Home Security

How Secure Is Your Stolen Encrypted Data?

Chances are that some of your data has been stolen. Ever use Yahoo? 3 billion Yahoo accounts were nabbed in 2013. Visit a Marriott hotel? 500 million Marriott accounts were stolen over four years, 2014 – 2018. Did you manage to somehow hang on to your old Hotmail address and edgy teenage spirit? 360 million MySpace accounts, hacked. Use MyFitnessPal? 150 million accounts. So what exactly did the hackers get? Every hack is different, but they almost definitely got your email address, user information, records of your activity on the site, and possibly much more damaging things. Good news, though: a lot of the most… Read more

Here are a couple of inexpensive tips for covering up the cameras (or LED lights) on your devices

ARTICLE – I love my gadgets, but I don’t want to worry about the cameras on those devices getting hacked, so I cover many of them up. Am I paranoid? Maybe, but I know I’m not the only one concerned about this so I thought I’d pass on my tips to those of you who are interested.

Even though there are some phone cases available that are designed with a mechanical camera cover, what do you do when there is nothing for your particular phone or, for that matter, all the rest of your devices with cameras?

I use mounting putty (a.k.a Loctite Fun Tak or Scotch Removable Mounting Putty) for non-mobile devices……and black washi tape (a thin, decorative, rice paper masking tape sold as Scotch Washi Tape or Duck Washi Tape) for my portable devices.

Mounting putty works well as a covering for non-mobile device cameras. It works especially well on my Amazon Echo Spot’s camera without covering up the light sensor. I simply pinched off a tiny bit of the putty (my putty is blue) and rolled it into a teeny ball and placed it over the camera (shown in the photo above located at the top of the Spot in the black bezel area). What’s nice about using this stuff is that it can easily be shaped and flattened to fit the camera without impeding the function of the light sensor on the Spot. It works perfectly!


Mounting putty is also useful for covering up annoying LED lights on things like desktop chargers, power strips, etc. located in your bedroom which can be distracting if you like to sleep in complete darkness as I do.

The funny thing is, I use this putty for lots of handy things except when hanging things on my walls because it leaves an oily stain behind over time.


I found that washi tape is ideal for covering the cameras on my portable devices like my phone. I used a hand-held single hole puncher to quickly cut out small circles of tape which are large enough to cover the cameras. I then placed the washi tape on my phone’s front and back cameras. I used black washi tape so that it would blend into the background of the black bezel on my phone. You can barely tell it’s there.

Washi tape is ideal for this use because it is lightly adhesive – enough to stay on the device when slipping my phone into my purse or pocket but easily removable when I need to use the camera. And it doesn’t seem to leave any residue when removed. You can use the same piece of tape several times before needing to replace it.

I also use it on our laptop cameras which get zero use in our house. 


How well do these coverings work? Very well. The above pictures show the front-facing camera on my phone with me standing right in front of it (left screenshot above) and the other shows my laptop cam (right photo above). Both pictures show that you cannot see anything when using washi tape. The mounting putty worked equally well in blocking any images on my Echo Spot.

All-in-all, both of these solutions are easy to apply, remove, and reuse leaving little to no residue and they’re a fast fix. Another benefit to using mounting putty and washi tape to cover my device’s cameras and LEDs is that they are really inexpensive: Scotch Removable Mounting Putty is sold at Target for $1.89 and Duck Washi Tape black is sold at Walmart for $2.88.

What is your favorite way to cover up your cameras (that is, if you care enough to cover them up)? Leave a comment and let me know!

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: ,

Here are a couple of inexpensive tips for covering up the cameras (or LED lights) on your devices originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 27, 2019 at 10:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

SecureDrive KP hardware encrypted external portable harddrive review


REVIEW – I’ve been into computing for many years and I’ve collected a good amount of data that has to be kept secure. When the opportunity to review the SecureDrive came along, I figured this would be a good time to implement even better security than I previously had.

What is it?

The SecureDrive KP is a hardware encrypted external portable drive. It features a physical keypad and works across and with any OS and Devices.

Hardware specs

Capacity:   1TB, 2TB, 5TB, 500GB SSD, 1TB SSD, 2TB SSD, 4TB SSD, 8TB SSD
Cryptographic Processes:   AES-XTS 256 Bit Hardware Encryption (OS independent)
Dimensions (L x W x D):   127mm x 77mm x 12.5mm (1&2TB) – x 20.5mm (5TB)
Weight:   Approx. 9 oz. (1TB & 2 TB) Approx. 12 oz. (5TB)
Interface/Power Supply:   USB 3.0 (2.0 compatible) / BUS powered
Certifications:   RoHs, FCC, CE, USB, FIPS 140-2 Level 3
Assembled:   U.S.A
Languages:   English
Warranty:   2 years (limited warranty)
Password Policy:   Strong password (7-15 chars) Alpha Numeric
System Compatibility:   Microsoft, iOS, Android, Linux, Chrome, Thin Clients,
Embedded Systems (No software or drivers  needed)

What’s in the box?

  • SecureDrive KP (250GB SSD as tested)
  • Quick Start guide
  • 16″ USB cable
  • Export Notice information sheet


Design and features

The SecureDrive KP is about the same size as all other external drives, measuring just 3″x5″x0.5″. There is no external power supply requirement, it simply operates off of the USB cable power.

One of the key ways the SecureDrive keeps your data safe is that there is absolutely no communication between the host Operating System (Windows, Linux, MacOS or similar) and the drive until the User enters the correct PIN via the onboard keypad. This prevents computer/software brute force attacks and/or hacking of the system.

Once the correct pin is entered the drives USB controller is unlocked to initiate communication between the drive and host OS. This also prevents any malicious firmware modifications/updates that might be intended to breach the security of the drive.

The drive uses 256 bit AES XTS Mode hardware encryption. This hardware encryption is much faster than software based encryption which can slow performance by 30% or more.

Speaking of performance, the USB 3.0 super speed interface provides for a transfer rate of 5.0 Gbit/s while being backward compatible with USB 2.0 for older hardware. The USB cable is 16″ long and appears to be a standard cable often used for portable drives.

The wear resistant keypad has a special coating which masks key usage, without such coating an attacker could determine the most commonly used keys. The drive requires a 7 to 15 character password.

A secure drive would not be completely secure if it allowed access to the electronics that control the drive. The SecureDrive is certified FIPS level 3 (U.S. government computer security standard) and every vital piece of electronics is covered with a tough epoxy coating cementing the critical components in an indistinguishable solid capsule. There are no externally visible means to open the drive enclosure.

The SecureDrive works with any host operating system (Microsoft Windows, MacOS, iOS, Linux, Chrome, Thin Clients, Zero Clients, Android & Embedded Systems).

The drive has a brute force anti-hacking self destruct feature that is triggered after entering an incorrect password ten consecutive times. When triggered it will crypto-erase the passwords, all User data and drive formatting. Basically, it will wipe the drive and it will reset the password to the factory password. The drive is still useable, just empty. I tested this feature and it indeed worked perfectly. This is probably a good point to mention that there are no techniques to retrieve the pin. There are absolutely no back-doors and all data will be erased permanently.

One feature I really like about this drive is that you can configure an admin password and a user password. This also allows you to optionally set the user to be read-only and set an inactivity autolock.

When there are an admin and user password set, entering the wrong user password ten consecutive times only erases the user password, the admin password and drive data remain intact. This prevents a malicious user from intentionally or accidentally erasing the drive.

Another feature I like about the drive is the inactivity autolock. The Drive can be set to automatically lock after a pre-set amount of time of inactivity. The default state of the Inactivity Lock is OFF. This is a great feature because regardless of how careful you are to re-lock the device, one instance of forgetting to lock it and the drive becomes vulnerable. This feature can be set to activate (lock) at predefined times between 1 and 60 minutes. The 60-minute limit is something I would like to see changed. For me, I work from home and would like the drive to remain unlocked all day, but then lock after 8 hours or so.

For the technical minded, here are some CrystalDiskMark tests from my setup:



What I like

  • Physical keypad
  • Compact design

What needs to be improved

  • Auto lock times need to be longer
  • Did not have a full printed manual with it, but PDF’s are on the drive and a printed quick start instruction sheet was provided.

Final thoughts

The SecureDrive KP provides an easy and portable way to secure data and is available in the following capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 5TB, 500GB SSD, 1TB SSD, 2TB SSD, 4TB SSD, 8TB SSD.

Price: $279 as tested, many other models available
Where to buy: SecureDrive
Source: The sample of this product was provided by SecureDrive

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: ,

SecureDrive KP hardware encrypted external portable harddrive review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 25, 2019 at 8:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

YubiKey 5 NFC security key review

REVIEW – In a previous YubiKey review, I mentioned how we now live in a world where many websites are being compromised. Along with mobile authenticator apps available, using a hardware device such as the YubiKey is great for extra login security. I had the opportunity to take a look at the newest of Yubico’s hardware keys; the YubiKey 5 NFC. Let’s take a look!

What is it?

The YubiKey 5 NFC is a hardware-based authentication device that provides extra authentication over NFC (Near Field Communications). It also supports FIDO2, allowing organizations to enable passwordless login on a computer that supports FIDO2 open authentication standards.

Hardware specs

  • Dimensions: 0.7 in x 1.8 in x 0.13 in
  • Weight: 0.04 oz

What’s in the box?

  • YubiKey 5 NFC along with paper documentation

Design and features

The YubiKey 5 NFC looks much like any traditional USB device, but is flat and with a gold disk in the center of the key. It also has a keyhole to keep it on a lanyard with your EDC gear. I find it useful to keep in my backpack since I have it with me every day and keep it separate to my cell phone that I carry in my pocket.

Setup

Just like with the YubiKey 4 and other series, you can add this hardware key to tons of online services that support two-factor authentication. You can look into account preferences for an option along the lines of “set up a hardware key”. Then insert your YubiKey into your computer’s USB port, follow instructions, and all is set. When logging in, you touch the gold plating on the YubiKey to activate log on.

With this YubiKey 5 NFC, you can simply touch the key to the back of your phone (if your supports NFC). I have the Google Pixel 2 XL, and was able to set up my second Google account easily. I touched the key to the back of my phone shown above. It buzzed and then logged me in. It’s a little bit easier than using my mobile authenticator app, copying the password, and then logging into the site directly.

The software and services that support two-factor authentication with YubiKey are listed on their website. You can also use the YubiKey Authenticator for desktop or Android to generate OATH credentials on your YubiKey. Note: Since I already use the Authy Authenticator app with all my online services, I didn’t test this out. It’s also possible to log onto Windows 10 and all Microsoft accounts using the YubiKey. (Windows 10 version 1809 update and Microsoft Edge need to be installed for this to work.)

What I like

  • Extra security for most online services such as Google, Dropbox, most social media sites etc.
  • Durable, waterproof, and crush resistant
  • Fits on a key chain for portability

What needs to be improved

  • If you lose your YubiKey, then you’ll need to reconfigure all of your apps to use another authentication method
  • Expensive for a small usb device

Final thoughts

Overall, as someone who appreciates an extra layer of security in her web apps, I really love using my YubiKey. It puts my mind a bit more at ease when logging onto my laptop, work machine, or phone. I think it’s very much worth grabbing one if you can!

Price: $45.00
Where to buy: You can purchase the YubiKey 5 NFC directly via their website or various online resellers including Amazon.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Yubico.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: ,

YubiKey 5 NFC security key review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 13, 2019 at 11:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

6 gadgets that can protect you from hackers

ARTICLE – You might have gadgets that charge your phone with solar power or help you find a lost set of keys, but what about those that safeguard you from hackers?

Here are six items to put on your to-buy list.

1. Mic-Lock Gen 2 Microphone Blocker

Many people know hackers can break into webcams and spy on them. Therefore, covers that slide onto the built-in webcams on laptop screens became popular, and concerned individuals started covering webcams with tape, too.

But, there’s a possibility of hackers listening in through microphone ports. Apple’s second-generation T2 chips even disconnect the mics at the hardware level when people close the lids of newer MacBooks.

You can also buy a Mic-Lock Gen 2 microphone blocker that stops hackers from listening through any device that has a microphone port. Its design plugs into the 3.5 mm audio jack and allows you to still listen to music through your computer. ($10.99)

2. Firewalla Red Smart Cyber Security Firewall Appliance

Although the internet has many advantages, it features associated risks, too. The Firewalla Red gadget is a firewall for today’s connected world that features both intrusion prevention and intrusion detection.

The gadget plugs into your router and continually scans to check for abnormal behaviors.

You can also access specialized functions and get specific information via the complementing app. Since Firewalla Red also offers a built-in VPN service for mobile devices, you can enjoy enhanced protection anywhere. ($109.99)

3. Titan Security Key

An unsecured email account is a hacker’s playground, but the best hackers convince people to give up information they’d ordinarily keep secret.

Online lottery scammers target victims by convincing them to reveal private details to collect their “winnings,” and scams that initiate in an inbox can be just as convincing. That’s especially true if they appear as order confirmations or other documents that people can’t access unless they divulge information.

The Titan Security Key is a security measure developed by Google and used by its employees. As a result, Google says phishing problems have been eliminated. The Titan has a hardware chip that includes Google-engineered firmware to verify the key’s integrity.

The key also gives cryptographic proof a person is interacting with legitimate services where they initially registered their Titan gadgets and that they remain in possession of the key. Think of the Titan as a physical aspect of two-factor authentication. It replaces a text message or email a hacker could intercept in transit and complements your password. ($50.00)

4. Dojo

The rising popularity of Internet of Things (IoT) devices makes some manufacturers rush their products to the market and not prioritize security. The Dojo is a small gadget born from the need to secure those devices in a home. It’s a product you can move around your abode to get an idea of which internet-enabled products you use might be introducing vulnerabilities to your network.

The accompanying app gives three alert levels, and you’ll get smartphone notifications about the most severe issues. Plus, Dojo learns the characteristics of the network so it can understand what constitutes unusual traffic. ($199.00)

5. Everykey

Many people intentionally set passwords that are easy for themselves to remember, but that typically also makes them easy for others to guess. Then, it becomes potentially simple for hackers to break into devices such as laptops or smartphones. Everykey is like a physical version of an online password manager.

It automatically generates passwords for the websites you visit, plus enters them for you when you reach the website. If you lose an Everykey, there’s a way to freeze its functionality, making it useless in the wrong hands.

And, Everykey isn’t just for your computer and smartphone. Its military-grade security even works for your front door. The product is a Bluetooth-enabled device that looks like a small tile. Like many of the other things on this list, it pairs with an app. ($69.00)

6. 3M Privacy Screens

Have you ever worried someone sitting on either side of you might watch as you deal with confidential information on your laptop or enter it into form fields on your smartphone? If they do, all the information needed to gain access to your accounts or other things you want to keep private would be available. Fortunately, 3M makes privacy screens to hide content unless people look straight on at the screens.

You can find them for most of the devices you own, ranging from smartphones to laptops. (Prices vary depending on the type and third-party seller chosen)

Stock Up on Products That Give Peace of Mind

In this extremely connected world, hackers know various attack points exist. These six gadgets help you keep cybercriminals at bay and rest assured your information stays safe.

Lead photo by Jefferson Santos on Unsplash

Filed in categories: Articles

Tagged:

6 gadgets that can protect you from hackers originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 11, 2019 at 12:31 pm.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.