(Profits of this article will be donated to le projet below — Cryptomator, I am not affiliated with the project, just love the tools.)
Hard drives, cloud storage, the dreaded “Downloads” folder — so many files, some important, but most are not. Let’s look at a simple, open source, & straightforward tool to make a secure folder. Bonus — the file formatting makes it super easy to upload to your preferred cloud storage.
Sounds hard, why should I be bothered?
Personal privacy is a serious issue, hackers, snoopers, nosey neighbour, malicious work colleagues, even that crazy ex-boyfriend/girlfriend you think is looking through your computer.
Having a simple drop folder, that you can port across to any computer, any time, using a very simple, free tool, can be hugely valuable.
Better to have and not need, that need and not have.
Ok — Just show me already.
Bring in Cryptomator. The name sounds like it might be complicated, but trust me, this is a beautifully facile tool that can run on any platform, anywhere. (Bonus — it even had a mobile app)
With current support for:
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux (All types)
- Android
- iOS
- ++ Even a CLI for those of us who like to use Terminal/Bash
What the heck — How do I use this?
Step 1
Head over to their website (Link here) and let’s get it downloaded. Make sure you select the right version for you. I recommend starting with Cryptomator on your Laptop/PC to learn how to best use it.
Step 1.1
If you are on a Mac, you will have to perform 1 additional step, installing a tool called Fuse.
Fuse is free and open source. You can download it from the Fuse website and installation takes up very little space & it is very lightweight.
Step 2
We have Cryptomator installed, we have Fuse installed if we are on a Mac, we are ready to make some secure files.
Lets start by Adding a vault — simply click the “+Add Vault” and Create New Vault.
Creating our Vault, we are given some built in options by the Cryptomator Team. We can setup our Vault in our Cloud Service or locally on our computer. For this setup, let’s make a local secure folder. Select “Custom Location” and pick your Desktop or Home Folder.
Picking a password should be done carefully. Choosing a passPHRASE instead of a password is important.
p34fjp3E&#*d < WhyCatSmellsLikeTunaCorn22??
Pick a passphrase and if you are unsure at all, create a backup recovery key. Printing this key out and storing it somewhere safe. Do not keep this in a file.
We can now begin to use our secure drive. We begin by unlocking it, using that important passphrase & we are presented with what looks like a mounted external drive.
Comparing our encrypted folder, and our unencrypted folder, we can see Cryptomator in action. It takes our files, does some AED256 encryption, flattens the folder structure (Making it even harder to read), and stores our files.
Once we have created this encrypted folder, we can take it on a USB, upload it to Google Drive or your preferred cloud provider, and feel safe, our files can only be accessed by US.
Cryptomator is 100% open sourced, community driven, and a beautiful program to use. You can optionally support the project, or spread the good word — further driving the idea of encryption to all.
This article is behind a paywall currently, as a user of Cryptomator for several years, i want to give back to the team. I will be donating revenue generated by this article to the Cryptomator project and anyone reading can message me for proof. I’ll be doing it in batches if/when the article gains some traction.
-David
