Hello
Can some one give an opinion regarding pCloud Crypto compared to Cryptomator.
This is an explanation regarding that service.
Right now I think that the possibility to have Cryptomator vault off line in windows desktops. and the ability to encrypt files an local backup storage is a big advantage.
In the other hand pCloud Crypto is easier to use, just type in the password and put your faith in that pCloud servers would last forever.
Did someone check this in depth ?
I do know that pCloud Crypto have a price (I think 125 USD for lifetime subscription added to the storage cost.
Thanks in advance.
I guess that’s the point as it is with any closed source encryption. You have to believe that they have implemented the encryption exactly as they advertise it in their product.
(Or you can search for independent code reviews).
Ok, for someone who cannot read and rate code its the same for open source software, but from my point of view there are much more “auditors” on open source code who are able to find vulnerabilities and report/discuss it, and this makes open source software more trustworthy to me when it comes to privacy.
4 Likes
The main benefit is if you plan to use Pcloud with cryptography on a mobile phone. Currently you’ll get better performance with Pcloud Crypto than with Cryptomator mobile, due to Pclouds bad Webdav support.
The Pcloud console client is open source and works with crypto , so theoretically the code could be audited. However as Michael said, its all down to trust.
They could be implementing differently on the desktop/mobile client , or collecting metadata before encryption… nobody would know.
The real downside is Passwords, if you change your pcloud crypto password all the data is deleted.
You also have no option to migrate a Pcloud vault to another service. With a cryptomator vault you could just share/transfer the locked vault as files and folders to another provider.
2 Likes
Thanks for your reply.
As I understand, this is not applicable if the vault is used in other cloud storage services ?. Correct me please if I am wrong.
1 Like
Thanks for your reply.
I cant speak for the performance of all cloud services, but the others i use with Cryptomator including Koofr(webdav) and google drive have worked perfectly with Cryptomator mobile, its an excellent product. I tend to use Cryptomator with these services and completely uninstall the “official apps”
Pcloud is the only one i’ve had problems with. The USA webdav server is incredibly slow, and i don’t think they even support the EU region servers yet.
If you search this forum (or any other cloud discussion forums) for info on pcloud webdav, there’s a lot of issues and very little support. - EDIT : Please see post 13 here, things may have improved. WebDAV URLs of Common Cloud Storage Services
In my use-case scenario, i opt to use cryptomator with pcloud desktop, and host some large vaults there. Data i need to access on my mobile is stored with a different provider which works better with cryptomator mobile. This works for me as i like to seperate “backup” data from “active/on the go” data
I have lifetime crypto with pcloud i got in a bundle deal with a 2tb package. Personally I don’t like it and I don’t trust it.
2 Likes
Pcloud EU with cryptomator works well on desktop (Linux, windows, Mac) but some of my colleagues can’t open or save files directly but have to copy it outside the vault and have to remember to copy it back. I experienced this too on Ubuntu.
Pcloud EU with cryptomator on Android seem to work well, also performance wise. At least I can’t complaint so far. But I only use it for emergency to be honest.
1 Like
Thanks een, (and for bringing attention to the new webdav EU server) I’ll have to revisit this at some point, the USA server was dreadful- not just with cryptomator- it did not play well with Synology or Qnap backups either.
I have to say a good word regarding pCloud.
I think it is a very good cloud storage, I really enjoy it, works great, I like the user interface and pCloud as a whole.
My question was specific to there Crypto optional add in service. I think that the possibility to save a copy of Cryptomator vault in more that one cloud storage and offline is better than relying on one cloud storage, pCloud, even if it is my primary choice for cloud storage.
pCloud Crypto optional add in service as I understand it does not save any offline copy of its content.
I also wondered if pCloud Crypto add in service was audited by third party and what others think - maybe there is other advantage of pCloud Crypto add in service that I missed.
Until now I did not have any problem using pCloud and I recommend it to my friends and family.
I Have not tried Cryptomator on pCloud yet so no personal opinion, only good expectations, because I use pCloud webdav server in an android file manager (beside their Android app) and they both work great , in windows pc their client works great.
I agree, pcloud are excellent, i have used them since 2016 with only one complaint (historical webdav issues), which i felt was useful information while you were evaluating crypto options.
If you are personally having a good experience with their webdav on android then really its down to personal choice and trust.
The only benefit of Pclouds own crypto I can find is the integration to their native web-ui and client apps.
However you do lose a bunch of good pcloud features, no recycle bin, no document versioning, no offline mode (the data is cached on desktop but not accessible unless you are signed in), no photo viewer on mobile.
To my knowledge there’s been no publicly available audit of their implementation, although they did apparently run a challenge to see if anyone could break it pCloud Encryption Challenge - 100,000 USD
.
Their encryption code is published as part of the console client GitHub - pcloudcom/console-client.
Audit or not, it is unlikely using good passwords that someone would defeat your account And Crypto-pass security; However if your data is so private you need to be concerned, I’d be questioning if you want to trust your cloud providers webUI / Mobile client/ Desktop client with safely and ethically processing your secret password
The main benefit of Cryptomator in this regard is they have no association or affiliation with your cloud provider or its apps. you unlock your data client side.
If a warrant was served on your cloud provider, there’s considerably more concern the data could be “unlocked” ,or monitored on a first party app than if you are using an entirely independent solution.
I hope that answers your question better.
1 Like
I used to be a big fan of pCloud (I subscribed to the lifetime 2TB plan and to the lifetime Crypto plan), but I encountered issues using WedDav with pCloud: some of my files appeared with a 0 byte size and I could not delete or modify them. After 6 month chasing of the pCloud support teams, they told me that “they couldn’t fix the mess I created”, they accepted to delete my 2TB drive, and to give me a new one. They blamed me for using un-trusted WebDav apps. My analysis is their WebDav is buggy and far too permissive on their side. I never encountered any integrity problem like that on Google Drive or One Drive.
So to me, pCloud is a blackbox, not fully stable, with proprietary code. I don’t trust them anymore regarding the integrity of my files (which is a big problem if I can not be sure to get my files back). Furthermore, they moved their datacenters from Switzerland to Texas (although all they keep repeating they are the “Swiss Cloud”). So after all that, do I trust them regarding confidentiality? Well, not anymore…All that is not fully transparent to me.
Today I prefer using OneDrive + Cryptomator because that can guarantee the integrity and confidentiality of my files (rather than pCloud + Crypto). Too bad, because I really liked their lifetime plan, rather than the monthly plans of their competitors.
1 Like
@DarkKnight , they are a swiss company but their data centers were originally in Texas. They have had EU servers for around a year now. , there is a transfer data option in the account settings.
Agree their webdav was never stable, but their SDK is well documented and open source. The latest cryptomator android Beta uses the SDK and up to now seems to run very stable. https://github.com/cryptomator/android/releases/tag/1.5.14-beta1
1 Like