (Zix Corporation) technology is used for encrypting email and attachments. Zix Corporation is the market leader for email encryption services.
  • Summitas Secure Email integrates encryption technology that cannot be purchased by individuals.
  • Summitas Secure Email provides 25 GB of space per user--enough to hold hundreds of thousands of emails and attachments.
  • Summitas Secure Email is based on Google Apps. Google Apps is for business and is comprised of enhanced versions of Google's best messaging and collaboration applications.
  • Your Summitas Secure Email account uses a name@summitas.com address so that Summitas IT administrators can better serve you.
  • Your Secure Email account uses a single sign-on technique that makes it easy to access your Secure Email account via your Summitas Virtual Family Office.
No. The Secure Email Encryption Center servers receive the email securely over SSL (AES-128 bit encryption) and store them using 168-bit, triple DES encryption. Intended recipients must use their email address and password to open any email messages they receive, therefore no one else can view your messages.
Yes. The current expiration period is 60 days. When messages expire, they are deleted and cannot be recovered. Due to the security features of the service, you must request that expired messages be resent to you. If you are the sender of an expired message, you will receive an expiration notification email message.
If you already have personal accounts with other Google services (e.g., Google+, Gmail, Google Docs, or YouTube) and have accessed one of them, you may be prompted to switch accounts when trying to access your Summitas Secure Email. This generally occurs when a user does not log out of a previous session in a Google provided service. Google's recent policy changes now bring all of their product offerings under one Google account and Google will not sign you out of the accessed Google service unless you take the step to "Sign Out".

When prompted to Switch Accounts, you may want to consider opting for the "Sign In as YourID@summitas.com. Sign out of the other account" option provided. With this option, you will be directed to Summitas Secure Email and be able to access the full functionality and added security that our platform provides.  If you wish to enable Multiple Sign-Ins you may do so and can learn more about this point from Google here or through the link http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=181599.

About Content
Click on the blue "My Offices" button located in the top left corner any page. Select the Family Office in which you want to save the content. Now click the "Return to Public Area" button located on the left margin. From here, just click the "Save" button located at the bottom of any piece of content you want to save in your Office.
Summitas provides tools to create three types of forums: private, public, and family.

A private forum is an invitation-only group discussion that is controlled by the person who created the forum. A public forum is a group discussion that is open and visible to all Summitas members. A family forum is a group discussion that exists entirely within a member's Office and is restricted to office members.

Simply click the "Have a Suggestion" link on the left-hand side of the page, fill out the form, and click the "Send" button.
To publicly share your thoughts, click the "Post a Comment" link at the bottom of the relevant piece of content.
To notify Summitas of an inappropriate comment, click the "Report this Page" icon at the bottom of the comment in question.
Family Office and Participating Family Office subscribers can start a discussion by clicking the "Forums" link on the left side of any page. From there, click the "Create Forum" button. You can also create private family Forum discussions by selecting the "Create Forum Topic" link in your Office.
About My Account and Billing
  1. Go to My Account by clicking on "My Account" at top of page.
  2. Under the "View" tab, check the boxes next to the profile items you wish to make public.
  3. Click "Save" to save your changes.
  1. Go to My Account by clicking on "My Account" at top of page.
  2. Under the "Profile" tab, click "EDIT" to the right of Password.
  3. Enter your new password in the New Password and Confirm Password fields.
  4. Click "Save" to save your changes.
  1. Go to My Account by clicking on "My Account" at top of page.
  2. Under the "Profile" tab, click "EDIT" to the right of Email.
  3. Enter your new email address in the Email and Confirm Email fields.
  4. Click "Save" to save your changes.
  1. Go to My Account by clicking on "My Account" at top of page.
  2. Under the "Profile" tab, click "EDIT" to the right of Display Name.
  3. Enter your new Display Name in the Display Name field.
  4. Click "Save" to save your changes.

Note: when you change your Display Name, all previous mentions of your old Display Name will be replaced with your new Display Name.

  1. Go to My Account by clicking on "My Account" at top of page.
  2. Under the "Profile" tab, click "EDIT" to the right of Family Office Name.
  3. Enter your new Family Office Name in the Family Office Name field.
  4. Click "Save" to save your changes.

Note: The word "Family" is appended to the end of your Family Office name to distinguish it from your Personal Office. Personal Offices are named automatically using your Display Name appended with the word "Personal."

  1. Go to My Account by clicking on "My Account" at top of page.
  2. Under the "Profile" tab, click "EDIT" to the right of Profile Picture.
  3. Click "Browse" next to "Upload Picture," to select a picture on your computer.
  4. Click "Save" to save your changes.
  1. Go to My Account by clicking on "My Account" at top of of page.
  2. Under the "Profile" tab, click "EDIT" to the right of Profile Picture.
  3. Check the "Delete current picture" box.
  4. Click "Save" to save your changes.
  1. Go to My Account by clicking on "My Account" at top of of page.
  2. Under the "Profile" tab, click "EDIT" to the right of Biography or Interests.
  3. Edit the text in your Biography or Interests.
  4. Click "Save" to save your changes.
  1. Go to My Account by clicking on "My Account" at top of of page.
  2. Under the "Office" tab, check the boxes under Family Office Notification for the email notifications you wish to disable.
  3. Click "Save" to save your changes.
  1. Go to My Account by clicking on "My Account" at top of of page.
  2. Under the "Office" tab, check the radio button under Digital Vault for the encryption option you want as your default (this can be overridden at the time your store documents in your vault).
  3. Click "Save" to save your changes.
  1. Go to My Account by clicking on "My Account" at top of page.
  2. Under the "Subscription" tab, check the radio button next to Family Office or Participating Family Office (under "Summitas Membership") to change your account type.
  3. Click "Save" to save your changes.
  1. Go to My Account by clicking on "My Account" at top of of page.
  2. Under the "Subscription" tab, check the radio button next to Cancel Membership (under "Summitas Membership") to cancel your account type.
  3. Click "Save"
  4. Check the radio button next to Suspend (to preserve your account data for 90 days in case you wish to reactivate), or Delete (to permanently delete your account, all family office data, and all documents stored in your Digital Vault)
  5. Click "Save" to save your changes.
  1. Go to My Account by clicking on "My Account" at top of of page.
  2. Under "Summitas Membership") click the word "EDIT" next to Additional Memberships Purchased.
  3. Select the total number of memberships you wish to purchase. The current number of members is displayed in the box. By increasing the number, you are purchasing additional memberships. By decreasing the number, you can return memberships previously added so long as they are not in use.
  4. Click "Save" to save your changes.
  1. Go to "My Account" and select the "Subscription" tab.
  2. Under Secure Email, click on the "Activate" radio button, click "Save," and follow the instructions.
  3. Go to your Family Office and click the Secure Email icon to open your Summitas Secure Email account.
Yes. After you have activated your own Secure Email account (see: "How do I signup for Secure Email?")
  1. Go to "My Account" and select the "Subscription" tab.
  2. Under Secure Email, click on the highlighted word "EDIT" (next to "Additional Email Accounts Purchased."
  3. Select the members you wish to gift email accounts to by checking the boxes under "Option" in the table.
  4. After you Save your selections, your members will be notified of your gift. You can check on the status of their email account by returning to "EDIT" and reading the Status and Email ID indicators in the table.
  1. Go to "My Account" and select the "Subscription" tab.
  2. Under Secure Email, click on the "Inactivate" radio button.
  3. Click "Save" to save your changes.
  1. Go to "My Account" and select the "Subscription" tab.
  2. Under Secure Email, click on the word "EDIT" next to Additional Email Accounts Purchased.
  3. Uncheck the boxes under "Option" for the Member names for whom you wish to cancel Secure Email.
  4. Click "Save" to save your changes.
  1. Go to "My Account" and select the "Subscription" tab.
  2. Under "Total" (near the bottom of the screen), click on "Update Credit Card Information."
  3. Edit your Credit Card and/or Billing Information.
  4. Check the boxes under Credit Card and/or Billing Information to signify you wish to change the respective information.
  5. Click "Save" to save your changes.