Hi all, the recent thread on the tech doctor podcast concerning
1Password has prompted me to write the following.
First off, I don't use 1Password, so my comments might be off a bit. I
use LastPass and MyKeePass. I won't get into the details of those
password managers, but suffice it to say that I feel they are just as
good as 1Password. I simply tried those first and see no need to switch
to 1Password. So now onto the real reason why I'm writing.
It's more about security and what you put on Dropbox and what is safe
and what isn't.
Many people feel it's ok to put whatever on Dropbox while others only
put non-secure stuff, and still others are somewhere in between.
What I do in regards to Dropbox is put files in it which I don't
particularly care if the Dropbox staff somehow gains access to them. I
know for a fact that Dropbox stores files on there even if you delete
them. How do I know this? I once erased a folder of 5 gb of audio and
later needed it for a friend, and so I copied it back over. It had been
about 3 months since I had deleted them from Dropbox, yet when I copied
them over again, it didn't take hours to upload and update, it only took
a few minutes? Why is that? Because Dropbox already had a copy of those
files. I also know that if you have a file which is an exact copy of
someone else's file even if you are not sharing folders with that
person, Dropbox uses the same copy. This allows them to save on disc
space over all in the big picture. For example, if I download the iTunes
setup file for Windows and put it in my installs folder of Dropbox which
I only share with 5 people, and if 100 other people across the world
also have this same file in their own private or public space of
Dropbox, then Dropbox uses that one copy rather than multiple copies.
Some might feel this is a breach of security. I personally feel it's
Dropbox using disc space wisely.
The one thing I don't do is put a text file of credit card or social
security numbers in Dropbox just for the convenience of having access to
those from my iPhone. Call me paranoid, but that's the way it is.
Instead, what I do is use Truecrypt. Truecrypt is a program which allows
you to create a file container of any size and put stuff in it. Think of
it like a virtual usb stick. So, I have a 10 Mb Truecrypt container
called KeepOut.tc. Yes, only 10 megs in size. I have this file in my
dropbox folder and when I want to review personal text files from any of
my computers, I simply mount this small 10 meg file and it becomes its
own drive. Like drive x maybe. I can then open files, copy files, add
files, do whatever I want in my little 10 meg virtual usb stick. When
I'm done, I unmount it, that's like using safely remove hardware. The
file is updated on Dropbox and closed up and secure again.
There is an iphone app which will open Truecrypt files and so if I want
access to this data from my iphone, then I simply do the same process
from there.
Some would say this is too much work for security, but it's worth it to
me to take the extra seconds to open the Truecrypt file, look at it, and
then close it when I'm done.
I do a similar thing with all the documents in my documents folder of my
netbook and my pc where I back them up onto a Truecrypt volume and that
volume lives in Dropbox. So, it's like my own backup solution. I've
written batch files to automatically open the virtual file, copy the
changed files from my documents, and then close it. So, in the end it
doesn't take much time at all. I'm not the only one who does this
because there are various people who have blogged about it and who have
shared similar doings in terms of Dropbox, backups, and security.
Lastly, I mentioned KeePass as a password manager. This program is
available in many different platforms, iOS and Windows for example, and
can share the same database. So if I want to get access to a username
and password for something, I can use that. The password file itself is
encrypted, and so can safely live inside Dropbox where MyKeepass from
iOS can read it.
Hope that helps, and hope you join the paranoia team.
--
--
Raul A. Gallegos
The honeymoon is over when the husband calls home to say he'll be late
for dinner and the answering machine says it is in the microwave. –
Anonymous
Home Page: http://raulgallegos.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rau47
Facebook: http://facebook.com/rau47
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