5 ms·

I hope this spurs the massive adoption of client-side encryption. Server-side encryption has proved to be just a marketing tool.

by igorsyl 14y ago

brigade 14y ago
Few mainstream services are going to accept data they can't recover for a user when they forget their password and their computer failed. Which pretty much precludes client-side encryption.
- igorsyl 14y ago
  I have several friends living in China. They use Chinese version of Yelp, Facebook, etc. They are aware that the government spies on their online activities. But they use these services anyways, albeit with much care. I believe most Americans easily forget about this.
- shrike 14y ago
  I use SpiderOak, it is a lot like DropBox with client side encryption. If you lose your password you lose you data. https://spideroak.com/ https://spideroak.com/
  - throwaway64 14y ago
    if this is truly the case, how do they provide your stored data over their website, i call shenanigans.
    - vimalg2 14y ago
      No, the web access feature is opt-in; you have to input your spideroak credentials so that spideroak client code running in their datacenter can decrypt your encrypted datastore and make it available via the web interface. There is a small perceptible delay when i try to use this(rarely). That said, their UI is comprehensive feature-wise and not as user friendly as Dropbox UX.
  - vimalg2 14y ago
    Tip for HN: The 'worldbackupday' promo code still worked in Nov/Dec 2011 when i signed up, and i got 5GB instead of 2GB. Original promo announce: https://spideroak.com/blog/20110330182326-eric-brian-and-world-backup-day-for-everyone https://spideroak.com/blog/20110330182326-eric-brian-and-wor...
tarr11 14y ago
I think the real problem is that almost all applications default to cloud storage of data. They are not going to accept data that is unintelligible to them (certainly not for free). If developers would start to make their apps "cloud optional", then you could at least choose how your data is shared.
- cnbeuiwx 14y ago
  You wont see that from massive American companies (except possibly Mozilla who always have had strong interests in consumer privacy and integrity). But there is still alternatives out there. You just have to give up the sites and corporations you have gotten used to over the years. Google, Facebook, Microsoft... Also, if you use Windows, you can pretty much count on it having backdoors already. Thats just my opinion based on common sense. The largest american operating system being free from backdoors? Heh, not very likely. THe NSA could pretty much force them to put it in, and put a gag order on them afterwards. Thats the reality of United States.
- jonknee 14y ago
  > They are not going to accept data that is unintelligible to them (certainly not for free). Why not? You can store two gigabytes of random noise with Dropbox for free. 5GB worth on Google Drive. Storage locker services don't care if files are encrypted either. I actually can't think of a service that does care.
drivebyacct2 14y ago
I hope for a lot of things too. But we've known that the NSA is whole-scale wiretapping the Internet for years and no one cares enough to fix the problem.
ary 14y ago
Some people (like myself) are working on that. See: https://www.laconicsecurity.com https://www.laconicsecurity.com Disclaimer: I work for Laconic Security

I hope this spurs the massive adoption of client-side encryption. Server-side encryption has proved to be just a marketing tool.

by igorsyl 14y ago

I hope this spurs the massive adoption of client-side encryption. Server-side encryption has proved to be just a marketing tool.

brigade 14y ago

Few mainstream services are going to accept data they can't recover for a user when they forget their password and their computer failed. Which pretty much precludes client-side encryption.

igorsyl 14y ago
I have several friends living in China. They use Chinese version of Yelp, Facebook, etc. They are aware that the government spies on their online activities. But they use these services anyways, albeit with much care. I believe most Americans easily forget about this.
shrike 14y ago
I use SpiderOak, it is a lot like DropBox with client side encryption. If you lose your password you lose you data. https://spideroak.com/ https://spideroak.com/
- throwaway64 14y ago
  if this is truly the case, how do they provide your stored data over their website, i call shenanigans.
  - vimalg2 14y ago
    No, the web access feature is opt-in; you have to input your spideroak credentials so that spideroak client code running in their datacenter can decrypt your encrypted datastore and make it available via the web interface. There is a small perceptible delay when i try to use this(rarely). That said, their UI is comprehensive feature-wise and not as user friendly as Dropbox UX.
- vimalg2 14y ago
  Tip for HN: The 'worldbackupday' promo code still worked in Nov/Dec 2011 when i signed up, and i got 5GB instead of 2GB. Original promo announce: https://spideroak.com/blog/20110330182326-eric-brian-and-world-backup-day-for-everyone https://spideroak.com/blog/20110330182326-eric-brian-and-wor...

tarr11 14y ago

I think the real problem is that almost all applications default to cloud storage of data. They are not going to accept data that is unintelligible to them (certainly not for free). If developers would start to make their apps "cloud optional", then you could at least choose how your data is shared.

cnbeuiwx 14y ago
You wont see that from massive American companies (except possibly Mozilla who always have had strong interests in consumer privacy and integrity). But there is still alternatives out there. You just have to give up the sites and corporations you have gotten used to over the years. Google, Facebook, Microsoft... Also, if you use Windows, you can pretty much count on it having backdoors already. Thats just my opinion based on common sense. The largest american operating system being free from backdoors? Heh, not very likely. THe NSA could pretty much force them to put it in, and put a gag order on them afterwards. Thats the reality of United States.
jonknee 14y ago
> They are not going to accept data that is unintelligible to them (certainly not for free). Why not? You can store two gigabytes of random noise with Dropbox for free. 5GB worth on Google Drive. Storage locker services don't care if files are encrypted either. I actually can't think of a service that does care.

drivebyacct2 14y ago

I hope for a lot of things too. But we've known that the NSA is whole-scale wiretapping the Internet for years and no one cares enough to fix the problem.

ary 14y ago

Some people (like myself) are working on that. See: https://www.laconicsecurity.com https://www.laconicsecurity.com Disclaimer: I work for Laconic Security