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Ask HN: How do I secure a personal journal?

42 points by NhanH 12y ago

I've always wanted to start writing a life journal for myself. But there have always been one nagging reason that kept me from doing so: the fear of not securing it properly, and having it leaked, so to speak. Naturally, a journal will contain intimate thoughts that I've kept from anyone else. And I intend to store more data than paper journal normally does: images, knowledge etc. A wiki about myself. Now, I'm just another run-of-the-mill mid 20s programmers, I'm not on any list that I'm aware of. And you can never say anything about life, but I'm not particularly intend to join any list of a three digits agency, either ;). That said, I'm not sure if my paranoid is grounded or not. My answers to the two basic questions on threat modeling: "What's the likelihood of a threat against the journal would be?" and "What would happen if the threat actually happen" would be "I don't know" and "I hope I'm old enough". On one hand, I've no reason to believe that my info would be of anyone interest. On the other hand, I'd rather not find out whether anyone does. I've been thinking about it for a bit, and the most secure way seems to be getting a secondary machine without network access, and just write the journal there. This approach has several problems: - Collecting data: I'd have to actually transfer data I got from another machine to this one, via some air gap methods. This seems way overboard to me. - Backup: regular backup won't be a viable options, especially for redundancy in term of geography. All in all, I'd prefer to have some security/encryption scheme that I can use on a normal machine. Of course, the trade off will be security. I'm willing to accept that if I managed to be a named target of a 3 letter agency on a 20 person lists, they will successfully mount an attack for the data (I wouldn't be able to stop them, either way). But beyond that, I'd like the data to be as secure as possible. How would I accomplish such objective?

furyofantares 12y ago
Even if you find something you believe to be secure I expect your paranoia will have a limiting effect on your brain when journaling, so I'd recommend paper. The inability to edit paper also seems to have a freeing effect on the mind, it limits my need for perfection. The fact that I'm not sitting at a distraction machine while journaling is helpful as well. It took me quite a while to come to this conclusion personally. I lean very heavily toward electronic solutions to things. If you want it to be searchable, write relevant notes in the margins and/or use the little colored sticky "flags" that stick out a bit to categorize entries.
- deleted 12y ago
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- NhanH 12y ago
  Thanks! That's certainly an interesting conclusion. Unfortunately, I want to make a journal in the vein of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2918935 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2918935 -- partly a reason why I rejected paper (limit to word, and probably not suitable for the amount of data that is being stored).
eof 12y ago
This is not a question about journaling; this is just a question about encrypting data. There are tons of ways to do it that meet your threat model. You can just use a linux machine with disk encryption.. it happens by magic if you click the option for 'encrypt my home directory' when installing ubuntu. You can use bitlocker (also built in) in windows. If you happen to use VIM, it has built in encryption as well that is extremely simple to use. Other options would be something like pgp, or pen and paper and a lockbox.
geographomics 12y ago
I used to keep a diary this way, and eventually decided on using an encrypted Word document. The encryption in Office used to be very weak in early versions, but it's much better these days. In recent versions of Office (from 2007 onwards, using the DOCX format), by default it uses AES in CBC mode, with an SHA-1 based key derivation function [1]. So with a sufficiently complex password your documents will be resistant to cracking. But of course you are still vulnerable to keyloggers and the like. [1] https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/cc313071(v=office.12).aspx https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/cc313071(v=o...
- NhanH 12y ago
  Which method are you referring to when you said "I used to keep a diary this way"? An air gap computer?
  - geographomics 12y ago
    No, just encrypting the data. Anything more would have seemed excessive for my use case.
hobo_mark 12y ago
I've kept a digital journal for almost two years now, honestly I had the same fear at the beginning but my work and side-projects (which is what I keep there, plus ideas and QS-style observations) are nothing I feel embarassed about. In fact, this has been an excellent exercise to cultivate writing and I'd like to publish some of these things one day, in longer and polished form. I'd suggest to just start your journal, this sounds like "premature optimization".
- NhanH 12y ago
  I already have a journal/note (digital) that I used to store relevant information about work, idea etc. The problem is that I want to start writing more personal note down (similar to this https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2918935 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2918935) :-).
  - hobo_mark 12y ago
    Fascinating, this guy and gwern would get along well. However, the first word that comes to me for this behavior is... hoarding, who would ever look at all of this stuff? Not judging or anything, but I feel that all this effort directed backwards (at the past) would have so much more impact if pointed forwards (making new things). Since I started mine, every december 31st I read my journal for the past year and I feel like I am writing too much stuff already. This is pushing me to make a conscious effort to recognize, in 'real time', what is important and what isn't, I find that to be a great exercise in mindfullness.
    - NhanH 12y ago
      I agree that the issue about hoarding is true. In my context, I'm actually thinking about more of a personal system that happens to have journal as part of it (and to do list, and personal knowledge etc.). Partly a reason why I think the spare machine is not a good idea (processing data on it would be a hassle), and why paper doesn't work.
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kghose 12y ago
So, my solution to this has been to go back to paper. I switched to a text file for a few years thinking that it would be more convenient, backup-able and I would be encouraged to write more. After I switched to the paper journal I remembered how satisfying seeing my handwriting on paper was and how motivating the sight of the journal filling up was. I've managed to discipline myself to spend a few nights each week writing in it.
mariusz79 12y ago
First you have to ask yourself - do I want someone to be able to read that journal after I'm gone. If yes, go with a pen and paper. Since we can safely assume that you spend more time in front of the computer than writing stuff with a pen, it will be a really nice experience, almost mystical.
- aram 12y ago
  One minor thing to add - consider fountain pens and good paper. That alone can push the thoughts come to paper way easier than other means, and will let you have richer "micro-expressions"/mental bookmarks in your handwriting. I know it's offtopic, but wanted to mention in case it helps someone.
  - mariusz79 12y ago
    What fountain pen would you recommend for a beginner trying to relearn how to use anything different then the keyboard? :)
    - aram 12y ago
      Here are a few affordable pens: - Lamy Safari/Vista - Kaweco Sport - Pilot Metropolitan - Parker Vector - Tesco's if you can find them; $0.5 but write fairly well The interesting part about fountain pens is customization: you can choose between different nib widths, type of paper and quality of ink. After some time you will notice significant difference if you go back to ballpoint/gel pens. If you're interested, check out Fountain Pen Network: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/ http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/
      - ansgri 12y ago
        Parker Vector quickly becomes scratchy, in my experience. Lamys are great.
    - josso 12y ago
      /r/fountainpens[1] have a lot of useful info on choosing a good pen and getting started. [1]: http://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens http://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens
eliben 12y ago
You can put pretty much anything into a Truecrypt partition, which is just a file on the external (host) OS. Now keep that file in Dropbox/Drive/Some other cloud storage for backup.
- ossreality 12y ago
  how can anyone honestly mention Truecrypt in good faith?
- kngspook 12y ago
  Except for the whole TrueCrypt-abandonment-and-scary-mysterious-warning debacle. There's a couple up-and-coming replacements though, which hopefully will be usable soon.
  - eliben 12y ago
    It's a question of whom you want to secure it from. If the answer is "the government" I wouldn't even bother. If it's just from snooping, I find it very hard to believe TrueCrypt is not sufficient.
    - NhanH 12y ago
      "The government" is not a single entity. I'd prefer to secure it from "The government", except the very high end of the agency. There is alot of difference between being a target like DPR of Silkroad, and having your electronics confiscated by a local police department (the former likely won't happen without you knowing it, at which point you will have to change your threat model. But there is a non trivial chance over your lifetime that the latter will happen just-because.)
  - NhanH 12y ago
    What are the potential replacements for TrueCrypt? Last time the topic showed up on HN, there doesn't seem to be anything that quite fit the bill
patio11 12y ago
Take a look at ecrypt-fs, which lets you mount a file system that looks to your OS like a regular directory and is actually backed by another regular directory, except that second regular directory includes cyphertext only. You can have the cyphertext directory live in Dropbox if you want to. (Don't put the unencrypted directory there, naturally, as that results in Dropbox slurping in the plain text.) When you want to write or read the journal, provide the passphrase and mount it. When you don't, unmount it. You can do this automatically on boot if you're willing to accept the possibility of being tackled by an FBI agent then having your work journal for Silk Road read out in open court. A second option: use full-disk encryption (same "vulnerable to a football tackle" problem). For backups, just use Tarsnap.
- bohol 12y ago
  The bigger problem is being infected by a trojan. You have all the time in the world to get infected, but would only take a single time when your files are unencrypted to expose them.
  - tl 12y ago
    An even bigger problem is Dropbox being the trojan, which is why I disagree with the "ecrypt-fs + dropbox" solution. We live in a world where Internet searches like "dropbox condoleezza rice" and "dropbox prism" are incredibly unflattering.
lettergram 12y ago
My solution is a bit of work, but it was rewarding when I did it. I was looking to start learning another language, so I started journal. After about 4 months of 45 minutes a day, I was able to write in a pretty obscure language (in this case Irish) and I had the perfect encryption for my journal. Google translate is very poor for Irish and since only ~250,000 in the world speak/read it well enough to translate and 90% of those people are on an island it works quite well.
- darkstar999 12y ago
  That's not encryption at all.
  - lettergram 12y ago
    Encryption is defined as: "the process of encoding messages or information in such a way that only authorized parties can read it." It may not be a secure form of encryption, but it is a form of encryption. It would be pretty effective against the random passer by, and standard law enforcement would probably not be able to identify the language. Plus, virtually any encryption a user has can be broken given time and processing power. By hand writing everything in another obscure language, without many native speakers you gain plausible deniability. If he/she manages to get on a list, he/she could claim issues with translation (either by him/her or by the translator).
    - darkstar999 12y ago
      If by "authorized parties" you mean anyone who speaks Irish, then yes. This is security by obscurity.
- donohoe 12y ago
  Go maith ar fad
- g3orge 12y ago
  How did you start learning Irish? There are not many resources online...
CHY872 12y ago
If you're on OS X, use Disk Utility to make an encrypted disk image of a few hundred megabytes. When you want to edit the data, mount it, then unmount when you're done. It won't secure you against everything, but it'll certainly secure against the casual observer. It's also probably better than the no-longer-supported Truecrypt.
- kngspook 12y ago
  This is what I do. My passwords live in the same container too.
- petercooper 12y ago
  And even better, you can put this on Dropbox or whatever, and it'll remain secure but be accessible on all your OS X devices.
- joshstrange 12y ago
  While I agree this is the best quick option for people on OS X I hate that the options for using multiple devices (laptop/mobile) are self-hosted and/or self-written software. Apps like DayOne are very cool (both OS X and iOS clients are a joy to use overall) but there is no encryption, all your entries are stored in plain text. I'd love a halfway decent cross platform encryptable journalling app using icloud/dropbox to sync encrypted files but I haven't found one yet.
  - CHY872 12y ago
    Very long to reply, but SpiderOak might suit your needs. It's a Dropbox competitor that uses strong local encryption to ensure that only you can decrypt your data. They have apps - poor performance but for text files should be ok.
    - joshstrange 12y ago
      Thanks for the reply! I've heard of SO before but I'll check it out!
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utopkara 12y ago
I use macjournal. It is worth every penny. http://marinersoftware.com/products/macjournal/ http://marinersoftware.com/products/macjournal/
- utopkara 12y ago
  It uses AES-256.
g3orge 12y ago
In case any of you keeps a real world journal in a notebook or something, I'd like to learn how do you keep it safe.
keehun 12y ago
Have you considered installing a VM and writing your journal there? It can be totally made air-gap (although I suppose "virtually") and you can encrypt your VM session file in TrueCrypt. It seems to be keyloggers could still compromise your privacy, but if they can keylog you, then everything you have digitally is compromised anyway.
rwbt 12y ago
My solution http://notational.net http://notational.net It has an option to encrypt all the notes and provides a really simple interface to write/read and search notes. It uses OS X crypto, so I don't know how secure it really is. But for something basic, it works very well.
k2enemy 12y ago
I use pass [0]. It is a great password manager (and I use it for that), but it also works great as a journal. I use a different GPG key for the journal than the passwords. Writing in the journal is as simple as pass edit journal/201501 and vim opens up with this month's file. It is safe to back up, as everything is encrypted with GPG. You just need to make sure your key is safe. [0]: http://www.passwordstore.org/ http://www.passwordstore.org/
- stevekemp 12y ago
  One problem with pass is that you leak the names of your accounts. Or you encode them, and use random ones, which spoils the utility.
falcolas 12y ago
Ready for a super paranoid method which provides a tiny bit of protection against the tackle method? A Tails (The AmnesIac Live oS) USB stick with a small persistent storage drive. The OS is read-only, the persistent drive is encrypted at rest, and it provides a number of utilities for viewing and creating different media files. The entire network stack runs through Tor as well, so your browsing habits while building your journal will be protected (and you can safely store hyperlinks to items without fear of them revealing your interest). The minor tackling protection comes from Tails behavior when the media containing it is removed - it immediately unmount and overwrites the OS memory. As for the journaling tool itself, something along the lines of a disk based wiki might work well (i.e. Tiddlywiki).
whatevercomes 12y ago
Why would you want to transfer data between some two machines? You're inviting problems right there. You have to have a totally separate machine that: 1) you never ever connect to the internet, even for updates or installation of a cooler writing app 2) you never ever move data in or out - disable all data ports, especially USB and WiFi, at the very least in BIOS, preferably by physically disconnecting them inside. 3) you need to be able to inspect and modify that machine yourself (see pt 2), so pick something serviceable, like a ThinkPad (definitely not a Mac or anything unibody) 4) use an open-source operating system 5) obviously use full encryption - you'll get plenty of others' advice on that; use strong BIOS password both for boot and config 6) you probably don't want to spend a lot of money on a machine that's just a diary, so get a used ThinkPad. Depending on your preferred size, an X or T family. The _20 series is the last with a proper keyboard. So my suggestions would be X220, T420 or T520. (Or something older, if you don't care that much about performance, which is reasonable for what's essentially a typewriter. I guess you could get a working T400 (last of core2duos) for like $150.) 7) you make an exception for the "no data in or out" rule at the very beginning when you set up the OS and all needed apps - since there's no data (diary entries) to lose yet
- NhanH 12y ago
  I need to transfer data between the machines because I want to be able to store different type of data: it's not just "journal" in the normal sense of the word, I plan to store things that pertain to my life (ie more media type than just text, and also not always info in the form of text that I can just type in). At the very least, the need for backup will require a data transfer between machine.
_cbdev 12y ago
I am amazed no one suggested a simple GPG operation. Generate a keypair on an airgapped machine, keep the private part on a secure external medium (eg. CF Card in a bank safe). Have the public key on your normal machine, write your journal in normal text files (use a ramfs if you worry about it being restored by forensics) and encrypt against the public journal key. Decryption is only possible with the private part, the public part can even be, well, public. :)
Ixiaus 12y ago
I use org-mode for occasional journaling and have it configured to automatically encrypt the entry with my gpg key on save.
mcjiggerlog 12y ago
Have you had a look at jrnl? [1] It's a command line journal and has inbuilt (optional) encryption [2]. I keep my encrypted journal file in my ~/Dropbox folder so that it syncs between my different machines. It's so simple, yet it meets all of my needs perfectly. It also doesn't rely on any proprietary software and will be just as readable in 50 years. [1] - http://maebert.github.io/jrnl http://maebert.github.io/jrnl [2] - http://maebert.github.io/jrnl/encryption.html http://maebert.github.io/jrnl/encryption.html
phreeza 12y ago
Similar safety constraints as email, it seems. If you trust your email hosting solution, whichever it may be, why not just email yourself?
- NhanH 12y ago
  That's not true. By default (to be useful), email are expected to be read by at least one other party. Further more, since the security ability of the other party is unknown, it's expected that any email you send can be forwarded around. Also, any level of law enforcement can probably get their hand on a copy of emails ...
WBrentWilliams 12y ago
From a strictly legal point of view: Paper, ink, and a safe. These are kept on your person and/or in your house and require a court order to access against your will. Expanding a bit, there is nothing that stops you from using local encryption to write to archival media. The problem with anything short of paper in a climate controlled system (and even with...) will degrade over time. Humanity has centuries of experience preserving and restoring ink on paper. We have quite a bit less experience salvaging anything else.
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Mz 12y ago
Another angle to consider: If this is for YOU, you can talk about it in a way that makes notes meaningful to you but of little use to other people. You can come up with, say, code words or nicknames for people important to you and not state whom you really mean in a way that could be identified by just anybody on the planet. For example, come up with a nickname for a sibling or parent, but don't state that it is a sibling or parent. With some practice, you can get good at saying things YOU find meaningful about your life that strangers are unlikely to fully decode.
drallison 12y ago
One way to keep away the electronic snoopers is to use a paper journal and secure it physically by putting it in a safe. Paul Saffo's inspirational comments are worth reading: http://www.saffo.com/02005/07/13/on-keeping-a-journal/ http://www.saffo.com/02005/07/13/on-keeping-a-journal/ and http://www.saffo.com/02005/09/28/illustrating-a-journal/ http://www.saffo.com/02005/09/28/illustrating-a-journal/. There is something very different writing on paper in a bound journal when compared to writing on a computer or event a paper notebook. It seems to provoke careful thought and contemplation. And discipline. Lots of discipline.