{"id":17557,"date":"2019-12-02T16:29:08","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T15:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.davidbosman.fr\/en\/?p=17557"},"modified":"2023-12-07T12:16:55","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T11:16:55","slug":"cloud-privacy-boxcryptor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.davidbosman.fr\/en\/?p=17557","title":{"rendered":"Cloud & Privacy: Boxcryptor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbandon privacy all ye who enter the cloud<\/em>\u201d is something that should be engraved over the entrance of most, if not all, cloud services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least this is what it feels like to me, having to relinquish all notion of privacy and intimacy knowing my files will be analysed\u2014some cloud providers being more invasive than other in that regard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll gladly open all my files and folders to any legit authority asking me to do so, provided they have a reason and the right to ask. But I don\u2019t want anyone else accessing my files\u2013be it on purpose, in order to offer me some service, or because of a security breach\u2013to be able to read them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t want anyone to discover that I’m the author hiding behind the pen name of dear \u00ab Dulcinea Von Liebe, Duchess of Hot Steamy Romance \u00bb. I don\u2019t want anyone or any algorithm to be able to read my medical documents, or to see the pictures of my cat. That\u2019s none of their business. That\u2019s, you know private. And that’s not the reason why I decided to use cloud to store my files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The obvious solution would be to not use the cloud at all<\/em>. Problem solved, thx for reading, bye. Save that I want to use the cloud: it\u2019s a great tool. It\u2019s just the lack of a stricter legislation that makes it such this Wild West and this Eldorado for those companies, giving them free rein over our data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enters Boxcryptor.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Boxcryptor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a nutshell, Boxcryptor<\/a> is a service that will sit between your files, on your computer, and your cloud provider\u2013they claim to work with most if not all cloud services\u2013and they will encrypt your files before<\/em> syncing them with your cloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s available for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s great with Boxcryptor is that it\u2019s invisible. Once installed, you can keep using whatever cloud you fancy and access your files like you\u2019d normally do. Beside an occasional speed hit, you won\u2019t notice any change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember the first screenshot in this article? Here is what the same files would normally look like when accessed through Boxcryptor:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The only noticeable change in your workflow is that you must always access your files through Boxcryptor\u2019s virtual drive, not directly from the cloud app itself.<\/strong> Why? Because if you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll access your encrypted files\u2013see first screenshot\u2013and you won\u2019t be able to do much with those.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a Mac it means that instead of opening the Finder in OneDrive->My Folder->My File<\/strong>, I now open it in Boxcryptor->OneDrive->My Folder->My File<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, it\u2019s a tiny<\/em> change. For the rest, you\u2019ll be able to open, edit, share, copy, delete all your files and so on, as long as you remember to access them from Boxcryptor and not from your cloud directly.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it really secure?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m no expert, but they use strong encryption and, unlike all cloud service providers, they don\u2019t own your private key: only you have it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technically, as far as I can understand, what you are the only one to own is the password used to connect (once) to your Boxcryptor account, not the key itself. But don\u2019t quote me on that. The thing is that without this password, no one can read your files\u2013so, do not loose it, there is no recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can the NSA bypass it? No idea, but for me it\u2019s more about keeping private companies at large than fighting the NSA (hi, guys).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No cons?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I already mentioned the occasional speed hit.<\/strong> For no apparent reason the Finder, as the File Explorer on Windows, will sometime slow down. I can live with that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boxcryptor being some kind of virtual drive on your computer, doesn\u2019t always play nice with other apps but nothing dramatic either, just occasional hiccups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some apps & services don\u2019t like that privacy layer.<\/strong> Using Boxcryptor you\u2019ll loose access to some options, like say automated versioning and auto-save in Microsoft Office 365\/OneDrive. So, use the free version of Boxcryptor to check you can still access everything you need, before committing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always check every file has completely been synced before reopening it<\/strong>. I learned it the hard way with Calibre’s metadata and library, as I store my ebook library in the cloud\u2013which is strongly advised not to do<\/em> so it’s neither Calibre\u2019s or Boxcryptor\u2019s fault here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Help could be better<\/strong>: simpler and more detailed. That said, coupled with their support forum you should find all you need to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is an iOS version too,<\/strong> which is great, but its UI is lacklustre<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initial setup can be tricky.<\/strong> I mean, it\u2019s simple but it still is geeky and many options make little sense if you don\u2019t take time to read the online help.
Here are the key steps you must follow<\/em> to avoid any surprise:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Check you\u2019ve already configured and synced all the cloud services you want to use on your computer: Boxcryptor comes in a free tier (allowing one cloud only, and sync up to two devices) and a paid one (as many cloud and devices as you want, and a few other benefits).<\/li>
  2. Install Boxcryptor, login.<\/li>
  3. In its Preferences, check that Boxcryptor has correctly identified your cloud service, then click the link<\/em> button for each one: Boxcryptor needs to access your cloud files.<\/li>
  4. Finally, tell Boxcryptor what folder to encrypt. Do not encrypt the root folder<\/em> of your cloud service, use a dedicated folder, or multiple ones.<\/li>
  5. It will copy the folder to encrypt (to avoid conflicts with your files on the cloud) and add an \u00ab_encrypted \u00bb extension to it. Don\u2019t touch it while it’s doing its stuff<\/em>. When it\u2019s done encrypting, you can remove this extension.<\/li>
  6. Let it encrypt your files and let your cloud sync all changes back<\/em> before you start working with your files again. Here again, it will prevent any conflict.<\/li>
  7. One last suggestion, though: if you use Boxcryptor’s paid version you\u2019ll have the ability to encrypt file names too (not only their content). If you plan to use that option, activate it before you start encrypting any file or folder<\/em>, otherwise Boxcryptor will have to process them once again, and sync them back to your cloud.
    Go to the Preferences<\/em> and in the Security<\/strong> tab, check Enable Filename Encryption<\/strong>.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Having to pay for something that should come as a default with any cloud storage?<\/strong> Sure, it\u2019s a pain. Alas, a stricter respect of online privacy is not something I see coming anytime soon: there is too much money involved in mining our data, preferences and habits. And there are so few politicians willing to push legislations forcing companies to respect our privacy. So, unless you have a better solution\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Free or paid version?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The free version works exactly like the paid one, but will only let you use one cloud service (unlimited, with the paid tier) and sync up to two devices (vs unlimited), and you won’t be able to encrypt file names, only their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That last bit is an obvious weakness in protecting your privacy, as it\u2019s much harder to just guess what is in a file named \u201c\u6010\u6fd7\u640e\u622c\u664c\u6c9d\u6d9e\u6c40\u4024\u201d than, say \u201cSecret Plan to Conquer the World.docx\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The paid version is \u20ac36\/year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s up to you to decide what a better privacy is worth to you. There is no question for me, if only for the peace of mind it gives me to know that even if some hacker could access my cloud storage (s)he won\u2019t be able to read my files that easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Boxcryptor<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cAbandon privacy all ye who enter the cloud\u201d is something that should be engraved over the entrance of most, if not all, cloud services. At least this is what it feels like to me, having to relinquish all notion of privacy and intimacy knowing my files will be analysed\u2014some cloud providers being more invasive than other … <\/p>\n

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