Blocking all access to my Evernote Windows App remotely

[Stella 0]

I need to know if there is a way to block the access to your windows evernote app, once your laptop has been stolen (or for whatever reason)

 

I looked this up and I know you can change your password and it will stop syncing on all the other devices (if you deactivate them), however, all the access to all the notes that were there before the password change are still there and can be accessed and downloaded.

 

Shouldn't there be a security option that would allow you to remotely change your password and to automaticaly unlink certain devices from your account.

I am not that worried about this on my iphone because at least you can protect your data a bit with a password, but all the data on my laptop's app is just sitting there....

 

I saw some responses (on another forum) and it seems this is not possible.

 

Please somoene tell me it is! (and how to do it, of course)

 

Thanks,

Stela

 

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I need to know if there is a way to block the access to your windows evernote app, once your laptop has been stolen (or for whatever reason)

 

I looked this up and I know you can change your password and it will stop syncing on all the other devices (if you deactivate them), however, all the access to all the notes that were there before the password change are still there and can be accessed and downloaded.

 

Shouldn't there be a security option that would allow you to remotely change your password and to automaticaly unlink certain devices from your account.

I am not that worried about this on my iphone because at least you can protect your data a bit with a password, but all the data on my laptop's app is just sitting there....

 

I saw some responses (on another forum) and it seems this is not possible.

 

Please somoene tell me it is! (and how to do it, of course)

 

Thanks,

Stela

 

 

I'm sorry your laptop was stolen.  But anything (not just Evernote) is pretty much accessible unless you institute your own precautions.  IE, simply adding a password or pin code will not prevent a savvy thief from removing the hard drive, connecting it to another computer & viewing your database, With Windows, you can create an encrypted container & put your database as well as any other stuff you wouldn't want a stranger to have access to (IE your email/contacts info) into the encrypted container. 

 

Security has been discussed on the board at great length already.  If one chooses to not implement such security features before a computer/device is stolen/lost, there's really not that much you can do after the fact.  Sorry.

[Stella 0]

This is my preventive question, my laptop hasn't been stolen, thankfully.

 

Yes, I know I can encrypt with Windows, etc. but I am wondering why Evernote doesn't do the same thing as Dropbox. Once you change your dropbox password and remove devices you authorized your dropbox account to, not only will your data stop syncing, but it won't be accessible anymore at all.

 

I read all the security questions (similar to my questions) but since they were 2 years or so old, I figured Evernote must have stepped up and solved this problem. So they haven't done anything at all?

 

Otherwise, for an average user, Evernote data IS NOT secure at all.

 

PS> I am sure It is pretty clear to everyone that anyone tech savvy can do pretty much anything, so no need to mention that every time - I am sure we are all aware.

 

But I am sure many of us aren't protecting our million dollar banking data from the top notch hackers, but just private stuff, clippings, private interestes etc, so even a simple 4 digit code protection would work in many cases. (as you have on your phone)

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

This is my preventive question, my laptop hasn't been stolen, thankfully.

 

Yes, I know I can encrypt with Windows, etc. but I am wondering why Evernote doesn't do the same thing as Dropbox. Once you change your dropbox password and remove devices you authorized your dropbox account to, not only will your data stop syncing, but it won't be accessible anymore at all.

 

I read all the security questions (similar to my questions) but since they were 2 years or so old, I figured Evernote must have stepped up and solved this problem. So they haven't done anything at all?

 

Otherwise, for an average user, Evernote data IS NOT secure at all.

 

PS> I am sure It is pretty clear to everyone that anyone tech savvy can do pretty much anything, so no need to mention that every time - I am sure we are all aware.

 

But I am sure many of us aren't protecting our million dollar banking data from the top notch hackers, but just private stuff, clippings, private interestes etc, so even a simple 4 digit code protection would work in many cases. (as you have on your phone)

 

Dropbox always has wanted you to think they are more secure than they are.  As far as I can tell, if your laptop gets stolen, you can unlink the device, but that does not delete the files that are already on the computer. 

 

https://forums.dropbox.com/topic.php?id=45769#post-355961

 

(emphasis mine)

 

"If you simply unlink the computer, then Dropbox will stop syncing - it will not carry out a delete as a consequence of the unlinking. There are various methods some suggest to try and do a delete (such as move everything out of your dropbox folder, look at the last activity on the Computers tab in your account, but that feature has been removed so now you don't know if the computer has synced or not), but none of them are reliable.

Also note that Dropbox stores a copy of deleted files in its local cache on the computer, so all you are really doing is moving them from the Dropbox folder and into that cache folder - not deleting them at all anyway.

As I said in another thread asking the exact same question recently - the time to do something has long passed, as that time is when you have the laptop and data fully in your possession. Every laptop owner should have a plan of action for if their laptop is stolen - if they do not, they don't really consider the data all that valuable."

 

Ultimately, if you're going to put sensitive information on your computer, you (the user) need to be responsible for securing your data - it's not just Evernote, as I said earlier. 

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

 

 

But I am sure many of us aren't protecting our million dollar banking data from the top notch hackers, but just private stuff, clippings, private interestes etc, so even a simple 4 digit code protection would work in many cases. (as you have on your phone)

No, a four digit pin, or a 10 digit pin, will not work if someone has physical access to your device. Once physical access is gained, almost all security measures are compromised. 

 

The thing is, for your computer, you already have a user password that can be as long and complex as you can imagine. It is not clear what good yet another pass code might offer in terms of protection. Especially since anyone with physical access to your computer and who is logged into your user account can simply navigate to your Evernote database on your hard drive without logging into Evernote. 

 

The absolute best way to protect your data, and which may provide SOME security in the even that physical access is gained is to encrypt the contents of your hard drive (this is built into the Mac OS, and I suppose BnF has some suggestions for Windows), and use a complex user password. 

 

Dropbox

I am not sure if I follow your claim here. When you change your password, your computers are all still linked to Dropbox. Syncing does not stop. Maybe you can post a link? As a dropbox user I am curious about this myself.

You do have control over devices and applications that are linked/authorized with dropbox and this can be revoked remotely from Dropbox.com>settings>security

 

Evernote

Evernote offers this same capacity. If you log into www.evernote.com>Account Settings>Applications  (under the security heading), you can revoke access perviously granted to any of the desktop clients. So if your laptop is stolen, you can log into www.evernote.com and revoke access to "Evernote on Stella's Laptop".   

ADDENDUM: But, as has been pointed out, simply un-linking does not mean the data are deleted from your computer's storage. 

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

But I am sure many of us aren't protecting our million dollar banking data from the top notch hackers, but just private stuff, clippings, private interestes etc, so even a simple 4 digit code protection would work in many cases. (as you have on your phone)

As Scott said, a PIN isn't worth jack, if someone has your computer & encrypted drives or containers are the best way to secure your data. Nothing is foolproof in the hands of a good hacker. But for most of us, encrypted drives/containers with strong encryption passwords are enough to make most hackers move on to the next thing.

For Windows, if you want a simple pin code to keep your kid out of your app, use GameProtector. It's free. For true encryption, Truecrypt. It's been discontinued but it still works.

[Stella 0]

Dropbox

I am not sure if I follow your claim here. When you change your password, your computers are all still linked to Dropbox. Syncing does not stop. Maybe you can post a link? As a dropbox user I am curious about this myself.

You do have control over devices and applications that are linked/authorized with dropbox and this can be revoked remotely from Dropbox.com>settings>security

 

 

Scott,

 

I just tested this, when you chang your dropbox password and you unlink the computer you want to restrict access to, then, although the data is not deleted, whoever has your computer cannot see your files in there (i.e. dropbox prompts you for the new passowrd)

 

With evernote, you don't get that option - you can revoke access to the device in question, you can change your password, but whatever is there can be accessed if not otherwise encrypted.

 

 

[Stella 0]

And for those itching to say "if they are tech savvy they can do it anyway" - let's assume we are talking about someone who can only be bothered with double clicking on your dropbox icon on your desktop.

 

Basically they will be signed out of your dropbox account.

 

And that is what I would like to see with Evernote.

 

Simple enough? You would think so.

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

I am not sure I understand this dropbox thing. Just because the account is unlinked doesn't mean the data are deleted. To test this claim, I went ahead and used the Security tab at Dropbox.com to revoke permission for my computer to access dropbox. While I was immediately signed out of dropbox application on my desktop, every single file remains on my computer. 

See here:

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s25/sh/96d27d11-a4d4-4648-87c3-a97ea695e13a/b64376dca97e8797dc697a2088de0dcb

The first image is the warning displayed when you revoke permission for a computer to access dropbox. 

The second image is my dropbox folder on the now-revoked computer. Notice that all of my directories still exist, and you'll notice that all of the files are still there (as you can infer based on the file size of each folder being greater than 0mb). You'll also see that I am logged out of dropbox as indicated by the login screen. 
 

Unless you can provide evidence to the contary, I am not sure where you are getting the sense that if you remotely deny access to dropbox, that your files are protected. They most certainly are not.

 

The situation with Evernote is exactly the same. You can remotely revoke any client's permission to access evernote, but the files are not deleted. So Dropbox is not a good model to adopt since it is not different. 

 

 

Back to the original topic: How to secure your data in the event of theft (regardless of the tech-savvyness of the thief):

1) Use a really good user account password that is required on startup or when waking from sleep.

2) Encrypt your hard drive by whatever means make sense. 

 

If you are trying to protect against less tech-savvy users (who may just be innocently curious, or who may be nefariously curious):

1) Create user accounts for each person who may regularly use your computer. Do not leave your user account logged in, and do not provide your password to any other user (like your kids!)

2) Create a guest account for guests who do not need their own personal account. 

 

 

ADDENDUM:

All the more reason to be VERY concerned about the security of your user account (forget about individual applications), and encrypting your hard drive: you should be just as concerned about your desktop email client which stores EVERY SINGLE EMAIL MESSAGE in an unencrypted database not protected by its own password. EVEN IF YOU DO NOT STORE YOUR EMAIL PASSWORD IN YOUR MAIL CLIENT your messages are locally stored and can be viewed without a password (aside from your computer user account password, of course). Changing your email password in the event of theft will not delete these locally stored messages. 

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I just tested this, when you chang your dropbox password and you unlink the computer you want to restrict access to, then, although the data is not deleted, whoever has your computer cannot see your files in there (i.e. dropbox prompts you for the new passowrd)

Yes, yes they absolutely can see your files. All they have to do is look at your hard drive & they can still see your Deopbox data. All Dropbox is on your computer is a folder on your hard drive, unless YOU put it in an encrypted container. It doesn't even take any hacking abilities to do this - just knowledge about common Windows tools that have been around for decades. My 11 y/o niece would know how to do this. At least it takes a bit more skill (but not a lot) to view the data in your Evernote exb file.

And for those itching to say "if they are tech savvy they can do it anyway" - let's assume we are talking about someone who can only be bothered with double clicking on your dropbox icon on your desktop.

Basically they will be signed out of your dropbox account.

And that is what I would like to see with Evernote.

Simple enough? You would think so.

Like I said above...signing out of Dropbox does squat, if you have any Dropbox files on your hard drive. Ok, it would prevent them from deleting your files from Dropbox or seeing anything new you add. But like Scott said, this still puts Dropbox on par with Evernote - changing the EN password prevents them from deleting your notes or getting new ones. But all the Dropbox folders you've sync'd to that laptop are viewable to anyone who knows how to use Explorer.