From: Pete Biggs <pete biggs org uk>
To: evolution-list gnome org
Sent: Mon, 20 June, 2011 16:48:59
Subject: Re: [Evolution] How to secure Evolution
On Mon, 2011-06-20 at 16:59 +0200, Bob Goodson wrote:
> I am still a bit of a newbie running Ubuntu 10.04 LTS - the Lucid Lynx
> on a Dell Inspiron 1300 laptop with Evolution 2.28.3.
>
>
> I am going to be
travelling in a vulnerable vehicle and am concerned
> about security of my machine it will be locked into the vehicle with a
> Kensington Lock ( which could be difficult to anchor securely ) but
> whilst in the vehicle the laptop could still be â looked atâ.
>
>
> I would like to have some way to protect the emails in âEvolutionâ as I
> feel this is the way into my identity should someone want to steal it.
>
>
> Keir Thomas says in his book Ubuntu Kung Fu that a password on boot up
> is pretty ineffective has anyone got any other suggestions please
>
>
> If I can't protect with some sort of password then maybe I should remove
> the information so when they steal it there's nothing of use on there.
>
If in that stupidly named book they mean a grub password, then yes it is
easily subverted with a boot CD - although playing with BIOS
settings
can probably overcome that.
But the best way of dealing with this is to both encrypt the filesystem
and ensure that you lock (via the screensaver) the desktop when it's
left alone. You need to make sure you have sufficiently good passwords
for both decrypting the disk and on your account.
How to encrypt your disk is beyond this mailing list: if Ubuntu can't
cope with it, then look at TrueCrypt.
>
>
> Is there a âPortableâ version of Evolution for instance ?
What do you mean?
P.
Hi :)
There is a portable Thunderbird. Looking at the portable apps website
http://portableapps.com/and using their search tool i found this thread in their forums
http://portableapps.com/node/14507Evolution is
more than just a email-client. If it's only the emailing part that is crucial then perhaps portable Thunderbird might be the answer.
http://portableapps.com/news/2011-06-17_-_thunderbird_portable_5.0_beta_1_releasedEncrypting hard-drives carries an inherent risk. What if you forget your own key? You could use UbuntuOne to back-up data "on the Cloud" but again there is a problem, what if you need access to the data and have no internet access? Two inherent dangers with portable apps is that usb-sticks might get lost or might get broken off while plugged into the machine. A memory card is safer but even more likely to be lost or accidentally left plugged in.
Good luck and regards from
Tom :)
