Encryption Settings Help

You can use Syncdocs to add an extra layer of security to the data you store on the cloud using encryption.

Google Drive Encryption Settings

Encryption Password

Use this option to change the password you use to encrypt your data.

If you change the password, Syncdocs will apply this to all your encrypted files on Google. If you have many encrypted files it can take a while for all these files to be re-encrypted with your new password.

Select Encrypted Folders

Syncdocs encrypts files if they are in a folder that is set to be encrypted. You can set the folders you want this option on here. You cannot encrypt folders shared to you that you don’t own, and folders you have selected not to sync. You can add any folder on your PC to encrypt online.

Store encrypted files securely on this PC (using NTFS EFS)

If checked, then files in folders selected to be encrypted on Google, are also encrypted locally. This local encryption is transparent to the logged in user.  This encryption protects the local files against unauthorised access in case the hard drive is stolen or accessed by another user. Find out more here.

When you select/unselect the local file encryption option, existing files are not immediately encrypted. They are only encrypted when uploaded or downloaded by Syncdocs. This is because encrypting or decrypting an entire folder can take time.

Wipe encrypted files on Google when deleting

If you delete a file on your PC, the deletion is normally mirrored on Google by deleting the file to the recycle bin (or trash can).

If the “Wipe” option is checked, then files are wiped on Google, they are not just moved to the recycle bin. These files cannot be recovered by un-deletion.

Store version history of encrypted files

If you modify a file locally, the old version of the file is kept, this is called the file’s revision history.

Uncheck this option not to store old versions of files. More importantly, if you change your password, old encrypted versions of files are kept with your old password. This may be a risk if your old password is compromised. Uncheck this option to disable this security risk, but lose the option to go back to older versions of files.

Encryption algorithm to use

This option selects which encryption algorithm to use. Currently the only option is AES 256. 

The AES 256 option encrypts using the Advanced Encryption Standard with a 256 bit key.  SHA1-HMAC is used to authenticate and verify the message as genuine and uncorrupted.  Random data is added to the message to protect against some known ciphertext attacks.

Syncdocs is designed to support other algorithms and OpenPGP and AES 128 may be added in future versions.