Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Encrypting Google Calendar With Firefox Extensions

Posted by timothy on from the show-as-unavailable dept.

mrcgran writes "IBM's Nathan Harrington has an interesting essay on using open-source tools to ensure privacy on Google Calendar: 'Today's Web applications provide many benefits for online storage, access, and collaboration. Although some applications offer encryption of user data, most do not. This article provides tools and code needed to add basic encryption support for user data in one of the most popular online calendar applications. Building on the incredible flexibility of Firefox extensions and the Gnu Privacy Guard, this article shows you how to store only encrypted event descriptions in Google's Calendar application, while displaying a plain text version to anyone with the appropriate decryption keys.'"

3 of 52 comments (clear)

  1. Re:afafasdf by mrcgran · · Score: 3, Informative

    The chair is against the wall.

    But ...

    BUT ...

    John has a SHORT moustache.

    thanks for presenting me to this wikipedia's article on number stations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_station

    ... "In the 1984 film Red Dawn, a band of high school guerrilla fighters hears two code phrases (each repeated twice) broadcast over the radio as they hide out in the wilderness. The phrases are: The chair is against the wall and John has a long mustache (the latter of which was actually used as a code-signal by the French Resistance during World War II)."

  2. Been There, Done That by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's been done before. See a college project of mine called the Web Application Privacy Protector (WAPP) or here.

    A major drawback is that it's usually very implementation-specific. The plugin has to be updated whenever the web application is significantly updated, and can usually be circumvented by the application provider if they really want. Additionally, encryption eliminates searchability, though there are some mediocre mitigations such as searchable encryption, tags, or searching for hashes of words. Note: WAPP hasn't been maintained since ~5/07, so it likely won't work with current applications without some tweaks.

    If you have any questions, my email address is (my first name) DOT (my last name) at gmail.com.

    - Gabriel Landau

  3. Actual ads from Google by Xtifr · · Score: 2, Informative

    jub arrqf nyy gung penc? Whfg hfr guvf xvpx-nff rapelcgvba zrgubq gung abobql pbhyq rire svther bhg!

    Just out of curiousity, I posted that into a new email with gmail, saved it to my drafts folder, then went to look, and the "context" ads that appeared are:

    Secrets of the Shaolin
    Rare Chinese Scriptures Translated Released for 1st Time Ever

    Try Tai Chi QiGong
    Live A More Active & Fuller Life, DVD/Videos, Free & Fast Shipping!

    Coconut Soup (Tom Kha)
    Made with Fresh Coconut Milk Loaded with Lemongrass and Galangal

    Chi Kung Resources
    See How Chi Kung Can Empower You. Learn How Today!

    BE a Yoga Teacher
    Teacher Trainings for Women Sip the nectar of Prana in Baja

    So, apparently, if you encrypt your data, Google thinks you're speaking some Asian language, but isn't exactly sure which one. :)