How to encrypt your files and improve security Dropbox

Dropbox is a really great service. It gives you free 2 gigabytes of memory to store your files and gives you access and synchronization between different computers, regardless of whether you run it on Windows, Mac, Linux or any other mobile OS. However, there is one problem. All files you keep in the cloud are not encrypted. Whoever hacked your account can view and access all the files in your account, including those confidential documents that you synchronized across the cloud.

Why is it important? The mistake made by the Dropbox team a few days ago left Dropbox's personal account open for 4 hours. During this time, anyone could log into any account and get access to all the files in that account without any password. While this affected only 1% of their users (which is about 250,000, and this is not a small number), if you are one of those whose accounts have been compromised, or you have confidential files in your Dropbox, encrypt it better its so that such things were not terrible to you.

Since you never know when a similar incident will happen again, it is better to encrypt your files before you synchronize them with the cloud, so you will have protection, thanks to which your account will not care for such incidents.

1. SecretSync

SecretSync is a file-based encryption solution for Windows and Linux. After installation, you will find the new folder “SecretSync” in your user directory. Any files you place in this folder will be encrypted and synchronized with Dropox.
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Installing and using SecretSync for Windows is quite simple. You simply download, install and use.


Windows Requirements: Java 1.6 or Newer .NET Framework 2.0 or Newer

For Linux, work comes exclusively from the command line.

1. You must first download the deb file and install it on your system.
2. Open a terminal and enter
secretsync

This will launch the installer and download the necessary files from the SecretSync website. This will also start the configuration process.


After installation, enter
secretsync start
to start the SecretSync service. You will need to see the new SecretSync folder in the root of the disk. Any files you place in this folder will be encrypted and synchronized with Dropbox.

To make SecretSync start automatically every time you log in, go to “System-> Preferences-> Startup Applications” and add a new startup item.

Linux requirements: Java 1.6 or newer.

2. Encfs

Encfs is a better option than SecretSync because it stores encryption keys on your local machine, and it can work on Linux (initially), Windows (via BoxCryptor) and Mac (via MacFuse), which is great if you use Dropbox more than on one operating system.

In Ubuntu, open a terminal and enter:
sudo apt-get install encfs
sudo addgroup < > fuse

To create an encrypted folder, enter the following command:
encfs ~/Dropbox/.encrypted ~/Private

The above command instructs the encfs to create an encrypted hidden folder (with the name .encrypted) in Dropbox and mount it in a Private Folder in your Root Directory.

When you are offered a choice, press the "p" button and Enter.


Then, it will ask you to enter your password. Be very careful what you enter because it will not be displayed on the screen.

It's all. Any files that you place in a private folder will be encrypted and synchronized with Dropbox.

To force an encrypted folder to automatically connect every time you log in, you can use gnome-encfs.

1. Download gnome-encfs here (or the source here ) into your home folder.
2. Enter the following command:

sudo install ~/gnome-encfs /usr/local/bin
gnome-encfs -a ~/Dropbox/.encrypted ~/Private

GUI for Encfs

On Linux, Cryptkeeper is an application that provides a graphical interface for encfs. It does not include all the configuration options for encfs, but if you need an easy way to quickly deploy all this, then it is very useful.



In the terminal, enter:
sudo apt-get install cryptkeeper

Cryptkeeper runs the taskbar applet. If you are using Unity, use the following command to make it work:
gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Panel systray-whitelist "['Cryptkeeper']"
setsid unity

Boxcryptor

BoxCryptor is not a GUI for encfs, but its encryption method is compatible with encfs. If you created an encrypted folder in Linux, you can use BoxCryptor in Windows to mount the same encrypted folder.

3. TrueCrypt

TrueCrypt is another powerful and cross-platform encryption tool.
About him a lot has been written on Habré for this we will not write about him.

One drawback to TrueCrypt is that you need to create a fixed size virtual container before you can use it. In addition, files can be synchronized only after you have unmounted it. This means that you cannot synchronize your files in real time.

What methods do you use to protect your files in Dropbox?