Cryptomator

Cryptomator encrypts file contents and names using AES. Your passphrase is protected against bruteforcing attempts using scrypt. Directory structures get obfuscated. The only thing which cannot be encrypted without breaking your cloud synchronization is the modification date of your files.

The program creates an AES-encrypted file in your Dropbox folder, Google Drive, or whatever other location you like. Just specify the file name, location and a passphrase, and you're done.

Once the vault is set up, Cryptomator mounts it as a virtual drive on your computer.

Save any documents to that drive, and they're automatically encrypted, then uploaded to the cloud (or to wherever your storage folder is located).

When you're finished, lock the vault, the virtual drive disappears, and no-one will even know it's there.

Cryptomator is a free and open source software licensed under the GPLv3. Cryptomator’s software works on Windows, Mac, and Linux, in both 32 and 64-bit flavors. A Java version is also available, for cross-platform compatibility.

Cryptomator Tutorial: Get Started (YouTube Video)

Some people have expressed a concern that a masterkey file is stored in the Cryptomator vault. This is supposed to be there. - "Inside the storage location of a Cryptomator vault, you will find a file called masterkey.cryptomator. This file is stored in the cloud to allow convenient access to a vault on different devices. This file contains encrypted data, which is needed to derive the masterkey from your password. The file does not contain the decrypted masterkey itself. In addition, some metadata about the vault (e.g., the version of Cryptomator used to create it) is also stored in this file. The encrypted key in masterkey.cryptomator is not more sensitive than the encrypted files themselves."

Digital Driver's Licenses

There's an app for almost everything these days, whether it's shopping, tracking your eating or exercise or finding your way. Now driver's licenses are making the transition from a card carried in a pocket or purse to a digital application on your mobile phone.

Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Maryland, Wyoming and the District of Columbia are carrying out limited trials of digital driver's licenses. Iowa and Louisiana are planning to issue digital licenses to every motorist who wants one beginning this year.

What about the security of digital licenses in an age when it seems everything can be hacked? Digital licenses are protected by password, PINs and other security features in addition to the usual security built into phones, and state authorities can wipe a digital license remotely if a driver reports it lost to the Department of Motor Vehicles. (NBC News, May 24, 2018)
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For data privacy, digital driver's licenses are an extremely bad idea. If you are stopped by the police for some minor traffic violation, the police officer will ask to see your driver's license, vehicle registration, proof of insurance, etc. But what does the police officer do with your documents? He or she takes them back to the police vehicle, runs your information through a data terminal mounted in the vehicle or radios the information into to a dispatcher who runs it.

If you driver's license is on your phone, the police officer now takes your unlocked phone back to the police vehicle. There is nothing to now prevent the police from taking a quick look through the content of your phone. Some police departments may even copy the entire content of your cell-phone as we see in this 2011 article in Geek. According to the article:

"If you’re a Michigan citizen, you may want to be careful about what you have on your cell phone. Apparently Michigan State Police have been using a high-tech mobile forensics device that can pull information from over 3,000 types of cell phones in under only two minutes.

The information the device is able to export is basically everything from your smartphone, including call history, deleted phone data, text messages, contacts, images, and GPS data. And don’t think you’ll be safe if your phone is password-protected, the device can get around that too.

The police don’t even need a warrant to scan your phone. They can pull your information without your consent, and without any reasonable cause. The Cellebrite UFED scanner has been used by MSP since at least August 2008.

It would be one thing if these scanners are being used on people who were suspected of a crime, but police officers are scanning the phones of drivers stopped in minor traffic violations."

Pornhub Launches VPNhub

PornHub launches VPNhub - a free and unlimited VPN service for anything (including p*rn)

PornHub wants you to keep your porn viewing activities private, and it is ready to help you out with its all-new VPN service.

Yes, you heard that right.

Adult entertainment giant PornHub has launched its very own VPN service today with "free and unlimited bandwidth" to help you keep prying eyes away from your browsing activity.

Dubbed VPNhub, the VPN service by PornHub is available for both mobile as well as desktop platform, including Android, iOS, MacOS, and Windows.

VPN, or Virtual Private Network, allows users to transmit data anonymously, avoids ISP-level website blocking or tracking and keeps your browsing activity private by encrypting your data, even when you are on public Wi-Fi connections.

VPNhub promises never to store, collect, sell, or share your personal information with any third parties for their marketing, advertising or research purposes.

VPNhub is available in countries across the globe except for Burma/Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria, due to the ban imposed by the U.S. government.

While mobile users (both iOS and Android) can download and use the VPNhub app for free, desktop users (MacOS and Windows) have to purchase a premium account.

You can also upgrade your free account to a premium subscription for $13 a month or $90 for a full year, which eliminates ads, provides faster connection speeds, and opens up "servers from a wide range of countries."

You can give premium VPNhub a try by using its use 7-day free trial.  (Hacker News, May 24, 2018)

Ways to Protect Your Privacy from Amazon Echo

KOMO 4 News (May 27, 2018)  provided tips that can help you protect your privacy when using voice controlled devices, like Amazon Echo. The article states "There's no way to eliminate these sorts of privacy risks short of unplugging entirely. But you can minimize the odds of unpleasant privacy surprises with these tips:

— KILL THE MIC
— LIMIT THE MIC
— ABOUT THAT CAMERA
— BLOCK THE SIGNALS
— BE INFORMED

Of course, the safest approach is not to buy a new gadget in the first place. That might not be practical for smartphones these days, but do you really need a smart speaker or a television set that's connected to the internet?"

Smart Meters - Surveillance of Your Home

According to the Seattle Times (May 13, 2018): Utility regulators are pushing utilities to adopt automated meter technology. But the American Civil Liberties Union and others warn it potentially threatens privacy and could pose health risks because of the radio signals used to transmit the information.

In 2017, the ACLU of Washington urged the Seattle City Council to consider requiring privacy protections before allowing the devices to be installed.

The meters, the ACLU argued, collect data in such ways that can reveal whether someone is home, and to some extent what they are doing in their home based on energy usage. And that data can be sold for marketing purposes, the ACLU and others warned. "The potential surveillance capabilities ... make clear and binding guidelines essential," ACLU Technology and Liberty Project Director Shankar Narayan wrote to the Seattle council. "In considering what safeguards might be appropriate, the City Council must consider the outer envelope of this (or any other) technology’s capabilities and ensure third-party verification of those capabilities, rather than rely on the assurances of the very vendors that stand to benefit from potential sales of Seattleites’ data."

The ACLU stated in its letter: 

"We have consistently advocated for privacy protections and against government surveillance without appropriate checks and balances. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is a surveillance-capable infrastructure that is being rapidly implemented in Seattle with little public transparency as to its privacy impacts and how they will be mitigated; without appropriate regard for the principles of Seattle’s own Privacy Program; and without a meaningful opportunity for individuals to offer informed consent."

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Smart meters also reveal intimate details about what’s going on inside the home. By collecting energy use data at high frequencies - typically every 5, 15, or 30 minutes - smart meters know exactly how much electricity is being used, and when. Patterns in your smart meter data can reveal when you are home, when you are sleeping, when you take a shower, and even whether you cook dinner on the stove or in the microwave. These are all private details about what’s going on inside your home...

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission says customers can choose not to have the advanced meters hooked up to their homes or businesses.

Credit Security Freeze May Soon Be Free

According to CNN Money (May 22, 2018) - You will soon be able to freeze your credit report for free, a step that can help protect you from identity theft. The provision was included in a broader bill passed by the House on Tuesday, which rolled back regulations on banks created by Dodd-Frank. The bill now heads to President Donald Trump's desk.

The new legislation will make placing, lifting, and permanently removing freezes free no matter where you live. It also requires consumer rating companies to fulfill your request within one business day if made online or over the phone, and within three business days if requested by mail.

The changes will take effect about four months after the bill is signed.

In February 2018, I wrote about using a Credit Freeze for Privacy and Security.

Amazon Teams Up With Law Enforcement to Deploy Face Recognition Technology

The ACLU stated on May 22, 2018: Amazon, which got its start selling books and still bills itself as “Earth’s most customer-centric company,” has officially entered the surveillance business.

The company has developed a powerful and dangerous new facial recognition system and is actively helping governments deploy it. Amazon calls the service “Rekognition.”

Marketing materials and documents obtained by ACLU affiliates in three states reveal a product that can be readily used to violate civil liberties and civil rights. Powered by artificial intelligence, Rekognition can identify, track, and analyze people in real time and recognize up to 100 people in a single image. It can quickly scan information it collects against databases featuring tens of millions of faces, according to Amazon.

The ACLU released an open letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Tuesday, demanding Amazon to "stop powering a government surveillance infrastructure that poses a grave threat to customers and communities across the country."