So, use the free version of Boxcryptor to check you can still access everything you need, before committing.Īlways check every file has completely been synced before reopening it. Using Boxcryptor you’ll loose access to some options, like say automated versioning and auto-save in Microsoft Office 365/OneDrive. Some apps & services don’t like that privacy layer. I can live with that.īoxcryptor being some kind of virtual drive on your computer, doesn’t always play nice with other apps but nothing dramatic either, just occasional hiccups. For no apparent reason the Finder, as the File Explorer on Windows, will sometime slow down. I already mentioned the occasional speed hit. The thing is that without this password, no one can read your files–so, do not loose it, there is no recovery.Ĭan the NSA bypass it? No idea, but for me it’s more about keeping private companies at large than fighting the NSA (hi, guys). Technically, as far as I can understand, what you are the only one to own is the password used to connect (once) to your Boxcryptor account, not the key itself. I’m no expert, but they use strong encryption and, unlike all cloud service providers, they don’t own your private key: only you have it. For the rest, you’ll be able to open, edit, share, copy, delete all your files and so on, as long as you remember to access them from Boxcryptor and not from your cloud directly. On a Mac it means that instead of opening the Finder in OneDrive->My Folder->My File, I now open it in Boxcryptor->OneDrive->My Folder->My File.Īs you can see, it’s a tiny change. Why? Because if you don’t, you’ll access your encrypted files–see first screenshot–and you won’t be able to do much with those. The only noticeable change in your workflow is that you must always access your files through Boxcryptor’s virtual drive, not directly from the cloud app itself. Remember the first screenshot in this article? Here is what the same files would normally look like when accessed through Boxcryptor: Beside an occasional speed hit, you won’t notice any change. Once installed, you can keep using whatever cloud you fancy and access your files like you’d normally do. What’s great with Boxcryptor is that it’s invisible. It’s available for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. In a nutshell, Boxcryptor is a service that will sit between your files, on your computer, and your cloud provider–they claim to work with most if not all cloud services–and they will encrypt your files before syncing them with your cloud. It’s just the lack of a stricter legislation that makes it such this Wild West and this Eldorado for those companies, giving them free rein over our data. Save that I want to use the cloud: it’s a great tool. The obvious solution would be to not use the cloud at all. And that’s not the reason why I decided to use cloud to store my files. I don’t want anyone or any algorithm to be able to read my medical documents, or to see the pictures of my cat. I don’t want anyone to discover that I’m the author hiding behind the pen name of dear « Dulcinea Von Liebe, Duchess of Hot Steamy Romance ». But I don’t want anyone else accessing my files–be it on purpose, in order to offer me some service, or because of a security breach–to be able to read them. I’ll gladly open all my files and folders to any legit authority asking me to do so, provided they have a reason and the right to ask. “ Abandon privacy all ye who enter the cloud” is something that should be engraved over the entrance of most, if not all, cloud services.Īt least this is what it feels like to me, having to relinquish all notion of privacy and intimacy knowing my files will be analysed-some cloud providers being more invasive than other in that regard.
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