VuongN

At our company, we use our own solution: "nCryptedCloud" (http://ncryptedcloud.com), client-side encryption software that secures your files before they go into the cloud (Dropbox). We don't keep the data, just the knowledge how to open that data (key). We don't even have a link between the file and the key, the file contains the key's information. This way, using dropbox shared folder, you can manage a secure sharing experience that allows you to revoke access to anyone in the future. It's free. Check it out and let me know if you have any question :)

I think this is a great example of why we should ask question about cloud security & privacy. I've written down some thoughts about this: http://vuongnguyen.com/personal-business-cloud-security.html

-V.

@Doug: have you tried our (free) product: http://ncryptedcloud.com? We currently work with Dropbox and will eventually with Google Drive & SkyDrive. Our product works with Windows, Mac OSX, iOS & Android. We also have the Cloud Web Portal which allows you to see your secure file via web. Keys are generated client-side. We use open standard. We don't have access to your data AND you can securely share your files with other people (nCryptedCloud user or not!).

I've written about the problem of cloud security and cloud privacy here: http://vuongnguyen.com/personal-business-cloud-security.html.

We're just a startup who was trying to solve our own problem with the cloud security & privacy. Would love to hear from you.

-V.

One question: how do you share files securely with others? Have you check out our company's free products, http://ncryptedcloud.com? We secure your data before it goes into Dropbox, allow securely sharing and many more features for FREE to all our consumer users! We only charge for things like auditing beyond certain amount of times, single sign-on integrations, enterprise stuff etc. All we want to do is secure this whole cloud mess.

We'll have to wait and see, but what I read was definitely plausible and sound. Intriguing indeed.

The problem here is: the people who has data (Wuala) also determine how the files are encrypted.

No box is ever unbreakable, however, the chance of breaking it is much bigger if you have the locksmith holding on to the box.

I've talked a little bit about this in my humble blog post not too long ago about a simplistic view of security in the cloud: http://vuongnguyen.com/personal-business-cloud-security.html.

-V.

Even the foremost thinker in security, Dan Geer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Geer), once said: "...The most serious attackers will probably get in no matter what you do. At this point, the design principal, if you’re a security person working inside a firm, is not no failures, but no silent failures."

In the same respect, you can't really stop people from taking screenshots or take a photo of... a photo. What we do is we put a watermark of the recipient in the image. This way, if that image get released anywhere, you knew who was the culprit and you can take further actions.

No box is ever impenetrable, then the next best thing is to know when, what, why, whom of the penetration. I hope that helps. It is a difficult problem to solve, however, we have to do something!

Thank you for your thoughts.

-V.

If you want to check out an alternative, our nCryptedCloud iOS has a secure camera that would encrypt the image (in memory) before it even gets to the device. Once encrypted, you manage access rights. You revoke access to anyone in the future that even if they have the image, without the privilege, the file is useless. You could also send a quick share (time-controlled SnapChat style) with anyone--pdf files too! It's free, check it out: https://www.ncryptedcloud.com/install/ios/ (for non-us regions, just add: ?region=non-us to the URL). If you have question, just ask!

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your insights. Good read.

Quick plug here if you guys don't mind: our security product nCryptedCloud protect at-rest data in your dropbox account. Should you ever loose your laptop and want to make those dropbox files not readable on that device, all you have to do is remotely revoke the access key (from the device). Without access privilege, the data is useless. It's free for personal use. Let me know if you guys have any question or comments.

-V.

I think the problem is quite timely. In an early-stage startup, everyone needs to be a generalist. As the team grows, generalists need to evolve into domain-accountable roles.

For instance, my team starts with just me. I needed to push a fullstack web app out the door. Then we got more money and the team grew to 4. I can't be the same generalist anymore or else I will work myself into a bottleneck.

I still require everyone on my (web) team to be generalists or know the fullstack. This way, no one can be a bottleneck and everyone can solve problem or implement a new feature independently.

The problem is "integration", or when the projects become too big for just 1 person. In those instances, we solve a lot of frictions by having a final "dictator" for technology decisions and a "team manifesto" in term of best practices.

So far so good. Now, if I can get a ops guy to help me then I can sleep with both eyes closed :)

-V.

I think so too. I wonder how they got knocked out of my trusted CA list though. This is odd.

I shamelessly enjoyed this.

Thank you. Good luck to you guys. Consumer security is a difficult problem as you may already know. However, it is such a HUGE issue especially since most solutions out there give users an allusion of security. I think we got a very good product at the moment and would definitely continue to improve the user experience. Where are you guys? Come visit us some time :)

-V.

Thank you for the nice complement. We're continuing to improve and iterate it. We're just focusing on producing the best software at the moment so our public-facing site can take a little bit to perfect. We welcome any suggestions you may have.

We understand that trust is an important issue and we're definitely in the business to solve this very problem. Our team members are probably the most paranoid bunch you'll ever meet. We worry about our own privacy in the cloud so we set out to build something we can use. All of us now religiously use nCryptedCloud to secure our own sensitive data in Dropbox.

At the moment, nCryptedCloud works with Dropbox but our plan is to work with other cloud storage providers as well. Which cloud storage provider do you use?

-V.

My apologies. $10 per user/per month for Enterprise version. This is fixed.

Thank you for letting us know,

-V.

Currently, the server maintains the backup key to recover data in case of lost/forgotten credentials. In the PRO version, users will be able to choose not to store this backup key on our server and will be responsible for maintaining it on their own; in this case data would not be recoverable without this backup key.

Thanks,

-V.

We use standard & proven zip file format with AES 256 bit encryption. Each file has a unique key randomly generated. At this time, our source code is not available.

Thank you for your feedback,

-V.

Can you securely share your data with this service? The reason I ask is because we're addressing this problem but at the same time addressing the difficult issue of secure collaboration in the cloud.

-V.

We will continue to improve the site and our messaging with feedbacks from wonderful folks like yourself!

Thank you,

-V.

When we set out to create nCryptedCloud, we took a look at all the solutions out there. Some solutions address the private data quite nicely. However, the problem is secure collaboration. As far as I can tell, there's no way to easily share encrypted files with other people and this is one of the main problems nCryptedCloud solves.

Thank you for your feedbacks,

-V.

Hello HN friends,

My early-stage startup just left stealth mode to enter closed-beta. Our product, nCryptedCloud (which currently works with OSX 10.7+, Windows and iOS) is tackling the problem of data privacy and secure collaboration in the cloud. We're starting with Dropbox first, other cloud storage providers are in the plan.

nCryptedCloud is an enhancement layer on top of Dropbox. It encrypts & decrypts your Dropbox files seamlessly. Your files are always protected and you control who get access to them. For collaboration, you can revoke access to shared folders any time. Yes, even if they have the file, without permission, that file is not readable. Our purpose is protecting data at rest and data in the cloud.

Please give it a try if you have Dropbox installed. I would love any feedbacks you may have. Of course, it's free: http://ncryptedcloud.com/?rfc=VN-FRIENDS

Thank you,

-V.

Congratulations to the team for a beautiful product and a very beautiful site! I look forward to see more support of other platforms and frameworks (I use Django/Python).

I have to think about it a bit more deeply to make a thoughtful comment regarding the product. However, I did catch a few little things that you can fix:

1) http://www.graphdat.com/pricing, "Don’t need history, than it's all free." should be "Don’t need history, then it's all free."

2) I appreciate your tag line: "Remember all servers get all features, always." but I think punctuation would really make it sticks: "Remember: all servers get all features--always!" I'm not sure, but I love it it and I want this to be even more impactful.

3) https://dashboard.graphdat.com/landing page, other than signup/login perhaps a "learn more" button/link? I am a paranoid guy, especially when it comes to installing stuff on my server, so I would want to learn more about the product before even hitting the signup button.

As a developer, I love the product and your presentation. http://www.graphdat.com/images/img1.png should be replaced with new screenshots from the current look. What graphing tool are you using? Definitely love to learn more about you guys. Perhaps a developer's blog?

Again, congratulations on a great job well done so far and looking forward to seeing and learning more about you guys.

-V.

I'm working http://officecheese.com, a community on a mission to help increase smile count in the work environment through funny jokes as well as resources on how to be funny and stay positive.

With the amount of information you provided, I will not assume to know the exact answer, however, I do have a few questions that can perhaps point you toward the right direction:

1) Have you brought this specific issue up in a meeting where everyone is present? Not alluding to it, but specifically bringing it up (for instance): "I feel that there's a serious issue that may impede our team's success, here's where I think the issue is..."

2) You described the loud/big talkers (LBTs) as very confident in their idea and others might buy it--are you the only one who feel that way? Have you talk to the other team members individually?

3) Have you talked to the LBTs individually?

4) Why do you think the LBTs are always interrupting you? Are you being precise when you talk? Do you bring data that backs up what you say? Do you talk very slowly?

5) Do you ever get good results with a 15-people brainstorming session?

6) Do you feel like you have to be with this group? Is moving on an option?

There are 2 books I really like: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck and Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher, William L. Ury and Bruce Patton

Perhaps you might find the reading to be helpful to you as well.

Good luck and be happy,

-V.

Of course, you would have to put in reasonable delay and wait time for each interaction. You don't want to crash stuff! :)

The site looks good and I love the demo. I think it's gutsy that you guys have the demo cam showing yourself. It's definitely a refreshing idea.

I do notice a few small problems:

1) when you go to demo page and actually view the demo cam streaming the user information menu up top (Login/Register etc.) looks fine. But going from demo page to the home page once more somehow shows the menu as "logged in"--the menu says Logout, even though you shouldn't be logged in to see demo. In any case, it must be something to do with session or the simple loggedin/out logic.

2) In the demo page, dialog box on deleting cam or adding cam will actually be covered by flash. This is a pretty common issue and I believe the solution is to set the flash w-mode: opacity or something of that sort. It has been a while since I worked with drop down menu and flash :)

A suggestion: instead of control buttons of up/down/left/right-- you can definitely add immediate improvements to the experience in 2 levels: 1) bound the keyboard shortcut which should be quite simple. Just trigger the click even on the appropriate button. Don't forget to have a small delay so you don't crash the darn device

2) enable dragging of the video: I'm "thinking"... when the video is loaded, cover the video with a low opacity div (1px gif of 0 opacity?) then bound a mouse listener to the box. Again, you can move the cam according to the mouse movement by checking mousemove and then on delay trigger the click even on your already bound control button. In fact, the easiest would probably have 9 div arranged in this manner:

[1][2][3]

[4][5][6]

[7][8][9]

if mouseenter 5 do nothing... if mouse enters 1 trigger left+up button click, 9-down+right, 8-down and so on.

I hope this makes sense. I'm simply looking at the demo and assume the real experience is probably the same and could be improved.

Other than that, things look great. Best of luck to the team!

-V.

For what it's worth, I thought the name is quite clever. I'm more impressed with the name actually :)

I am, however, feeling cautious about the internet as well. There are so many curated/aggregated content sites these days; Each one claims to be the best at stringing popular content together. For instance: Reddit, HN, Digg, Slashdot etc. Obviously new sites further break this down into specific niches.

I hope there isn't less of an appetite for original content creating platform going forward (or else my officecheese site isn't going to be fun!)

-V.

Congratulations on launching. The UI looks good, but I do have some comments:

1) The time counter, it flashes. Very distracting. I see you're using a plugin for it. Just have the background stays the same and change opacity of the text instead.

2) Facebook and Twitter links next to the signup/signin button can be confusing as social authentication. Perhaps you could move it down to the footer or above the Facebook friends/like box.

Congrats again and good luck.

Awesome. Thank you for the kind words. Any thoughts/comments to improve would be lovely. -V.