[Tfug] Why would *anyone* leave a door open?

[John Gruenenfelder]

On Fri, Aug 28, 2009 at 06:15:34PM -0700, Bexley Hall wrote:
>> I find this to be a useful setup.  I can keep all my
>> important data on the encrypted filesystem and be relatively 
>> sure about its safety.   Having only my
>> home directory encrypted also means that the machine can
>> boot on its own
>> (unlike my laptop which is fully encrypted and needs the
>> passphrase just to
>> boot).  Useful for when I need to remotely reboot it.
>
>Why not keep it on your PDA?  And just configure it
>not to be "backed up" when you resync with your machine?

That's... a good question.  There's even a FOSS Palm OS app that performs
exactly this function.  It keeps your user/pass combos inside an encrypted
vault on your PDA.

I guess the only reason I can give is security.  For example, when you first
run the FOSS SSH client it displays several dialog boxes in a row about the
lack of security in several parts of the implementation.  In the end, the main
reason for the poor security is lack of processing power (on devices at the
time the SSH client was written, that is).

So, I assume that likely relates to other apps that use crypto algorithms in
some way as well.  Of course, that's just a blind assumption on my part and I
could be completely off.  For starters, the SSH client has to en/decrypt a lot
more data and at a much faster rate than the data vault app.

I suppose I should see if I can't dig around and locate that program.  If I'm
lucky it will be hosted on SourceForge like (ahem) certain other Palm OS
programs.  :)  And easier to find, you see...


-- 
--John Gruenenfelder    Systems Manager, MKS Imaging Technology, LLC.
Try Weasel Reader for PalmOS  --  http://weaselreader.org
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