Auto-lock Folders After a Certain Time of Inactivity

[Jobauma]

Suggestion
The folders I have tested Espionage on is "Pictures" and "Documents", and since they are both in the Dock and used a lot, I would like them to auto-lock after a certain time of inactivity. Let's say it's 10 minutes of inactivity which auto-locks the folders, but what if there are running applications associated with the folders? In Photoshop it's possible for me sometimes to work with a picture more than 30 minutes without saving it, so in cases like this it would be nice with a secondary timer (ex. 30 minutes) that takes over when there are running applications associated with unlocked folders.

[greg]

Hi Jobauma, thank you for the suggestion, and sorry that it's taken me so long to get back to you, somehow I must have lost the notification that you posted.

This feature request is actually quite popular, and while we are planning on adding this feature, usually our users don't realize that the autolock feature is often not needed because of how Espionage works.

What you can currently do to provide yourself with an autolock system, is to turn on the screensaver in the System Preferences, and in the Security System Preferences check the box that says "Require password after sleep or screen saver".  This is a very effective and security method of protecting your folders while they are unlocked, even if your computer is stolen while it's asleep, and even if you have a guest account on it that allows anyone to login (as long as your folders are in the other account).

The reason is that while the screensaver password prompt is up, there thief has no way of getting into your account without your account's password, and without that they have no way of accessing the folders.  The second the machine is shutdown or loses power the folders are instantly locked again.

So while this feature is on our TODO list, it's not high on our priority list currently because this simple workaround exists.

If you have any other questions or recommendations, let us know!

Best regards,
Greg, Tao Effect

[jackmoore]

It's been a couple of years, is this still "in the works"?

Actually, what I'd love is an app that will eject encrypted dmgs that are mounted after a certain amount of inactivity time.  Anyone know how to do this?

[greg]

It's been a couple of years, is this still "in the works"?

As I mentioned, this is rather low on the priority list at the moment unfortunately (for the reasons mentioned), but yes, it's still on the TODO list.

Actually, what I'd love is an app that will eject encrypted dmgs that are mounted after a certain amount of inactivity time.  Anyone know how to do this?

This could be done with an app that runs in the background, monitoring mounted disk images. You'd need to know some Objective-C to do it.  ;)

[jdonshik]

Hi.  I don't mean to be a PITA.  However, your initial response to this issue was "use lock/screensaver."  I understand the mechanism.  However, if that's the case, then how does Espionage benefit me at all?  In other words, if my computer is stolen, in a "screen saver lock mode," then my espionaged folders are no more secure than somebody who does not have espionage.

Out of the Snow Leopard box, everyone can enable username/password security.  That can then be set to automatically password enable after a certain period of inactivity. However, that is an equal level of security to a computer with espionage, folders unlocked, but the screensaver lock feature on.

Espionage offers a second level of security--below the account password layer.  That additional layer only works when the folders are locked.  The folders are not necessarily locked when the computer enters screensaver password mode.  Therefore, at that moment, the computer is no more secure than one without espionage.

It seems that espionage works best for folders that can be locked and unlocked.  It seems to "have more difficulty" with the applications--email, safari, evernote--because the only security for those exists when the applications are closed and their folders locked.

I would argue that the OP's initial request has a lot of validity and would TREMENDOUSLY ENHANCE the value of your program.

Autolock all folders when screensaver mode is entered....????

Thanks

[greg]

Hi.  I don't mean to be a PITA.  However, your initial response to this issue was "use lock/screensaver."  I understand the mechanism.  However, if that's the case, then how does Espionage benefit me at all?  In other words, if my computer is stolen, in a "screen saver lock mode," then my espionaged folders are no more secure than somebody who does not have espionage.

Out of the Snow Leopard box, everyone can enable username/password security.  That can then be set to automatically password enable after a certain period of inactivity. However, that is an equal level of security to a computer with espionage, folders unlocked, but the screensaver lock feature on.

This is incorrect.

By enabling the screensaver password you prevent anyone from getting access to your unlocked folders without your user password. Your user password should be strong to begin with, it should not be public knowledge or easily guessable.

This is not the equivalent of not having Espionage installed.

If Espionage were not installed, anyone would be able to get at your data once they had physical access to your computer, plain and simple. With Espionage installed this is not the case, because your data is encrypted. Since they can't get past the screensaver (unless they know your password), they would have to restart or shutdown your computer to get access to your data, and that won't help them any because your data is protected by Espionage.

[mike]

To make it more clear,

Anybody with a physical access to your Mac can break into it but they can't break into any encrypted data. They can create a new root user or change the password of the root and use it to change the permission of the original owner's files/folders to view it but they can't use that new root account to break into your encrypted keychain or any encrypted data. By default, OS X doesn't encrypt anything other than some of your contents in your keychain.

If the user had Espionage installed, it doesn't matter what the hackers does, they can change the permission of the folders  all they want but they still can't get into it because they need the original password for the folders. It is not possible to reset those folder passwords without the original ones regardless of who accesses it or who it belongs to.

The other thing that Espionage does is that it'll automatically lock upon closing of any applications that uses the specific folder, which means that you do not have to worry about locking it once you close the application. Espionage will generally alert you when the folder is auto-locked.

[pippinuiddid]

I too would like to bump this request.

Forgive me for being blunt but it'll make things easier -

Say you have a folder of porn that you don't want anyone to see. I'm not worried about hackers, i could care less. But if a family member or co worker wants to use my computer, it takes time to encrypt the files. Most of the time, they are standing over your shoulder while I am encrypting. This looks really bad.

Sometimes, whilst using the "private" folder, I am heavily intoxicated and i forget to close appropriate windows. Even if the screen saver password is enable (and it is), I still have to unlock it thus showing my inappropriate content from the night before to anyone within viewing distance. If I had the "auto-lock" feature, It would have been locked and the windows/programs closed within 30 minutes of inactivity. The next morning, it would be look normal, like it never happened  8-)

[greg]

Hey pippinuiddid,

I can see how that'd be useful, and it seems like there's a lot of demand for this feature, so we'll do our best to make sure it gets added in. I can't make promises on when because we have a lot of high-priority items to take out first, but it's now officially on the list!  ;)

Cheers,
Greg