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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?

#121

Post by tptacek »

nonane wrote: post #120
tptacek wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're misunderstanding both the attack and full-disk encryption. The decryption key is not in RAM every time the machine starts; you have to enter material to derive the key at bootup. And the attacker does in fact have minutes to recover whatever's in RAM once the machine shuts down --- which means that if you shut your machine down before leaving the office (which you have to do), remanence simply isn't a…

Rarely does one shutdown a laptop anymore. Usually people just close the lid and the computer is put to sleep. In sleep state the contents of RAM is preserved AFAIK and should give the attacker more time to think their plan through.

The rules are different when you use full-disk encryption. You shut your machine down. PGP WDE actually prevents "sleep" from working, but regardless, you still need to be vigilant.

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

#123

Post by stretchwithme »

dorianj wrote: post #76
_b8r0 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In some cases you can use a pair of pruning shears to cut the plastic on the kensington lock slot, then take the laptop. It's usually plastic (although some laptops do use high tension steel these days)

Plastic MacBooks have the k-lock reinforced by metal, not exactly sure what part they connect to but it's solid. MBPs are metal, hence a stronger k-lock. So a thief would have to mess up the computer pretty badly to steal it.

On my macbook, it was actually possible to insert the cable into the lock and rotate it so its only under the plastic, which makes it very easy to break, I imagine.

One needs to be careful to go all the way in. like so many things in life :-)

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

#124

Post by Friedduck »

Anyone who thinks that thieves want the contents of their hard drive, rather than the machine itself has an awfully high opinion of his own self-worth. Most thefts off that type are all about the hardware. We use whole-drive encryption because the pain surrounding the accidental disclosure of client data is so great. (I work for a bank.)

The biggest problem? If certain system files become corrupt you lose the whole disk. It's not a decision to be taken lightly.

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

#125

Post by rsanders »

tptacek wrote: post #121
nonane wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rarely does one shutdown a laptop anymore. Usually people just close the lid and the computer is put to sleep. In sleep state the contents of RAM is preserved AFAIK and should give the attacker more time to think their plan through.

The rules are different when you use full-disk encryption. You shut your machine down. PGP WDE actually prevents "sleep" from working, but regardless, you still need to be vigilant.

PGP WDE doesn't prevent sleep from working on my MacBook. It disables hibernation, but that's not a security choice. It's just a limitation of the implementation.

What you say is the right policy to maximize security, but PGP WDE doesn't enforce it.

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

#126

Post by SageRaven »

Elite wrote: post #90

Out of curiosity: If the FBI or NSA REALLY wanted to get the data on your hard drive, is Truecrypt enough to keep them out?

Earlier this summer, there was news that the FBI was trying to help the Brazilian government access data related to a financial crime of some sort. TrueCrypt was the method used and it (supposedly) thwarted the FBI's efforts. Just google "fbi truecrypt" for the sources.

But here's the thing... I'm not paranoid in the style of "The Lone Gunmen," but this news never quite passed the sniff test. I find it difficult to believe that if the FBI was unable to crack a TrueCrypt volume that they'd let that particular cat out of the bag.

I conclude two possible motives: 1) Subterfuge to get people feeling "safe" with a method that can be broken; or 2) Demonization of strong crypto in the media as a prelude to criminalizing its use (or at least the refusal to hand over keys, as in the UK).

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

#127

Post by tptacek »

rsanders wrote: post #125
tptacek wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The rules are different when you use full-disk encryption. You shut your machine down. PGP WDE actually prevents "sleep" from working, but regardless, you still need to be vigilant.

PGP WDE doesn't prevent sleep from working on my MacBook. It disables hibernation, but that's not a security choice. It's just a limitation of the implementation. What you say is the right policy to maximize security, but PGP WDE doesn't enforce it.

You're right. Sorry, I misspoke.

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

#128

Post by pakhet »

can't you just set your BIOS to only boot from HD and then password protect the BIOS - password protect the hard-drive - THEN encrypt the HD. Next add a user password and if you use Firefox have a master password and you should be good to go...That's what I do with my netbook.

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

#129

Post by sireat »

RossM wrote: post #72
edanm wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a significant style difference between using Gimp and Photoshop? I only know Photoshop, but I've always thought of Gimp as just program for doing basically the same work. I wouldn't think there'd be a difference in the final product.

The most common complaints I've seen are that Gimp isn't Photoshop - meaning PS users who move to it dislike it due to the multi-window UI, 'wrong' key combinations. I actually used Gimp before PS and from my perspective the only things it really misses are layer groups and layer styles. For PS users there is Gimp Shop[1] which attempts to "deweirdify" the UI to something more reminiscent of PS. [1]: http://gimpshop.…

Sadly, this is the reality of OSS, layer groups were first proposed (and accepted as a "good idea") as early as 2002, but actually are supposed to come out in Gimp 2.8, which I think is coming out in 2011?

Meanwhile, one can run the external plugins such as this: http://registry.gimp.org/node/16563

For a programmer, GIMP is fine for an occasional photo editing job. Just wish, it could do a better job of importing Photoshop files. I know it is more of PS fault not GIMP's, but still.

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