Locking your information down

[MasterBlaster2039]

Ador, isnt it much easier to just upload your "Sensitive" data to the internets, and when you are home simply download it ? Or is it a huge lump of data and lack of time that prevents you to upload it ?

[ADOR]

Ador, isnt it much easier to just upload your "Sensitive" data to the internets, and when you are home simply download it ? Or is it a huge lump of data and lack of time that prevents you to upload it ?

Well I don't have a ton of data. Just have stuff I like to keep with me and hate people poking around in it. I keep a few things in my email like ultra surf if I need it and all the site to download it are blocked. Bandwidth is our problem out here. We have the speed of a low to mid dsl connection and it is shared by about 8 office computers and about 40 personal laptops, ipod touchs, android tablets and phones.

[capt.dogfish]

can they make you open an encrypted file???? I mean, unless you are suspected of being a spy or terrorist, would they put you through such stringent checks/

Maybe I"m just too used to the Constitution.....

and Techtuff: that's hot!

You might want to check on the rules over here. If you go through an airport in the US entering from overseas, or cross the border in any way, Customs and Homeland Security have the right to force you to open up your computer and can demand any passwords. As a minimum they can confiscate your computer if you refuse. This has already cleared the courts, we needed to nullify the 4th Amendment to keep us safe! This madness has now been extended to include indefinite incarceration and rendition for US citizens.
CAP

[interestingfellow]

Cap, I hadn't realized that....
Did you see the NADA 2012? it gives authority to the military to treat anyone, ANYONE, in the US as a terrorist for any reason at all. The military can seize you without due process and hold you indefinitely.Not just on fed property; anywhere.

God bless all of you doing the thankless jobs of police, fire, rescue, and military. They are dangerous jobs and I thank you for doing them.
That been said,
people should not fear their government, a government should fear its people...

anyone willing to trade a little bit of freedom for a little bit of protection deserves none of either.

[capt.dogfish]

The most recent Defense Authorization Act is the exact document I was referring to. I have a niece who is a counter-terrorism expert working at the Pentagon. Her response to my discussion of the new law was "I know things you don't know". My response to her was "you don't know anything that justifies the nullification of the 4th Amendment".
CAP

[Kardan]

Customs and Homeland Security have the right to force you to open up your computer and can demand any passwords.

Another good reason for a small USB key like the Ironkey -- they can't force you to open what they don't know you have. It's so small -- and frankly, they are used to seeing its user being a US govt. type, so they usually overlook it.

[interestingfellow]

Cap:
any written law (or code) in conflict with the constitution is null and void, as though it never existed.

However, one of the first things taught in law school is not right vs wrong. it's if you have the time and resources to prove who's right and who's wrong.

I love my country.I just hate the a55 wholes running it.

[Dave143]

FWIW, here's what I do to protect the sensitive information I carry. (I used to travel quite a bit - thought not to the Middle East, and carry sensitive material.)

I use an Ironkey as a backup of my user data. I think it is a great product. If you search the Internet you probably can find the case a couple of years ago of a bunch of other, so-called secure USB sticks that were exposed as providing no security at all.

For my laptop, I installed a self-encrypting drive. They're made by both Seagate and HGST, I believe. (I use a Seagate model; it has been around the longest.) I believe Samsung has announced a self-encrypting SSD, if you're so inclined. In addition to the drive, you need to get a software package to manage it. Wave Systems, WinMagic and others offer products to do this. This is probably a bit more than you're interested in, but if you want a system that is infeasible to crack, the SEDs are the best choice. Nobody is going to get data off that drive unless you give them the password - or you use such a weak password that it can be guessed.

If I have to share data on a non-secure USB device, I use 7-Zip to encrypt it, being careful to select the encrypt file names option. That's pretty secure against most threats, though an NSA-IAD person once told me that all software encryption products "have issues" - but would not explain what that meant, exactly.

Good luck,
Dave

[Deregter]

That's pretty secure against most threats, though an NSA-IAD person once told me that all software encryption products "have issues" - but would not explain what that meant, exactly.

Good luck,
Dave

That's likely for closed source encryption programs (aka backdoors) and methods,but do open source programs have these "issues" too? What about AES 256bit algoritm?

[Kardan]

What about AES 256bit algoritm?

The Ironkey uses Automatic AES 256 CBC-mode encryption. Here's a link that describes its' features in more detail:

https://www.ironkey.com/compare-features

You probably want the "Personal" model as opposed to the "Basic" (less features and can't be updated) or "Enterprise" models (designed for a large number of users with an IT dept. to manage them). They also make them with two types of memory - the D200 and S200. D200 is cheaper and slower while the S200 is faster, longer life expectancy but more expenive. They will be introducing the 300 series sometime this year but haven't leaked a feature list yet. None of them work with Mac's. Seldom discounted - Amazon is about as good a source as any. Sometimes you can find a used one on eBay but be sure it is really the model you want and includes the unlocking key. Hope this helps.
Brian