Encryption

[pgp_protector]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA256

Ok, real simple question.
Who uses Encryption ?
Phone, E-Mail, Messaging, Everything, or Nothing ?
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Version: GnuPG v2

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E5Wo+i4s22gYqMNk8lEqxQA/xl6Zz5m4k40uLzSQzntaMrfQS55SorfHal+p7Eg=
=j2t+
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

 

[mnorian]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA256

Ok, real simple question.
Who uses Encryption ?
Phone, E-Mail, Messaging, Everything, or Nothing ?
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v2

iQEcBAEBCAAGBQJWx3rOAAoJEMhZP4feXXfJGdUIAK5ZlzD5NmlQc+dyReuCTI+l
T7FoK+bgtQ6bOk94O1tQDDCqVmVjQGvXamMy+7axy7Oo5vtY+2BbdaS2kH+hinTg
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E5Wo+i4s22gYqMNk8lEqxQA/xl6Zz5m4k40uLzSQzntaMrfQS55SorfHal+p7Eg=
=j2t+
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Nothing.

 

[mnorian]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA256

Ok, real simple question.
Who uses Encryption ?
Phone, E-Mail, Messaging, Everything, or Nothing ?
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v2

iQEcBAEBCAAGBQJWx3rOAAoJEMhZP4feXXfJGdUIAK5ZlzD5NmlQc+dyReuCTI+l
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Two friends of mine were telling me about Lifelock.com which is supposed to keep your info safe online; has anyone had any experience with this company?

 

[pgp_protector]

Two friends of mine were telling me about Lifelock.com which is supposed to keep your info safe online; has anyone had any experience with this company?

LifeLock isn't a Encryption service, it is more of a credit monitoring service. And won't really protect data that you put out there online.

 

[elytron]

Hey. I have found it difficult to understand message encryption, can't figure it out. Need to read some handbooks/manuals, but am too distracted with other things. Plus I don't have anyone to encrypt messages to. Once I experimented with the OTR plugin for the Pidgin instant messenger. And messed around with gnupg under Linux, found it very difficult to use. Someday I will take some time to learn. File encryption is pretty easy though, use encrypted 7zip archives to secure some stuff. Truecrypt used to be good, but I no longer use it.

 

[mnorian]

Hey. I have found it difficult to understand message encryption, can't figure it out. Need to read some handbooks/manuals, but am too distracted with other things. Plus I don't have anyone to encrypt messages to. Once I experimented with the OTR plugin for the Pidgin instant messenger. And messed around with gnupg under Linux, found it very difficult to use. Someday I will take some time to learn. File encryption is pretty easy though, use encrypted 7zip archives to secure some stuff. Truecrypt used to be good, but I no longer use it.

Here is a site I found when I had questions about cryptography; it has a little history of encryption and links if you want to learn more; all depends how full your HD is between your ears; mines pretty full so I didn't delve too deep; it's gets much more complicated then the mechanical teletype cryptography machines we used to use years ago in the army Signal Corp; I can tell you for sure. I don't remember hearing about algorithms; at all.

http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/encryption

 

[MrJim]

Does VPN count?

 

[mnorian]

Nothing.

Mis-spoke here; we use a router on our local satellite dish; which uses WEP/WPA2 encryption; this is why I don't need any local additional encryption on my PC; which I figured was the original question.

Does VPN count?

Yes, but; it's not as good as using a router with wpa2; or both. Here is a detail article explaining why; it's from 2007; but it's still relevant now; AFAIK.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/why-vpn-cant-replace-wi-fi-security/

 

[mnorian]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA256

Ok, real simple question.
Who uses Encryption ?
Phone, E-Mail, Messaging, Everything, or Nothing ?
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v2

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=j2t+
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PGP; been meaning to ask; is the data above an example of using encryption? And are we supposed to decrypt-tit?

 

[pgp_protector]

PGP; been meaning to ask; is the data above an example of using encryption? And are we supposed to decrypt-tit?

Not quite.
The above was what's called a Signed message.

Example. How could one know if it was Me that posted the OP, or if a Government Agency posted (or sent you an E-Mail) pretending to be my.

To Check you would "Verify" the PGP Signature (Sorta like a Check sum)
But only I can Generate a Valid PGP_Protector Signature for my messages.

If you used PGP / GNUPG(Public domain version of PGP) you would be able to see that it was Me that posted it, also if someone changed anything (even an "A" to "a" ) the signature would no longer be valid, and you would know that the message either was edited in transit, or after posting.

A Full PGP Encrypted message would look more like this

-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----
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=euav
-----END PGP MESSAGE-----

 

[pgp_protector]

One of the good programs
https://gnupg.org/

PGP used to be free years ago before it got bought, when initially created the US Government tried to go after the creators because it was/is considered Military Grade Encryption
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy

 

[MrJim]

Mis-spoke here; we use a router on our local satellite dish; which uses WEP/WPA2 encryption; this is why I don't need any local additional encryption on my PC; which I figured was the original question.




Yes, but; it's not as good as using a router with wpa2; or both. Here is a detail article explaining why; it's from 2007; but it's still relevant now; AFAIK.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/why-vpn-cant-replace-wi-fi-security/

I do use a router w/wpa2 ~ is a vpn unnecessary in this case?

 

[mnorian]

Not quite.
The above was what's called a Signed message.

Example. How could one know if it was Me that posted the OP, or if a Government Agency posted (or sent you an E-Mail) pretending to be my.

To Check you would "Verify" the PGP Signature (Sorta like a Check sum)
But only I can Generate a Valid PGP_Protector Signature for my messages.

If you used PGP / GNUPG(Public domain version of PGP) you would be able to see that it was Me that posted it, also if someone changed anything (even an "A" to "a" ) the signature would no longer be valid, and you would know that the message either was edited in transit, or after posting.

A Full PGP Encrypted message would look more like this

-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----
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=euav
-----END PGP MESSAGE-----

Your original post looks like some texts that come into my Gmail.com account (I send text to people's mobile phones using Vtext,com) when they forget and use their mypixmessages,com for text instead of pictures. Would you know; is this because the encryption from the vtex is not compatible with the mypixmessages or maybe Gmail or my router?

 

[mnorian]

I do use a router w/wpa2 ~ is a vpn unnecessary in this case?

I would say yes; as the router encryption is better than the VPN; but as long as the VPN isn't slowing you down and is compatible with your router; it can't hurt; as was stated in the ZDnet article (way down the page). But; as this is complicated, there may be those; who know a lot more then me who may have a different take on this.

 

[elytron]

Concerning WiFi encryption/security. WPA2 Personal PSK, with AES encryption is the best you can do. At this time, to secure a wireless home network. All the older encryption schemes are now easily cracked, especially WEP. It is important to use a strong wireless password key. Even WPS is broken, and should be disabled/not used if possible. Wireless MAC address filtering is also easily thwarted, since every MAC address is visible, and a nearby hacker can just pretend to be one of your machines. Hiding your wireless SSID is more trouble than it's worth. If you connect to an unencrypted public hot spot, use of VPN is probably a good idea. Hope I know what I'm talking about, correct me if I am wrong.

 

[pgp_protector]

Your original post looks like some texts that come into my Gmail.com account (I send text to people's mobile phones using Vtext,com) when they forget and use their mypixmessages,com for text instead of pictures. Would you know; is this because the encryption from the vtex is not compatible with the mypixmessages or maybe Gmail or my router?

Haven't use MyPixMessages / VText, but It's sounds more like it's an Encoding issue than an Encryption Issue.

 

[mnorian]

Haven't use MyPixMessages / VText, but It's sounds more like it's an Encoding issue than an Encryption Issue.

Thanks for your input; I figured it was no big deal as the message is there just surrounded by all this data for video transmission or pics; the funny thing is you can send more then the 140 characters thru the mypix.com (pages worth) from a mobile phone to a PC (not the other way; still limited to 140). Just a thought if anyone uses their pc to text to mobile.

 

[ChrisWiegman]

Who uses encryption in what? We all use it in some ways. If you're talking about email, I also use it (I'm actually quite impressed lately with services like Facebook that will encrypt what it sends to you).

Rather than seeing someone encrypt their physical emails or other data on their drives though (the latter is actually done by quite a few) I wish more people would take advantage of the options available to them to encrypt their connections to the services they use. It's pitiful how few folks use VPNs and other tools on open wi-fi.

https://keybase.io/chriswiegman

 

[Murby]

When I buy a new hard drive, I encrypt it with 256AES. The reason is that we put a lot of personal stuff on the drives and if the drive fails under warranty, I can send it back without having to worry about some idiot stealing my identity when they fix it or scrap it.
Some of these big terabyte sized drives can cost a bit of money.