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HD Encryption?
Okay, so I've been into this computer security thing for a while now. I've seen firsthand how easy it is to grab a passwd or sam file from a linux osx or Windows box. I've experienced the dreadful fright that occurs after loosing usb drives with sensitive data on them. It's a shame,I know, but I'm just now figuring that I should go ahead and start encrypting my data. I'm going to start fresh (Fedora DVD iso downloading right now) tomorrow and I'm just wondering what you guys use to encrypt your hard drives and usb drives. Commercial or free it doesn't matter at the moment I just want to get some advice people who their stuff. ...you guys :-)
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I use Truecrypt for the most sensitive things. Such things would be docs that have personal info, financial stuff, tax stuff, sensitive work info, etc.
I don't bother putting music or video or anything like that on the encrypted drive. So, all in all... I have maybe 100mb or so of stuff I'd like to keep private.
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"Tax stuff" :eek:
What!................ you need more than encryption there Phish~, you need a full blown DRM for such original works of fiction:D
Or am I judging you by my own standards? :)
Hell's teeth, the last three guys to hack my system wanted to nominate me for the Purlitzer Prize ................. :cool:
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Just like phish I only encrypt the sensitive info. I'm using geli on FreeBSD.
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I only encrypt sensitive or special documents. I'm usually lazy about doing it though.
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I generally don't encrypt much and rely on keeping people out in the first place.
On the other hand, I don't have a lot to encrypt. If you want to read my spreadsheet about my estimates of costs for moving house go right ahead.
The odd times I DO encrypt things its usually PGP.
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I'm using TrueCrypt now as well. I like it. and even if someone was able to grab my sam file or passwd and shadow files the passphrases are like 30+ characters long and all of my saved data is encrypted.
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Truecrypt rocks. I use that for whole partition encryption and use PGP for file encryption.
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I don't have any sensitive data stored electronically apart from passwords which are encrypted by KDE-Wallet and what-ever-the-hell-firefox-uses-to-keep-passwords, neither of which are very good I believe.
I am really quite lazy when it comes to security I guess.
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I don't mean to rain on the parade, but a word of caution:
Backups become incredibly important when using an encrypted drive/container. I understand the need (especially in laptops and thumb drives), but if the drive is encrypted and becomes damaged there is a *0* chance of recovery in most cases.
If you have just a bit of critical data, I would recommend an "encrypted folder/container" rather than encrypting the drive itself, as these containers are generally portable and rely only on a pwd to gain access.
If one must encrypt a drive/partition due to a large amount of critical data, it is advisable to determine a location where the data can be sync'd in an unencrypted fashion; ie: laptop sync's to desktop when at home, or etc.
-Bruce
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Encryption isn't a "Who really does it"... it's more of a "Who's dumb enough to not have some sort of encryption" :) ...
Truecrypt is definitely great... I'm also a big fan of GPG and PGP....
To what degree are things encrypted... That depends..
I have encrypted drives in some machines... in others I have "containers" or as Bruce pointed out encrypted folders...
As for the encryption complexity... I have some files that are encrypted twice with two encryption algorithms and two unique passwords... both betwen 40-50 characters.... I have others that are zip files with passwords... not necessarily encryption.. but it does the trick sometimes....
It's really a choice in security... some level is a must.. but the level you pick is unique to your data.
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Hmmmm,
The first question is actually "who needs it?"
It is really quite simple ;)
1. Risk assessment.
2. Security model development.
3. Implementation of security model.
So, for a lot of home and corporate desktops, encryption is irrelevant. There is nothing worthwhile to protect.
Obviously, there are situations where you might want to encrypt static data, but mostly the concern is with data transmission, which might be intercepted?
There is obviously a difference between a portable device (other than those used as executive jewellery), a desktop and a server.
The first rule of computer security is that "if it is that sensitive, don't store it on a computer"
Hey, what would you rather have?............... 256 bit encryption or 256 guys from the Seals, Green Berets, 2 Recon.......... and the rest?
:D
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Is there a drive encryption product (free, preferrably) that would allow me to encrypt a usb drive but not require that any software be installed on whatever other computers I want to use it on for decrypting the thing? All self contained so to speak?
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Hi,
I work for a small security firm called IndiaEsecure.com. One thing which we normally do as a part of our services is encrypting data on company’s laptop. This at some point of time becomes crucial as laptops tend to get lost or stolen easily, so we make sure that all of our client laptops are encrypted so that in case of any misplacing or theft the company has some time before the data falls into unwanted eyes.
Regarding the encryption we have made some of our own (Windows) and many a times we use TRUECRYPT
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Hi,
I used to use cypherix which is a nice program, althought if you want to get to the heavy duty capabilities you have to pay for it..
now i use GPG, CAST5 for local encryption, and DSA public key for communication although i dont use it always ;).
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I am putting my Truecrypt-ed usb key to the test as I have lost it somewhere.
It just sucks that I don't have it anymore it feels like part of me is missing.
My encrypted part that is.
