Coming early 2012 - SecretSync for iPhone

2011 is on its way out here in the Mountain Time Zone. We want to thank everyone for an exciting year, and we're eagerly looking forward to what 2012 brings!

Here's a hint — it's going to be mobile.

As in, we're coming to the iPhone soon! Here's a couple of screenshots to whet your appetite.

Roll your own secure sync with SecretSync and TntDrive

SecretSync was designed to be simple and work between two locations, usually folders, on your hard drive. In this way, it is able to be used with your choice of synchronization service, whether Dropbox, Ubuntu One, or SugarSync.

Now, there's another alternative. You can be your own cloud provider, by using SecretSync with TntDrive.

TntDrive is a cool utility that maps a Windows drive letter to a bucket in Amazon S3. (Just FYI, S3 is the service Dropbox uses to actually store your data online.) Then, anything you put in the mapped drive is uploaded to S3.

To add strong client-side encryption and synchronization, add SecretSync to the mix. Point your destination (or tunnel folder) folder to the mapped drive, and you have DIY encrypted synchronization.

There are more details about this on our forum at this link:

http://www.completelyprivatefiles.com/forum/topic.php?id=21

SecretSync 1.337 release - for OS X only

We just want to announce a small update to SecretSync, for OS X only, that allows synchronization of Microsoft Office documents while they are open and being edited. Office products generally lock files while in use. This has been a problem for many sync products, Dropbox included, since users generally want their changes to synchronize as soon as they click save, and sync tools need to be careful about synchronizing files that have locks on them, since doing so may cause data corruption. Office products like Word generally put a lock on the file until you are done editing and close it. Because of this, users would have to wait until they exit the program before the file would synchronize.

SecretSync already allows Office documents to synchronize while editing on the Windows platform, but not on OS X. This update fixes this behavior, and allows edits to Office documents to synchronize without having to close the Office application first.

If you are already running SecretSync, simply download this version and run the install. It should update the SecretSync service without changing your settings.

Download version 1.337 for OS X

SecretSync 1.332 Release

We have just released SecretSync version 1.332. This version patches a minor bug in our signal checking mechanism that was occasionally causing a forced close on system shutdown or hibernation.

Additionally, we've worked to add a user requested feature, that of synchronization status. Since our product works alongside Dropbox, and they already have a tray icon that indicates synchronization, we didn't want to add yet another tray animation. Once SecretSync updates files in the Dropbox folder, their icon notifies you that the changes have occurred, so we were already covered in that area.

However, users gave us feedback and told us that they'd like to know a little more about what's happening, especially when they were synchronizing a large number of files. This release accommodates that request. We still didn't want to create an additional system tray icon, since that seemed redundant. Instead, we updated the Log View on Windows and Linux, and the SecretSync Manager on OS X to show status, and also to automatically refresh the synchronization log.

The screenshots below demonstrate the the status addition on their respective platforms.

Windows:

Mac OS X:

Download SecretSync for your platform below.

SecretSync 1.307 Release

SecretSync version 1.307 is now out, and available for download on all supported platforms.

This is a pretty minor revision, but enhances the application in a few small, but key ways.

First, it provides better logic for ignoring temporary and system files that don't need to sync. Files such as Office temporary files for instance. These get created by Word, OpenOffice Writer, etc, and they only exist to support the editing of the actual document. As such, these don't need to sync, and often have to be deleted immediately after synchronizing. We've added a new module to SecretSync that ignores files such as these, making synchronizing more efficient and less error prone.

Second, we've made some improvements to the installers, that make an uninstall safer for users. E.g. on Windows, when you choose to uninstall SecretSync completely, and remove the SecretSync and tunnel folders, it places them in the Recycle Bin. That way, if you made a mistake and deleted the wrong folder, you can still restore your data.

We're committed to making updates as frequently as is reasonable, since we believe that every improvement, no matter how small, should be available as soon as possible to our users.

SecretSync works with Box.net Sync

We're happy to announce that with SecretSync version 1.291 we are now compatible with Box.net sync.

If you don't know about Box.net, they are one of the early pioneers of Cloud content management. Initially a web-based product, they have recently released a client-side sync utility that allows you to seamlessly integrate files on your computer with your online Box.net account.

We tested SecretSync with Box.net, identified a few changes we needed to make, and now are happy to announce that SecretSync works fine with Box.net sync. Because of how Box.net treats hidden folders, we've added the option to leave the tunnel folder visible. So when you install SecretSync for Box.net, simply choose the following option, then choose the My Box Files sync folder:

This option is available in the Windows as well as OS X installers. Enjoy!

SecretSync 1.291 Release

We just wanted to announce that SecretSync 1.291 is available for download. This is release provides a few small fixes to SecretSync and the installers.

Briefly, this update changes the way SecretSync detects a new installation, e.g. when you install it for the first time to an additional computer in the sync chain. This change speeds up start-up time. Also, by default, the 'tunnel' folder is marked as hidden. We now provide the option to create this folder so that it is not hidden. This allows SecretSync to work with tools such as Box.net sync, which treats hidden files differently than say, Dropbox.

Upgrading

If you are already a user of SecretSync, there is no need to uninstall. For Windows and Mac OS X, simply download the current version, and run the install. Do not uninstall first.

If you are on Linux, follow the instructions for upgrading at this link.

SecretSync 1.283 Release

Following on the heels of our 1.0 (1.261, really) release, we are happy to announce a small update that should provide an important performance enhancement. Not really a bugfix release, although it does fix a minor issue with OS X, this release contains a fairly significant optimization of our synchronization algorithm. We highly recommend upgrading if you are running any previous version of SecretSync.

The optimization comes by improving the way the algorithm detects whether a file has been renamed or simply has been added, and reduces not only CPU cycles, but also disk I/O.

In troubleshooting a problem with a customer on OS X we also identified an issue that was causing the sync cycle to remain in an aggressive state. This only affected OS X systems, and is now patched.

Upgrading

If you are already a user of SecretSync, there is no need to uninstall. For Windows and Mac OS X, simply download the current version, and run the install. Do not uninstall first.

If you are on Linux, follow the instructions for upgrading at this link.

SecretSync is now out of beta - version 1.0 is here

We're happy to announce that SecretSync is now officially out of beta. That means we've made it to version 1.0 (technically, version 1.261), and have moved out of the beta stage. We've had thousands of users try the beta, and have gotten high quality feedback from many. So we want to take a moment to thank everyone who has shown interest in the product, and for those who helped us troubleshoot and track down bugs. We couldn't have gotten here without you.

Below are a few of the important changes that have occurred in the transition from beta to release.

Safer decrypt-on-copy & encrypt-on-copy

Beta testing brought some problems to light in regard to failure during decryption. Primarily, in some (fairly rare) cases, a decryption error could occur that deleted the existing non-encrypted file. We've taken steps to address these issues. Now, an intermediate file is used during the copy-decrypt and copy-encrypt procedures, and if there is any failure during encryption or decryption, the target file is untouched. The integrity of your data is and always will be a primary objective in our design.

Improved sleep/wake algorithm

With file synchronization, you must try to find a balance between responsiveness and performance. I.e. you are trying to quickly detect and handle changes in the file system while keeping CPU cycles and disk reads to a minimum. Our approach is to monitor usage and build statistics to find a balance between these two. During the beta phase we were able to monitor, get feedback, tweak, and generally improve how we are synchronizing the SecretSync folder. This release includes the results of our work and provides the most stable, low-impact, and responsive folder monitoring of our releases to date.

Bugfixes and optimizations

During the beta stage we improved our test suite and pressured SecretSync to see if any problems emerged. A few edge cases fell out, such as directory modified time conflicts, and these are now handled appropriately by SecretSync. (The case we demonstrated would actually be pretty hard to do in practice, but we want SecretSync to be as robust as possible, even if the scenario is unlikely.) Based on feedback and issues by users throughout the beta period, we've identified and patched various small bugs, and we are now confident that SecretSync is ready for prime time. We hope you find that to be the case as well.

Subscriptions

Now that we've reached a stable release version, we've enabled our subscription tiers. You can purchase a subscription through PayPal. More information is available on the Pricing page. Subscriptions start at the free level, which costs nothing and allows you to synchronize 2 GB of data.

Upgrading

If you are already a user of the beta, there is no need to uninstall. For Windows and Mac OS X, simply download the current version, and run the install. Do not uninstall first.

If you are on Linux, follow the instructions for upgrading at this link.

SecretSync issue with Airfoil on OS X

So any time you release a product for a platform, users will find interesting and sometimes inexplicable problems that you don't pick up in testing. This one was brought to our attention by user Quinn, an early-in user of the SecretSync app for OS X. (Thanks, Quinn!)

There is a product called Airfoil, released by Rogue Amoeba software. It's a great looking piece of software, and they seem to be a great company with a real straightforward approach to communicating with their users. Something we totally applaud.

They released a version of Airfoil that may cause problems for third-party apps on OS X Lion. Turns out SecretSync was affected. We managed to track the problem of the crash, and verify the subsequent fix, through the help of Quinn.

If you launch SecretSync Manager on OS X Lion, and get a crash report citing EXC_BAD_ACCESS / KERN_PROTECTION_FAILURE, and are running Airfoil, there's a good chance you may need to downgrade Airfoil per the following instructions:

http://rogueamoeba.com/utm/2011/08/20/well-shoot/

Rogue Amoeba does an excellent job of explaining the issue, and how to fix it.

SecretSync for Mac OS X is now available

Just a quick post to let you know that we've just released SecretSync for OS X.

It's been tested on Snow Leopard and Lion and will work cross-platform, meaning you can now sync between Linux, Windows, and OS X computers if you need to do so.

It runs on login, just like Dropbox or your other synchronization services, so once it's installed all you need to do is start adding files in the SecretSync folder:

Get SecretSync Now

Run SecretSync with Java installed locally

[This is cross-posted from our forum.]

SecretSync requires that you have Java version 1.6.0 or newer on your system in order to run. If you can't update or install Java for the entire system, i.e. if you don't have admin privileges, you can still run SecretSync by installing a copy of the Java runtime into the SecretSync folder.

If you try and run SecretSync and get the following message --

This application requires a Java Runtime Environment 1.6.0

You don't have the appropriate Java version. It may be older, or not installed. To install a local version that SecretSync should run ok with, do the following steps:

Download jPortable from:

http://portableapps.com/apps/utilities/java_portable

Run and extract it to

%APPDATA%\SecretSync\Java

%APPDATA% corresponds to the following directory on XP:

C:\Documents and Settings\<USERNAME>\Application Data\SecretSync\Java

Or the following directory on Windows 7/Vista:

C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Roaming\SecretSync\Java

If SecretSync can find the Java runtime at the above location, it will be able to run. Enjoy!

Safely sync Google Docs with SecretSync and SyncDocs

As we've stated before, SecretSync is sync service agnostic. This means that you can safely sync confidential documents using any client-side synchronization service, not just Dropbox.

If you use Google Docs, here's how you can use SecretSync + SyncDocs to encrypt and sync your files.

SyncDocs is a great client-side synchronization utility that works much like Dropbox, except that it syncs and stores files in your Google Docs account. First, you'll need to install this application. During install, it prompts for your credentials for Google Docs.

After the installation, you'll have a local directory where you put files, and they get automatically uploaded to Google Docs. This is all SecretSync needs to do its work.

Next, install SecretSync. When it asks for the location of the Dropbox folder simply select the location of the SyncDocs folder instead:

That's it. Once the SecretSync installation is complete, it will confidentially encrypt and synchronize files through Google Docs:

SecretSync 0.209 beta release now available

We've just made a new beta release of SecretSync for Windows and Linux. This is a bug fix and request release. It contains the following updates:

The Windows installer now includes a source folder selection screen. Previously, we defaulted to the user's profile directory, and provided instructions for changing this in the config file after the fact. User response has been pretty unanimous in that they preferred having the option.

We also now synchronize time stamps. In the previous release, there was a slight discrepancy between the time stamps of the modified source files and the encrypted destination files. This was due to the amount of time it took for the file to be encrypted and saved into the tunnel folder. This has now been addressed, and the time stamp you see for a given file on workstation A will now be identical after it traverses the cloud and ends up on workstation B (which can often be significantly later).

Another user request was to allow horizontal resizing of the Log View. You may now drag the viewer into a wider format, which is necessary at times to fully view files with longer names.

Additionally, we patched a few minor bugs that users pointed out to us, or we discovered in code review. We want to say thanks to the many users who have tried our product, and who took the time to provide feedback and alert us to issues.

You can get the latest version of SecretSync on the download page:

http://getsecretsync.com/ss/download/

SecretSync with Ubuntu One

SecretSync is synchronization service agnostic. This simply means that while we make it real simple to use SecretSync with the market leader for synchronization, Dropbox, it can be used with the synchronization service of your choice. Providing they install a local directory somewhere on your computer, that is.

For example, on Linux, if you use Ubuntu One instead of Dropbox, you can still use SecretSync. You just need to make a small adjustment when you install.

During the Linux installation, change the Dropbox directory to the location of the Ubuntu One directory:

That's basically all there is to it. Now, anything you put in the unencrypted SecretSync folder is encrypted and added to the Ubuntu One synchronization folder:

From this point, Ubuntu One will take care of synchronizing your encrypted files to your other computers.

SecretSync beta 0.169 available, including Linux installer

Just a quick note to let you know that we've released a new update for SecretSync, revision 0.169. We're still in beta, but we've had remarkably few issues and lots of excellent feedback.

This release contains fixes for both the application and installer.

We've added proxy handling to SecretSync as well as the installer. So if you're behind a proxy, you will still be able to sync your files. Proxy detection tries to be automatic. However, if you have a non-standard setup, you may need to configure the proxy for Java manually. Here's how to do that.

We've made a few minor tweaks to SecretSync, and added better alerts for the user. SecretSync tries to keep a low profile, but sometimes you need to know if an event occurs. We now provide window-based pop-ups — only when necessary, don't worry, :) — to communicate important information to the user.

The big news of course, is that we now have a Linux version available for Ubuntu/Debian. Our main development platforms are Windows and Linux, and SecretSync has been an absolute gem for confidentially replicating our Subversion repository not only between computers, but operating systems.

Download SecretSync 0.169b

Note: If you are running a previous version of SecretSync, don't uninstall. Simply download the update and run the install. Your existing sync cache files will be preserved this way.

SecretSync works with SugarSync

Just wanted to make a quick post to let everyone know that SecretSync, while designed to fit nicely with Dropbox can be used with any other sync tool, as long as they use a local folder like Dropbox does.

For example, some of our users prefer SugarSync, and have been successful in using SecretSync with this product.

Details, along with instructions can be found on the FAQ:

http://getsecretsync.com/ss/faq/#q5

Enjoy!

SecretSync beta release 0.132 now available!

Thanks to everyone who has participated in our beta program so far. We've just updated our installer, and want to let you know it's available for download.

This release contains the following changes:

We've improved the way we're generating a key from your passphrase. When you enter a passphrase, we apply a variation of PBKDF2 to generate a strong key. Prior to this release we were using the SHA-1 hashing algorithm. We've changed this to use SHA-256, since it has a larger key space, and is considered to be more secure. Basically this just means that now your passphrase gives you much stronger protection.

There were some issues with the installer in regard to Windows UAC security. We've fixed those, so now the install doesn't require admin privileges to run. We've also moved the install directory to better accommodate roaming profiles on Windows. We want the install to go as smoothly and as painlessly as possible, and these fixes should help.

We've also added deletion recovery. Now, if a file or folder is deleted from SecretSync, it will be retained for about 4 days before actually being removed. We all know stuff happens, so our goal is to treat your data as carefully as possible.

A special thanks goes out to user Steven Mirabito who made some nice custom folder icons for SecretSync. They look great, and let you locate the SecretSync folder at a glance. They're included in this release and are a great improvement.

Thanks to everyone who gave us feedback and worked with us to fix issues in our application. We are going to continue to try and improve the product, and your help is vital.

Get SecretSync now!

Note: there are special upgrade instructions if you use a previous version and use a passphrase. Click here.

Our Tech Cocktail experience

We've been extremely busy the last week or so, promoting SecretSync, which enables you to safely sync your confidential files through Dropbox and other sync services. (We'll be posting about this in more detail soon.)

However, we wanted to make a quick note about Tech Cocktail to thank them for selecting our company for their Boise Mixer, and tell you a little about the experience.

We were selected along with 10 other Idaho startups, all great companies with cool ideas. We got a chance to demo our product to a good number of people, made some excellent contacts, and managed to discuss how our products could solve some actual, specific problems companies were facing.

We also got a chance to meet with other local and like-minded entrepreneurs, exchange ideas, and just generally talk about the challenges facing a fresh young company. All in all, we had a great time.

So a big thanks to Tech Cocktail for coming to Boise, and for choosing our company to represent at the mixer!

CompletelyPrivateFiles.com to showcase at Tech Cocktail

We just wanted to make a quick post to let you know that our company has been selected, along with ten other startups, to showcase at the upcoming Tech Cocktail Boise event. If you can make it, we'd love to see you there!

Encrypting cookies in the browser article on ThinkVitamin

Ok, this post is a little belated, but we just wanted to point you to our article on the excellent web blog ThinkVitamin. It covers our very own Encrypted cookie API, but goes into more detail and usage scenarios.

Here's the article:

http://thinkvitamin.com/code/encrypting-cookies-in-the-browser/

Please tweet the above article, like it, or sign-up and try out the API if you find it useful.

AccountKeeper is now AccountSnap

We just wanted to make a quick post to let you know that our AccountKeeper gadget for Gmail, which allows you to manage your accounts and passwords easily in your browser, is now called AccountSnap.

There are various reasons for the name change, but more importantly, the AccountSnap is still the same great application that lets you manage your passwords safely and conveniently from Gmail.

Check out AccountSnap.

Updates and shortcuts for AccountKeeper Gadget

Hello to all of you who've found the AccountKeeper Gadget for Gmail an easy and safe way to manage your accounts online. We're glad you like it.

We've made some updates recently to improve the tool, fix a couple minor bugs, and generally make it easier to use.

Password masking

We've just added a keyboard shortcut to mask your passwords from view. Just hit the F1 key in AccountKeeper and all your passwords will be hidden. Hit it again, and you can see them as usual. This is a handy way to reduce shoulder surfing, or if you're showing AccountKeeper off to your friends or colleagues. (Something we hope you'd do!)

Other shortcuts

There are a couple other shortcuts that are handy. If you've selected a row in your passwords list and it has a URL in the Site column, all you need to do is hit the Home key to open that address in a new window in your browser.

You can hit the Delete key on any row you want to remove. This option is part of the Additional actions drop down as well, but we often find it useful to have a shortcut.

Thanks, and if you have any suggestions, comments, or issues, we'd love to hear them. Just email:

support@completelyprivatefiles.com

Client-side encrypted cookie API

Happy New Year! We're looking forward to another year of security and innovation.

On that note, we'd like to announce our new JavaScript API, in beta, that allows web developers to easily secure cookie data with 256-bit encryption.

This API allows you to read and write cookies that are secured with 256-bit AES encryption. Encryption happens client-side, and gives the user truly private data in any application you build.

You can use this easily integrated API to harden your web apps against the following threats.

• MITM attacks
• Cookie snooping
• Improve security on publicly accessible machines.

The service is currently free and available for mashups. We'd love to hear from developers as we shape this service.

Go to the encrypted cookie API documentation