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Wuala: Secure Cloud Storage

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Re: Wuala: Secure Cloud Storage

#151

Post by pbhjpbhj »

danso wrote: post #72

So honest question, but how is having your data stored in Switzerland (where Wuala is based) any different than having it in the US? Or is it just the promise of local encryption that makes it safer? Some purported info about data protection for Switzerland: http://www.dataprotection.ch/en/disclosing-personal-data.asp > Restrictions on disclosure The DPA does not permit the disclosure of sensitive data or personality…

>LaCie may release personal data if the law requires it [...] or to protect LaCie's rights and interests //

Isn't that one of those entirely vacuous sentences. Basically they have a disclaimer there that so long as it's in their interests to release it they can. So offer some money, "oh yes we're inclined to make money here's the data".

Re: Wuala: Secure Cloud Storage

#152

Post by sabret00the »

amouat wrote: post #42
sabret00the wrote: post #33

It's from Lacie, so no thank you. I bought a Lacie drive and proceeded to copy all my stuff onto it. Before I could get comfortable with it (so within the first six months of purchase) and before I backed up my stuff, the drive failed. I contacted Lacie about it and they proceeded to try and sell me a service whereby they'd recover my data for €300. That would've brought my total spend on the drive up to around £400.…

Well, they should have replaced the drive if it failed within 6 months. But expecting them to go to the lengths of recovering your data for free is a bit hopeful.

Hopeful yes, but no one expects a drive failure before even half of the warranty has expired surely?

Re: Wuala: Secure Cloud Storage

#153

Post by pbhjpbhj »

wcunning wrote: post #108
danso wrote: post #72

So honest question, but how is having your data stored in Switzerland (where Wuala is based) any different than having it in the US? Or is it just the promise of local encryption that makes it safer? Some purported info about data protection for Switzerland: http://www.dataprotection.ch/en/disclosing-personal-data.asp > Restrictions on disclosure The DPA does not permit the disclosure of sensitive data or personality…

Due to the manner in which data is client-side encrypted (password-based keys, password not stored on their servers), they can hand your (encrypted) data to any government with no ability to decrypt it. Now, depending on the outcome of some cases before US Courts right now, you might be compelled to provide the password to unencrypt the data. It's also worth noting that the password-based asymmetric encryption scheme…

As it's closed source isn't it entirely possible that the client keeps copies of the keys that are accessible on demand from the server end (I guess that counts as a backdoor of sorts).

Re: Wuala: Secure Cloud Storage

#154

Post by a3_nm »

kijin wrote: post #109

Seriously? Wuala is a service run by LaCie. LaCie is owned by Seagate, an American corporation. It doesn't matter where the servers are, because all the important decisions will be made in Cupertino, California. http://www.lacie.com/us/company/news/news.htm?id=10722 Now, client-side encryption is a much more interesting aspect of their service, but is it worth the trouble if Wuala's clunky client takes 100 times long…

> is it worth the trouble if Wuala's clunky client takes 100 times longer than Dropbox to sync a file between two devices

Is this some general FUD about encryption being slow, or an actual measurement?

Maybe all client-side encrypted solutions happen to be crappily implemented, but I don't think that client-side encryption would necessarily lead to something noticeably slower.

Re: Wuala: Secure Cloud Storage

#155

Post by a3_nm »

RKearney wrote: post #141
sillysaurus wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not just store a TrueCrypt volume(s) in Dropbox?

This is assuming the Government doesn't force Dropbox to install a keylogger on their client to get users TrueCrypt passphrases and possibly keyfiles.

If Dropbox bundled a keylogger with the Dropbox client, I'm pretty sure it would eventually attract some attention...

Re: Wuala: Secure Cloud Storage

#156

Post by rsync »

rsync.net. Zurich, Hong Kong. Warrant Canary[1].

Straight up unix filesystem (ZFS) so you can point duplicity[2] (or anything else) at it.

If you need something like dropbox, we are NOT for you.

We have special rates for HN folks. Email us.

[1] http://www.rsync.net/resources/notices/canary.txt

[2] http://duplicity.nongnu.org/

Re: Wuala: Secure Cloud Storage

#157

Post by nine_k »

maggit wrote: post #9

I recently tried replacing Dropbox with Wuala because of privacy concerns. I failed, and in the process realized how successful Dropbox has been in creating an awesome user experience! I'm still looking for a locally encrypted Dropbox-alternative. So if any of you are making one, please speak up :) (Edit) I should specify that it was the user experience that made me give up on Wuala, and any proper Dropbox alternativ…

SpiderOak.com is nice. It's US-based, but its encryption is client-side, and they state that they never ever get the private keys, specifically to avoid being legally forced to decrypt and disclose info they store.

Re: Wuala: Secure Cloud Storage

#158

Post by webjprgm »

a3_nm wrote: post #155
RKearney wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is assuming the Government doesn't force Dropbox to install a keylogger on their client to get users TrueCrypt passphrases and possibly keyfiles.

If Dropbox bundled a keylogger with the Dropbox client, I'm pretty sure it would eventually attract some attention...

Yeah, 4 years later when a whistle blower said something.

Re: Wuala: Secure Cloud Storage

#159

Post by iHypnos »

plouc wrote: post #146
iHypnos wrote: post #96

Hello there, Gianluca from Wuala here. First, this is how Wuala works: You as an user place a file in the client. The file gets encrypted (including using your password and username) and then gets uploaded and split into different pieces. We are currently using AES-256 for encryption (and RSA 2048 fpr signature and key exchange when sharing a folder and SHA-256 for integrity checks). The password does NOT get transmi…

Hi Gianluca, What about when files/folders are shared? Is encryption dropped so anybody with a link can have access?

No, you can read everything regarding this matter here http://wualablog.blogspot.ch/2011/05/wualas-encryption-revis.... Regarding your question, you'll find your answer here http://www.wuala.com/blog/2011/04/wualas-encryption-for-dumm... (3. Sharing)

Re: Wuala: Secure Cloud Storage

#160

Post by iHypnos »

jasonzemos wrote: post #136
iHypnos wrote: post #96

Hello there, Gianluca from Wuala here. First, this is how Wuala works: You as an user place a file in the client. The file gets encrypted (including using your password and username) and then gets uploaded and split into different pieces. We are currently using AES-256 for encryption (and RSA 2048 fpr signature and key exchange when sharing a folder and SHA-256 for integrity checks). The password does NOT get transmi…

Hey Gianluca, I was under the impression the latest major revision of Wuala removed all distribution features, so files are no longer split into difference pieces. Instead they are now stored on your central servers.

No. We split our files and store them redundantly in our datacenters in Switzerland, France and Germany.
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