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Ask HN: Do you encrypt your laptop's hard disk?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you encrypt your laptop's hard disk?

#41

Post by MarkBook »

proexploit wrote: post #3

I use TrueCrypt to protect my laptop. No chances in speed that I've noticed and as far as I understand it, it's quite secure. 30+ randomly generated password gets me in and it's a lot easier than you think to memorize and type quickly. I always feel like I must have made a mistake but can't remember the last time my fingers got it wrong. To me, it's kind of a no brainer. 3 extra seconds before boot is the only thing…

+1 Truecrypt. However my fingers get the password wrong regularly, today for instance! The reassurance it provides is very valuable, I have PCs laptop, netbook, ext HDD, and memory sticks all encrypted as confidential client data could be on any of them. Prior to this I used regularly get in a funk whenever I couldn't locate a memory stick

Re: Ask HN: Do you encrypt your laptop's hard disk?

#42

Post by DEinspanjer »

I don't have to worry about proprietary source code working for Mozilla, but since I work in metrics, I have access to data that could potentially risk user privacy if it were stolen, so I keep my laptop locked down pretty tight.

I run PGP Whole Disk Encryption and am very happy with it. I also use Super Duper for backing up to two different external drives. One is unencrypted which I keep in the firesafe at home, and the other is also encrypted with PGP WDE which I take with me when traveling. That way, if my laptop were stolen, I can pick up a new one and restore the drive to it.

Re: Ask HN: Do you encrypt your laptop's hard disk?

#43

Post by rm-rf »

ENOTTY wrote: post #4

First off, I'd like to throw Bitlocker back in the ring and tell you that boot volume encryption is relatively unimportant for the threat model you propose, specifically untargeted data at rest. Boot volume encryption/verification is designed to protect you against attackers who would replace your boot image with a one that contains a rootkit or keylogger. This threat model requires serious forethought and planning o…

Assuming of course that all the data that you wish to protect is on your data partition, and that no protected data is, was, or ever will be on any other partition. Full disk encryption removes the possibility of exposure of protected data showing up on non-encrypted partitions.

With most operating systems, I don't think that there is a way to ensure that no protected data will ever end up on a non-protected partition. Presumably - if there is any writable directory on an unencrypted partition, there is a reasonable chance that protected data will end up on that partition.

Re: Ask HN: Do you encrypt your laptop's hard disk?

#44

Post by nonane »

patrik wrote: post #23

Since most of my life exists in one way or another on my hard disk, I consider it to be an absolute must to encrypt the drives. I’m using PGP Whole Disk Encryption http://www.pgp.com/products/wholediskencryption/index.html , which works perfectly. I prefer it over OS X’s FileVault feature since it just protects everything and is completely transparent to the system and the user. And, btw, I’m still hoping for a mobil…

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like PGP Whole Disk Encryption is the only product on the that supports whole-disk encryption for OS X. TrueCrypt on OS X and FileVault can only encrypt directory trees.

Re: Ask HN: Do you encrypt your laptop's hard disk?

#45

Post by Wicher »

Zak wrote: post #18

I started using ecryptfs on my /home partition when my last laptop got stolen. I suspect there's some potential for leakage through /tmp and swap, but I suspect most likely attackers aren't that sophisticated. Should I be concerned? Are there easy ways to plug the gaps?

Ecryptfs is a fantastic solution. If you're using the passphrase-wrapped-by-login-password method (convenient, I think Ubuntu implements this method) then security is not that great - because it's ultimately limited by the strength of your login password: if an attacker gets his hands on the wrapped passphrase, such as is the case when your laptop gets nicked, brute-force methods will suffice.

As for /tmp and swap: those are not required to be persistent over reboots. So you can regenerate those with a random key on every boot. Here" rel="nofollow">http://paste.pocoo.org/show/260932/>Here are some pointers to help you do that with dm-crypt for a swap device backed by a loopback device.

Re: Ask HN: Do you encrypt your laptop's hard disk?

#46

Post by xtho »

With truecrypt you can also create file containers, which you can easily backup as a whole by copying them to another disk. In some situations, this has certain advantages e.g. when upgrading your hard disk. It also provides a way to allow access only to certain parts by distributing your documents over several containers. I use truecrypt on my netbook and haven't had any problems with it in years and found it a convenient way to securely share files between computers with different OSes. Truecrypt is also available for linux but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be an ARM/android version available. On linux, I use encryptfs though.

Re: Ask HN: Do you encrypt your laptop's hard disk?

#48

Post by stretchwithme »

A bit off topic, but making it less likely you'll lose your laptop to begin with is important. Here are some ideas.

Most laptop have a special slot that accepts a cable lock. I make use of it whenever I'm in a coffee shop and have to leave the machine for more than a moment. I loop it through bag straps and my jacket too. You want to look hard to deal with.

Its also a good idea to make sure your laptop requires a password after closing the lid or whatever it is that you do when you walk away from your machine. And say hello to people around you and be helpful. They'll more likely to watch your back.

And as always, make sure no one can see what your keying in. To that end, it may help to use characters that are close together.

And yes, I know I'm a bit paranoid :-)

Re: Ask HN: Do you encrypt your laptop's hard disk?

#49

Post by davidkk »

jeremy82 wrote: post #26

As a semi-professional nude photographer I have encrypted every hard disk I own, including my laptop's. It's part of my promise to the customers to keep their photos really safe. I am using Ubuntu and LuKs on all my machines because I find it very convenient to have a superb encryption mechanism built in. As a side note, I do all my picture editing in Gimp. While this is not commom among professional photographers, i…

I'm intrigued. Do you have some examples of your work?

Re: Ask HN: Do you encrypt your laptop's hard disk?

#50

Post by lovskogen »

thibaut_barrere wrote: post #39
lovskogen wrote: post #35

I don't encrypt a bit — I even got no login password. I've got all my stuff on a 50GB Dropbox, so if I lose my MBP I'll just sync a new machine. Don't have anything of particular importance on my drive: design PSDs (could be secret), stock resources (icon packs, graphical elements), my music and a inspirational folder.

Do you work with clients ?

In house, interaction designer for our products.
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