HELP! Upgraded to OS 10.10, can't access Espionage 2.x folders

Started by afshin, October 23, 2014, 09:43:31 AM

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afshin

So I didn't know that Espionage 2 was not compatible with Yosemite. I upgraded to Yosemite and now my Espionage 2 folders cannot be read. I downloaded Espionage 3, and folders are still unaccessible. Is there a way to convert those Espionage 2 folder to Espionage ?

Also, I'm not sure which version of Espionage is now running on my toolbar. I suspect it's still 2. How do I remove that and activate 3?

Thanks!

UPDATE: I now hove both 2 and 3 running. I am able to unlock one of my Espionage 2 folders, but I still have a problem with another one. After I reboot the system, the folder shows up unlocked, but when I go into it, there are two folders with the following names:

* It is controlled by Espionage
* Do not modify it in this state

My data does not show up.

Any ideas?

zsolt

Hello Ashin, yes, you got into a small trouble, but with a bit of patience you can get out of it unharmed.

Here is what to do:

- download the following software http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24682/ivisible 
- launch it, and click on "make files visible" button (in case OS X does not allow to launch ivisible, you have to go to System Preferences -> Security & Privacy, click on padlock icon in lower left corner and authenticate, then under General Tab, under "Allow apps downloaded from" select anywhere, wait for confirmation window, and then try to launch iVisible again)
- now revisit the protected folder and you will see a disk image inside, named same as the folder name, but having a dot in front of the name
- dobleclick it, it should ask you for password, enter it, and the image will mount as a volume, like for example an USB stick would mount
- open it and you will access to all your files
- copy them out, unmount the volume and delete the protected folder containing the disk image you just opened

once you have all your data back, you should uninstall Espionage 2. You can try either by selecting Uninstall option from Espionage's Espionage menu, or if that does not work, then you can manually remove all the files, here is a list:
Note that some files are in your home Library folder and some in your root Library folder. Your home Library folder is hidden since Lion, to enter into it from Finder, switch to Finder, hold down the option key and select Library from the list of "places to go".:

/Users/[your username]/Library/Application Support/Espionage
/Users/[your username]/Library/LaunchAgents/com.taoeffect.EspionageHelper.plist
/Users/[your username]/Library/Services/EspionageMenu.service (might not exist)
/System/Library/Extensions/iSpy.kext
/Library/iSpy
/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.taoeffect.ispyd.plist
/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.taoeffect.Espionage.plist (might not exist)
/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.taoeffect.Espionage (might not exist)

once you removed the files/folder, please reboot your Mac

Let me know if you get stuck.

Zsolt
Follow @espionageapp on twitter for news! | For general Mac support, please visit Mac Me Support

afshin

Zsolt,

Thank you for the reply. I downloaded iVisible and made all hidden files visible. When I go to the protected folder (which is named "Records"), I only see the following files:

.DS_Store
.espionageLock
.Records.sparebundle

I don't see any disk image. Please tell me my data is still there  :-\

Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

Afshin

zsolt

.Records.sparebundle is the disk image, just double-click it and you should get a password prompt. You will have to enter the password you set for that particular folder, not the one you use to unlock Espionage, unless they are same...
Give it a try and let me know if you need further help.

Rgds
Zsolt
Follow @espionageapp on twitter for news! | For general Mac support, please visit Mac Me Support

afshin

Hi Zsolt,

Thank you for your patience. I still have issues.

I tried double clicking on .Records.sparsebundle but nothing happens. I tried right-clicking and choosing "Open" and I get the message "image not recognized".

The file size for the bundle is zero. Same for .espionageLock

Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

Afshin

zsolt

Well that is bad. The disk image is there but is empty. If you wish, we can do a remote session and I can try to help you, if I find the disk image which is not empty...

I'm available right now, just mail me at taoeffect@macmesupport.com if you are available.

Rgds
Zsolt
Follow @espionageapp on twitter for news! | For general Mac support, please visit Mac Me Support

gdragon

I am going through the same problem and am very sad to have lost access to my protected folder that contained so many important account files. :(

I really need to be able to recover these files, so please advise what I can do.

I followed the instructions above and when I went to restore the folder (remove espionage2 encryption), I now end up with just an alias to that folder with nothing inside.

Please help. I have purchased my Espionage 3 license but need to restore this folder before upgrading.

Thanks

zsolt

Hello, out of my experience, we will make our life easier if I try to fix this over a remote session with you.
Unless you insist on me not connecting to your mac, I would suggest we do it that way.
I would be available now, for one hour and then again in about 4 hours from now.
Mail me at taoeffect@macmesupport.com if you are available.

Rgds
Zsolt
Follow @espionageapp on twitter for news! | For general Mac support, please visit Mac Me Support

Warren

I upgraded the operating system on my MacBook Pro to Yosemite. When I open the Contacts software, my contacts are not there; it's empty. I was running Espionage version 2.8.13 prior to upgrading the OS to Yosemite. The only data that I had protected with Espionage was my contacts (referred to as "Address Book" in Espionage). The System Information on my MacBook appears to state that my contacts data (Address Book) is stored as a separate disk, BSD Name "disk2s2". The strange thing is that when I turn on my MacBook, Espionage version 2.8.13 appears to be operating, prompts me to enter my password, and when I enter it Espionage then prompts that my Address Book ("Contacts") is now unlocked. But when I open Contacts it is empty. Can anyone tell me how to get my contacts data to show up in Contacts?

p.s. The following is displayed in the System Information under Storage regarding my Address Book:

AddressBook:

  Available:   10.69 GB (10,687,946,752 bytes)
  Capacity:   10.74 GB (10,737,385,472 bytes)
  Mount Point:   /Volumes/EspionageMounts/warrengoolsby/2867226610/AddressBook
  File System:   Journaled HFS+
  Writable:   Yes
  Ignore Ownership:   Yes
  BSD Name:   disk2s2
  Volume UUID:   299072E4-5A0A-3C11-AA17-087B6DCF8AB0
  Physical Drive:
  Media Name:   Apple sparse bundle disk image Media
  Protocol:   Disk Image
  Internal:   No
  Partition Map Type:   APM (Apple Partition Map)
  S.M.A.R.T. Status:   Not Supported

zsolt

Hello Warren,

To restore your data do the following:
Please do the following:
- download the following software http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24682/ivisible 
- launch it, and click on "make files visible" button (in case OS X does not allow to launch ivisible, you have to go to System Preferences -> Security & Privacy, click on padlock icon in lower left corner and authenticate, then under General Tab, under "Allow apps downloaded from" select anywhere, wait for confirmation window, and then try to launch iVisible again)
- now revisit the protected folder and you will see a disk image inside, named same as the folder name, but having a dot in front of the name
- dobleclick it, it should ask you for password, enter it, and the image will mount as a volume, like for example an USB stick would mount
- open it and you will access to all your files
- copy them out, unmount the volume and delete the protected folder containing the disk image you just opened

#####

Once you got your data, it would be good to properly uninstall Espionage 2 as it is not compatible neither with Maverick nor with Yosemite.

Here is the list of the files/folders you have to remove to uninstall Espionage.
Note that some files are in your home Library folder and some in your root Library folder. Your home Library folder is hidden since Lion, to enter into it from Finder, switch to Finder, hold down the option key and select Library from the list of "places to go".:

/Users/[your username]/Library/Application Support/Espionage
/Users/[your username]/Library/LaunchAgents/com.taoeffect.EspionageHelper.plist
/Users/[your username]/Library/Services/EspionageMenu.service (might not exist)
/System/Library/Extensions/iSpy.kext
/Library/iSpy
/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.taoeffect.ispyd.plist
/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.taoeffect.Espionage.plist (might not exist)
/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.taoeffect.Espionage (might not exist)

once you removed the files/folder, please reboot your Mac

let me know if you get stuck.

Rgds
Zsolt
Follow @espionageapp on twitter for news! | For general Mac support, please visit Mac Me Support

Warren

Thanks for the instruction. I will go through those steps and hope it works. After I uninstall Espionage 2, I need to know if I purchase the newest version of Espinoage, will it work properly on my MacBook Pro running Yosemite. In other words, will I be able to lock my recovered contacts and other applications and data?

zsolt

Espionage 3 works fine both on Maverick and Yosemite, is fully supported and is in continuous development. So you should be safe with Espionage 3 for quite some time.
The design of the app is a bit different though, in our eyes simpler and better, but in regards to application protection it is not that straight forward as Espionage 2, simply because it was not possible to do it that way any more. OS X is much more restricted nowadays, due to all kind of security threats. Also, applications tend to integrate with cloud storage and this moves parts of the data away from your local disk. Therefore we found application protection not that easy and consistent to implement and at this moment we excluded in "application protection" form from Espionage 3.
What you can do is protect the folders in which Application keeps it data and in most of the cases it should work fine.
In case of Address book aka Contacts, it is the folder yourhomefolder/Library/Application Support/AddressBook.
I suggest you make sure you have a backup
quit contacts
and then try to add this folder to Espionage
once the encryption is done, unlock the folder and launch contact
then quit contacts and lock the folder and try again.
if all works fine, you can add certain amount of automation to it by using folder actions.
If you cannot figure it out, then let me know and I will instruct you further.

Rgds
Zsolt
Follow @espionageapp on twitter for news! | For general Mac support, please visit Mac Me Support

Warren

Thanks. Seems a bit complicated but I will give it a try.

Warren

Hi Zsolt:

Regarding your Reply #9 above, I think need some additional information in order to execute your instructions. Here are my questions:

1. Your instruction said, "- now revisit the protected folder and you will see a disk image inside". Since the protected folder is apparently invisible until I download and run iVisible, I have not visited the folder because I don't know where it is located. I have only see a description in the "System Information" under the Storage tab. After I run iVisible, will the protected folder show up in Finder as a drive such as a flash drive?

2. Your instruction said, "- copy them out, unmount the volume and delete the protected folder containing the disk image you just opened". After I open the mounted volume and copy the files, where do I put them in order for the "Contacts" application to be able display my contacts?

Thanks.
Warren

zsolt

Dear Warren, the best thing is to use terminal for little help:

please open terminal and write the following commands, each one ending with enter

cd
sudo find . -name *.sparsebundle -print

note that due to sudo command, the second line will ask you for your account password, just type it in and hit enter (you will see no password written, this is normal)

the output of the find command should show you all disk images found in your home folder, the one belonging to address book should be there too. I think it will be in Library/Application Support/Contacts or maybe Address book.
I suggest you to move out the disk image onto your desktop, open it and mount it and then put the content in the same folder where you took the disk image out from, this is how espionage 2 worked, it placed the disk image in the same folder where the original data was.

Give it a try. Do not trash the disk images as long as you are not sure that all is fine.

Rgds
Zsolt
Follow @espionageapp on twitter for news! | For general Mac support, please visit Mac Me Support