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Ask HN: I'm quadriplegic – can you help me with my security?

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141–150 of 172 posts

Re: Ask HN: I'm quadriplegic – can you help me with my security?

#141
post #3

If you're not using whole disk encryption (or even partial encryption), then it doesn't really matter if you use a login password or not. The attacker can just clone the hard drive to gain access to your files.

The threat model was casual passers-by. That may not seem much but severe disabilities change things a lot. I am assuming that the OP is simply taking steps to mitigate an ever present fear of "being taken advantage of". There are some real arseholes out there, for example a friend of a friend was a blind dumb mute who was mugged in the street - nothing stolen except her cane and cards she used to communicate. She ha…

Bang on, it's the horrible person who comes into the house of somebody physically vulnerable and steals pain medication from them (true story); those are the people that are the adversary.

Pain medication, from somebody with nerve fire… I just don't understand that mentality!

Re: Ask HN: I'm quadriplegic – can you help me with my security?

#142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I had one of them, I would totally be able to pretend I'm in the SAS on some secret mission!:D Obviously a mission that didn't involve any stairs, and nothing above 6 miles an hour (top speed of my chair!) With lots of ramps and extrawide doors :-) Seriously though, I'm connected to this computer with a ton of cables and if that could be made to play nice with Dragon, and it wasn't too tight across where the break…

If you're already "wired up to the computer", would another USB connection make any difference? An Arduino can act as a keyboard ( http://hackaday.com/2012/06/29/turning-an-arduino-into-a-usb... ) You could then hook that into some controls you've already got on the chair - the obvious choice being to have "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start" trigger the Arduino to type out your password. (Wher…

Unfortunately adding another USB connection would make a difference, there is the cognitive load of just being tethered to my computer there are sometimes situations where I need to get out of my wheelchair quickly; so minimising connections is the order of the day.

That being said this solution could be implemented wirelessly maybe? I mean have the arduino sitting somewhere connected to the laptop wirelessly, and then have a switch connected to the arduino wirelessly as well?

The only sticking points I could see are that obviously I can't assemble these things myself, and travelling to a Hackerspace would be impossible unfortunately.

Also, I'm in the UK.

Re: Ask HN: I'm quadriplegic – can you help me with my security?

#143
A simple solution might be to "double lock" your system. In addition to your password manager, use face recognition (via the laptop webcam). I know such a system can be easily spoofed, but it will stop the casual opportunists you described in your brief, and without requiring too much effort on your part to unlock (and I can only imagine how long-winded many of the otherwise simple tasks might be given your unfortunate position).

Re: Ask HN: I'm quadriplegic – can you help me with my security?

#144
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I had one of them, I would totally be able to pretend I'm in the SAS on some secret mission!:D Obviously a mission that didn't involve any stairs, and nothing above 6 miles an hour (top speed of my chair!) With lots of ramps and extrawide doors :-) Seriously though, I'm connected to this computer with a ton of cables and if that could be made to play nice with Dragon, and it wasn't too tight across where the break…

In a similar vein, emotiv [1] sell an EEG headset, which is purported to offer mind control. I've no clue whether these things actually work or what they are useful for. I'm only aware of this device because I used to work with one of the principals in the company. [1] http://www.emotiv.com/

This looks like it would be massively useful, but it's really expensive at the moment which keeps it out of my hands unfortunately :-(

It looks like it could be applied to all sorts of accessibility situations and problems though!

Re: Ask HN: I'm quadriplegic – can you help me with my security?

#146

I would love to help build something if you can't find a solution. Maybe you could lock or unlock your laptop via facial recognition [1], or you could add an accelerometer that automatically locks the laptop if someone picks it up. Or just physically lock the laptop to your chair. Or you could plug an Arduino into the USB port and use it as a keyboard device to send a stream of keypresses when you touch a button (jus…

I would love to build something, my programming skills are to put it mildly… well… Rubbish, but if you were willing to help that would be wonderful!

I really like the idea of using the accelerometer as one layer of security, because there is no situation where I'm going to be the one who's picking up my laptop! I think it could only be one part of the overall though, because if they don't pick it up it would still be completely open.

I've tried facial recognition software, including the one you linked to but so far haven't found one that is reliable enough; there were far too many false positives and for a large chunk of the time it wouldn't recognise my face at all. In theory though, reliable face recognition would be a great solution.

Re: Ask HN: I'm quadriplegic – can you help me with my security?

#147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're already "wired up to the computer", would another USB connection make any difference? An Arduino can act as a keyboard ( http://hackaday.com/2012/06/29/turning-an-arduino-into-a-usb... ) You could then hook that into some controls you've already got on the chair - the obvious choice being to have "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start" trigger the Arduino to type out your password. (Wher…

Unfortunately adding another USB connection would make a difference, there is the cognitive load of just being tethered to my computer there are sometimes situations where I need to get out of my wheelchair quickly; so minimising connections is the order of the day. That being said this solution could be implemented wirelessly maybe? I mean have the arduino sitting somewhere connected to the laptop wirelessly, and th…

Hmmm. It's also possible to do the same "pretend to be a keyboard trick" over bluetooth - it's just a little more expensive than via Arduino/USB. It's about an extra $50-ish to add bluetooth capability to an Arduino (at least at sparkfun.com prices).

I'm in Australia, so the UK is a bit far to be prototyping - did you see Helgosam's post else-thread? Sound's like he's at least in the same country as you and capable of helping out (and/or putting you in touch with other locals who're in this space…)

https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=Helgosam https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6054049

Re: Ask HN: I'm quadriplegic – can you help me with my security?

#148
post #32

How about bluetooth-based locking and unlocking, using an app like this? https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bluetooth-unlock/id576603568... It looks like it may work with any BT device, so even if you don't have a BT-enabled phone, you could get a cheap BT headset or something, and keep it on you. I'd also like to say that it's great to see you doing so well with technology. I had a quadriplegic friend when I was little…

My only issue with Bluetooth pairing is that iPhones are incredibly shiny, and carers work for minimum wage and the thought of not only my iPhone going walkies but it locking my laptop in the process… My head might actually explode :-)

There might be Android alternatives, which would allow you to get a much cheaper device.

Perhaps even a very ugly iPod Touch might work.

Re: Ask HN: I'm quadriplegic – can you help me with my security?

#149

As Tyler E suggested: "Wonder if he could somehow get his one-button clicker to translate morse code into ascii." Use the Arduino Leonardo to send native keyboard key strokes into the USB port of the Mac - it's robust and works every time - plug and play (once it's been programmed). The Leonardo could be programmed to listen out for a specific pattern of switching and then send the entire password down the USB cable,…

If you would be willing to make something that would be brilliant, I would love to work on a project like that :-)

Having an Arduino with a small screen next my laptop would be no problem at all, the only snag I can see so far is that I can only use one button at a time when switching between two buttons is a nonstarter unfortunately; but I'm sure that that is something that can be overcome.

So yes, I'm definitely interested!

Re: Ask HN: I'm quadriplegic – can you help me with my security?

#150
post #10

Here's a simple idea (lacking in specific implementation details, sorry): - Figure out how to add a text filter between DragonDictate and your system. - Program the filter to look for a special sequence, e.g. "cipher_mode" - When in cipher mode, feed characters through a simple cipher. E.g. A -> C, B -> D, etc. No passerby is going to be able to figure out what you're doing. - When the filter sees "cipher_mode" again…

If a passerby hears you say "cypher mode A Y R cypher mode" to unlock your computer, they might not figure out that your password is CAT, but they will figure out that "cypher mode A Y R cypher mode" unlocks the computer.
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