Encryption

[Brian2]

I've searched for encryption on this forum and found a few threads as early as 2006 on the topic. All threads are long dead by now, so a new topic.

What kind of encryption does AISbackup support.
Is it a bit safer that plain zip encryption?
What's the speed hit on a modern CPU. I've played with VeraCrypt and while there's obviously a increased CPU load the theoretical throughput is way above what spinning disk can handle.

[Barry]

AISBackup uses zip file encryption, it has an option to make a much longer password than what you supply, i.e. the password itself is one way encrypted. For those concerned about security it is probably best to backup to disks that have been encrypted with BitLocker (or a third party encryption application). My Synology NAS also supports encrypted disks.

Barry

[Barry]

Since making my previous reply I have done some research into cracking zip file passwords and I used a popular password cracker to do some tests. Using a password of 7 characters the password was found within 5 seconds, using the same password with AISBackup’s password encryption method the password wasn’t found after several hours, so I did some more reading. Apparently, passwords of over 15 characters I read this “If the password is very strong with length more than 15 and mixed with special characters and numbers then it don't try to crack. It will take more than your lifetime.”

AISBackup’s password encryption generates longer password than 15 and is likely to contain characters that cannot be typed into a password dialogue box. The password itself is stored using a different kind of encryption, similar to zip file encryption but not the same. The downside of using AISBackup’s password encryption is that you are going to lose the backup if you forget the password.

Barry

[Brian2]

My AISbackup password is 40 random chars.
Similar: E$^HvKZ^7N^DMbFe7yEBzME7Rc*3v5cSm6wsz#xG


I tried the let AIS generate the password. That didn't work for me because I didn't know the password to decrypt.
Likely I don't fully understand how it works because where's that password stored? How do I protect it against getting lost by for example a system crash?

[Brian2]

My AISbackup password is 40 random chars.
Similar: E$^HvKZ^7N^DMbFe7yEBzME7Rc*3v5cSm6wsz#xG


I tried the let AIS generate the password. That didn't work for me because I didn't know the password to decrypt.
Likely I don't fully understand how it works because where's that password stored? How do I protect it against getting lost by for example a system crash?

[Brian2]

My AISbackup password is 40 random chars.
Similar: E$^HvKZ^7N^DMbFe7yEBzME7Rc*3v5cSm6wsz#xG


I tried the let AIS generate the password. That didn't work for me because I didn't know the password to decrypt.
Likely I don't fully understand how it works because where's that password stored? How do I protect it against getting lost by for example a system crash?

[Brian2]

My AISbackup password is 40 random chars.
Similar: E$^HvKZ^7N^DMbFe7yEBzME7Rc*3v5cSm6wsz#xG


I tried the let AIS generate the password. That didn't work for me because I didn't know the password to decrypt.
Likely I don't fully understand how it works because where's that password stored? How do I protect it against getting lost by for example a system crash?


To my best knowledge made a job with a password. Upon restore no password is asked for.
When going to Job Setting > Password a password is requested, but always rejected.

How can I test restore works on for example a new PC?

[Barry]

You have posted the random password, but you cannot use that in AISBackup, you must use the original password you used when you setup the backup job. There is no way to convert the encrypted password back to your original password. You must have set-up the backup to 'don't ask for a backup on restore' if you can restore without it.

To open a backup on another PC use the Tools / Open Job From Backup Media option.

As I mentioned in my first reply, it is probably best to backup to an encrypted disk.

The encrypt password option converts your easier to remember password to a much longer, seemingly random, series of characters that cannot be converted back to the original password.

Barry

[Brian2]

The password I posted is similar to the one I entered. Obviously I'm not posting my real password here. But the password I use is just as random and long.
I've no idea what the encrypted password is, or how to find it.

I'm a boring guy, with boring data so I don't need extreme security so zip with a huge random pass may serve my purposes.
I'm going to try restoring on another PC. If I'm no fully confident can restore I'll take your advise and use an encrypted disk.