5 ms·

Cyphertite: 8 GB free encrypted backup with CLI client for Linux and Windows

15 points by iamthedata 12y ago

gherkin 12y ago
How is this different to Tresorit(https://tresorit.com/ https://tresorit.com/)?
- jonathonf 12y ago
  Linux client, and the client source code is also available.
  - JoshTriplett 12y ago
    I didn't see an Open Source license listed anywhere on the website, so I downloaded the client to verify. Looks like Cyphertite uses the ISC license, an all-permissive Open Source license.
  - gherkin 12y ago
    Tresorit has a Linux client: https://tresorit.com/download/linux https://tresorit.com/download/linux
dchest 12y ago
Oh, these are the guys that are confused about XTS mode[1], thinking it was designed for protecting "bulk data". See my wonderful exchange with them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cyphertite/status/450616668126203904 https://twitter.com/Cyphertite/status/450616668126203904 https://twitter.com/Cyphertite/status/450616106001399808 https://twitter.com/Cyphertite/status/450616106001399808 which ended up with them calling me "some jerk on twitter who has nothing better to do than talk shit". https://twitter.com/Cyphertite/status/450623654288969728 https://twitter.com/Cyphertite/status/450623654288969728 — [1] See this tptacek's post explaining XTS: http://sockpuppet.org/blog/2014/04/30/you-dont-want-xts/ http://sockpuppet.org/blog/2014/04/30/you-dont-want-xts/
- AdmiralAsshat 12y ago
  Yikes. If you're going to accuse everyone around you of being snakeoil salesmen, you probably shouldn't defend the fidelity of your own stuff by insulting the skeptics.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- michaelmior 12y ago
  Hmm, that last tweet is enough to make me disregard this and wish I hadn't upvoted.
- discardorama 12y ago
  I keep seeing this in your blog post: "Attackers could [rewrite] /bin/ls into a bindshell." What does that mean? And how is it related to disk encryption?
  - nobodysfool 12y ago
    ls is a file listing in unix/linux. a 'bindshell' would essentially open a telnet port that goes directly into a command line shell. So, if your system was attacked, you might (since it's the most often command typed) use the 'ls' command to list your files. When you do that, you also open a shell on a specific port on your computer that has root access.
  - aroch 12y ago
    Bindshells are shells that are bound to a port, see Wiki for a brief explanation[1]. Basically, without authentication you have no way of knowing that the `ls` you backed up is the same `ls` you get back out. If your remote backup is compromised and uses XTS, its possible for someone to own you by replacing an oft used binary that when run gives them a remote shell. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellcode https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellcode On the other hand, if the attacker needs to create the connection, the shellcode is called a bindshell because the shellcode binds to a certain port on which the attacker can connect to control it.
newscracker 12y ago
There are a few reasons why many people would not (or should not) use Cyphertite: * It's been such a long time in development and there's still no client for OS X. Building from source should be an option, not the only way, if this is ever meant for mass adoption. * There's no information about accessing backup files from mobile devices. * Most importantly, unless you have more than 100GB of data to backup, you're better off with the premium plan (enterprise segment) than the expensive personal plan where you would get a lot lesser in return.[1] I had pointed this out to them a year or two ago, but there's been no change and this structure does not make sense for the section of home users who may have only a few tens of GBs to backup. [1]: https://www.cyphertite.com/plans.php https://www.cyphertite.com/plans.php
2bluesc 12y ago
More technical links for those interested: https://opensource.conformal.com/wiki/cyphertite https://opensource.conformal.com/wiki/cyphertite https://github.com/conformal/cyphertite https://github.com/conformal/cyphertite
- 2bluesc 12y ago
  The github.com/conformal account shows a lot of Bitcoin projects, I wonder why they don't accept Bitcoin.
- iamthedata 12y ago
  Also a good tutorial with examples: [Getting Started with Cyphertite Remote Backup](http://blog.calyptix.com/2012/04/getting-started-with-cyphertite-remote.html http://blog.calyptix.com/2012/04/getting-started-with-cypher...)

15 points by iamthedata 12y ago

gherkin 12y ago

How is this different to Tresorit(https://tresorit.com/ https://tresorit.com/)?

jonathonf 12y ago
Linux client, and the client source code is also available.
- JoshTriplett 12y ago
  I didn't see an Open Source license listed anywhere on the website, so I downloaded the client to verify. Looks like Cyphertite uses the ISC license, an all-permissive Open Source license.
- gherkin 12y ago
  Tresorit has a Linux client: https://tresorit.com/download/linux https://tresorit.com/download/linux

dchest 12y ago

Oh, these are the guys that are confused about XTS mode[1], thinking it was designed for protecting "bulk data". See my wonderful exchange with them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cyphertite/status/450616668126203904 https://twitter.com/Cyphertite/status/450616668126203904 https://twitter.com/Cyphertite/status/450616106001399808 https://twitter.com/Cyphertite/status/450616106001399808 which ended up with them calling me "some jerk on twitter who has nothing better to do than talk shit". https://twitter.com/Cyphertite/status/450623654288969728 https://twitter.com/Cyphertite/status/450623654288969728 — [1] See this tptacek's post explaining XTS: http://sockpuppet.org/blog/2014/04/30/you-dont-want-xts/ http://sockpuppet.org/blog/2014/04/30/you-dont-want-xts/

AdmiralAsshat 12y ago
Yikes. If you're going to accuse everyone around you of being snakeoil salesmen, you probably shouldn't defend the fidelity of your own stuff by insulting the skeptics.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
michaelmior 12y ago
Hmm, that last tweet is enough to make me disregard this and wish I hadn't upvoted.
discardorama 12y ago
I keep seeing this in your blog post: "Attackers could [rewrite] /bin/ls into a bindshell." What does that mean? And how is it related to disk encryption?
- nobodysfool 12y ago
  ls is a file listing in unix/linux. a 'bindshell' would essentially open a telnet port that goes directly into a command line shell. So, if your system was attacked, you might (since it's the most often command typed) use the 'ls' command to list your files. When you do that, you also open a shell on a specific port on your computer that has root access.
- aroch 12y ago
  Bindshells are shells that are bound to a port, see Wiki for a brief explanation[1]. Basically, without authentication you have no way of knowing that the `ls` you backed up is the same `ls` you get back out. If your remote backup is compromised and uses XTS, its possible for someone to own you by replacing an oft used binary that when run gives them a remote shell. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellcode https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellcode On the other hand, if the attacker needs to create the connection, the shellcode is called a bindshell because the shellcode binds to a certain port on which the attacker can connect to control it.

newscracker 12y ago

There are a few reasons why many people would not (or should not) use Cyphertite: * It's been such a long time in development and there's still no client for OS X. Building from source should be an option, not the only way, if this is ever meant for mass adoption. * There's no information about accessing backup files from mobile devices. * Most importantly, unless you have more than 100GB of data to backup, you're better off with the premium plan (enterprise segment) than the expensive personal plan where you would get a lot lesser in return.[1] I had pointed this out to them a year or two ago, but there's been no change and this structure does not make sense for the section of home users who may have only a few tens of GBs to backup. [1]: https://www.cyphertite.com/plans.php https://www.cyphertite.com/plans.php

2bluesc 12y ago

More technical links for those interested: https://opensource.conformal.com/wiki/cyphertite https://opensource.conformal.com/wiki/cyphertite https://github.com/conformal/cyphertite https://github.com/conformal/cyphertite

2bluesc 12y ago
The github.com/conformal account shows a lot of Bitcoin projects, I wonder why they don't accept Bitcoin.
iamthedata 12y ago
Also a good tutorial with examples: [Getting Started with Cyphertite Remote Backup](http://blog.calyptix.com/2012/04/getting-started-with-cyphertite-remote.html http://blog.calyptix.com/2012/04/getting-started-with-cypher...)