1.) I am Not going to use cryptomator with google dirve. I instead, created a folder in my “DOCUMENTS” and am going to direct Crpt.. there. I seems to work well, but is this as good a place as the default location that Cryp.. suggested in my c:\user account? Is that a better location?
2.) When I setup Cryp.. saw that part of the installation a floder was created that had about 5 documents in it:
– a folder that is my data (just alphabetic letters)
– a “WORD” document that is titled “IMPORTANT”
– masterkey.cryptomator
– vault.cryptomator
– and about 2 other items.
This folder is readily assessable to anyone that has access to my computer. I know that my dat is encrypted but I DO NOT want to take the chance that this folder could be deleted or accessed for whatever reasen.
– How should I protect this folder information?? If it is “IMPORTANT” should it also be inside crypto..?
– if this folder were to get deleted or altered somehow, would my data then be gone?/
– Please advise as I think this info that was created when I created my account by default should be better protected. Should I copy this folder to be INSIDE of cryptomator to protect it? Or should I have chosen a more secure location other than the DOCUMENTS folder. confused.
–I THINK THESE ARE CALLED THE VAULT FILES and my encrypted data is inside it???
Yes. This directory gets created when you create the Vault and they essentially are the vault. Your data along with these files are in that tree.
Don’t move them. Just protect them.
Lose these files and you lose access to the vault! I do regular backups of the vault. Vaults on my local computer get image backup and clouds vaults get file backup to another cloud service but you can easily download them to an SSD for safekeeping.
You protect them by protecting access to the PC and by storing them somewhere safe. I keep them in my password manager.
If these files are on a work computer and other people have access to the computer with login permissions similar to yours then they are susceptible to being deleted.
Cryptomator protects your data from being read and manipulated by others but it does not prevent someone from deleting them if they have access to the physical computer. That is why it is important to back up your data both encrypted and unencrypted.
My unencrypted files are backed up using a program that uses a different encryption system.
Use a good password manager. I use/recommend KeepassXC. What’s nice about this particular password manager other than being open source is it is capable of storing the core Vault files inside the password manager. I keep copies of the master key/vault files in my password manager. Most password managers only let you store the user ID and password not other things that are important like your Vault configuration files.