Anyone know what happened to portable encrypted file containers shared between desktop & mobile

[Andy Burnelli]

It's quite useful to share encrypted file containers among common consumer
platforms to keep private records (medical, financial, personal) off the
net but always conveniently available on whatever platform we are on.
Veracrypt <https://veracrypt.eu/en/Downloads.html>
Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD & RasberryPi

To that end, in a recent iOS thread, portable encrypted file containers
were discussed, where people shared their Windows/Linux/macOS
Veracrypt/Truecrypt desktop containers among their mobile devices.
*2 iPhone's iOS v16.1.1 ?s with its SOS status icon & Photos' albums*
<https://groups.google.com/g/misc.phone.mobile.iphone/c/-dcYhaoYgAY>

As we delved into the details, it turns out a lot of the links are dead.
<https://veracrypt.eu/en/Android%20%26%20iOS%20Support.html>

Specifically the Android set of links are completely dead for us as were
some of the Veracrypt-supplied iOS truecrypt container app links.
*Android*
EDS <http://sovworks.com/eds/>
*iOS*
Disk Decipher: <http://disk-decipher.hekkihek.nl/>
Crypto Disks: <https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/crypto-disks-store-private/id889549308>

A search on the Apple iOS App Store shows apps of the same name apparently.
<https://apps.apple.com/az/app/disk-decipher/id516538625>
<https://disk-decipher.app/>
But I don't know if they're the same app recommended by Veracrypt.

Worse, a search on the Google Play Store web site shows EDS nomore.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sovworks.edslite>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sovworks.eds.android>

Luckily one can still use their automatic desktop archive of zipped installers
<https://i.postimg.cc/bN875p8b/apk01.jpg> 1600 APKs on Windows
Which are always automatically saved upon initial app installation
<https://i.postimg.cc/Z5kdD2rg/aurora04.jpg> Autosave upon installation
And then which can be dragged-and-dropped onto the phone to re-install
<https://i.postimg.cc/wvsbcNBz/scrcpy05.jpg> Drag APK from Windows

But the need to resort to an existing archive brings up the
necessary question of the desktop/mobile users on these newsgroups.

Without ever needing to put your private data on the Internet...

What app are you using today to manage portable encrypted containers
across your desktop (macOS, Linux & Windows) and your mobile devices?
--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information
which, in this case, is to learn more about portable encrypted containers.

[J.O. Aho]

On 13/11/2022 04.43, Andy Burnelli wrote:
> It's quite useful to share encrypted file containers among common consumer
> platforms to keep private records (medical, financial, personal) off the
> net but always conveniently available on whatever platform we are on.

You can always use keepass, it supports storing files too and depending
on client also supports online sync. Sure it's not a encrypted file system.

[Michael Logies]

I think, Veracrypt is mainly used on Windows and Linux, at least
that`s my use. I don`t see much value in using my encrypted containers
(100-200 GB) on Android.

I think you should look into Cryptomator:
https://cryptomator.org

Regards

M.

[Andy Burnelli]

Michael Logies wrote:

> I think, Veracrypt is mainly used on Windows and Linux, at least
> that's my use.

Mine too. Mostly. It's how I keep my personal data off the cloud.
The desktop has the advantage of the keyboard, mouse & large monitor.

Luckily with Android, that same desktop convenience is freely available.
<https://i.postimg.cc/cJLK1wt0/webdav07.jpg> Android on a desktop is easy

Which allowed me to use the desktop to test out the suggested solution.
<https://i.postimg.cc/vZd9t0ZX/cryptomator01.jpg> Need Android APK

> I don't see much value in using my encrypted containers
> (100-200 GB) on Android.

I keep an encrypted file system of less than a tenth of that size for
important records such as medical and financial and personal data.

That encrypted file system is managed on the desktop and copied to the
mobile devices over my local Wi-Fi network (keeping it off the cloud).

> I think you should look into Cryptomator:
> https://cryptomator.org

Thank you for that advice of the FOSS cryptomator, which I openly admit
that I had never heard of until this very moment that you suggested it.
<https://www.cloudwards.net/cryptomator-review/>
<https://cryptomator.org/downloads/>
Name: Cryptomator-1.6.15-x64.exe
Size: 56829608 bytes (54 MiB)
SHA256: 8DE5AF809F92ACB5BF957E6DC02B519E6552A29903B57D724E208DCA28E1A87F

1. With Cryptomator, you assign a password for a folder.
(We call it a vault - within your cloud.)

2. To access the vault, simply enter the password again.

3. You will be provided with a virtual encrypted drive.
(To which you can move your data - just like a USB flash drive).

Every time you store something on this drive,
Cryptomator encrypts the data automatically.

To always kindly help others who simply need to read what I write to learn
from what I am doing, I will record my observations as I test it out now.

Having come from the UNIX/Solaris/Masscomp/DEC/VAXVMS/PIBM world, I have
installed thousands of programs, so I know a lousy installer when I see it.

While I understand that cryptomator is open source so the source code can
be fixed, the installer is a classic example of poorly designed software.

It doesn't even _ask_ where it should go, which is breaking rule #1 first
thing, right off the bat, which indicates it's not well vetted software.

Moving forward with a single strike in a single pitch, at least it didn't
appear to phone home or do other indefensible acts although it did pull up
an empty command window which lasted a while and then disappeared).

It also didn't even ask to create a desktop shortcut, which is no big deal
but which I then had to hunt out to just find where the program installed.

A "repair" process from within the cryptomator installer program didn't
even ask what to repair, and simply said it had completed the repair.

Hunting down where it installed (I don't use the start menu as I maintain
my own cascaded menu system pinned to the Windows taskbar on my own), we
find it installed into the unused location C:\Program Files\Cryptomator.

Notice the astoundingly huge size difference between installer & installed.
Name: C:\Program Files\Cryptomator\Cryptomator.exe
Size: 592064 bytes (578 KiB)
SHA256: B2591EA615C79A28348BF6D74A945B7E57A81510F5D6DC7674C0632D4E5C8A75

The first thing I did was move the directory to where it belongs (where, in
case folks don't know, _you_ define where things belong - not a million
developers each of whom doesn't have any idea of how to code installers).

Then I was pleased to find out I didn't need to uncheck the option to check
for updates (which is normally left checked in typical sleazy software).
The "Volume Type" is set to "FUSE" although "WebDav" is the other option.

Also I didn't receive any firewall warnings after placing the shortcut into
the proper cascaded menu system and to its credit, the software came up
after being moved (which doesn't always happen with poorly written tools).

First thing I see is an easy-to-find button which says "Add Vault" so I
duly follow instructions which are about as well designed as they can be.
1. Add Vault
2. Create New Vault
3. Choose a name for the vault = foo
4. Next
5. Where should Cryptomator store the encrypted files of your vault
Choices are "OneDrive" & "Custom location"
6. Since I would never use mothership cloud services, I choose the latter.
7. Custom location > Choose > c:\tmp\special\cryptomator\foo
8. Next
9. Enter a new password = foobar12 (it requires at least 8 characters)
10. Do you want a recovery key for the case you lose your password? = No
11. Create Vault
12. Added vault "foo".

Interestingly the vault was apparently created nearly instantly, and there
was no request for seed entropy and no request to predetermine the size of
the vault nor any selections on the choice of encryption algorithms.

To my surprise the "foo" directory contained 'stuff' inside it, where I had
expected it to not "do anything" when Windows clicks on it - but it opened
to a set of files, such as "IMPORTANT.rtf" & "masterkey.cryptomator", etc.

I renamed the "foo" directory to "snafu" but then cryptomator wasn't smart
enough to find it, so I had to rename it back to "foo" as a result.

Running the cryptomator.exe.lnk shorcut, up pops an "Unlock..." button.
1. Unlock
2. Enter password for "foo":
3. Unlock successful.
Content in vault "foo" is now accessible over its mount point.
4. Reveal Drive

That "revealed" a mounted drive on Windows of the same size as the system.
The Cryptomator GUI remains up with a "Lock/Unlock" toggle to manage it.

Overall, comparing the use model to that of Veracrypt/Truecrypt, it's much
easier for the hoi polloi to utilize, even as it's slightly different in
use (e.g., there's very little by way of choosing how you like it to be).

Now, the question is how to utilize that encrypted container on Android.
<https://github.com/cryptomator/android>

Since Android mounts as a drive onto Windows over Wi-Fi using WebDAV
protocols, I copied the locked "foo" container from Windows to Android.
<https://i.postimg.cc/BvJdKWzt/webdav06.jpg> Both sdcards mounted

The basic syntax to "mount" Android over Wi-Fi is as shown below:
c:\> net use M: \\192.168.0.2@8080\DavWWWRoot /USER:foo bar
And the basic syntax to mirror Android over Wi-Fi is as shown below:
c:\> adb connect 192.168.0.2:43210
c:\> scrcpy -s 192.168.0.2
The result being a seamless integration of Android & the desktop.
<https://i.postimg.cc/qv6HJ7GN/webdav08.jpg> Mount /storage/emulated/0
Now let's copy the cryptomator volume onto the Android filesystem.

Using a FOSS anonymous Google Play Store client Aurora, we search for
cryptomator and find, much to our chagrin, it's not a general purpose
solution since it's a twelve dollar item which requires privacy breaches
such as the inclusion of Google's GSF spyware into its program code.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.cryptomator

Hmmm... it's supposed to be a free tool on all common platforms.
<https://levelup.gitconnected.com/how-to-secure-your-cloud-data-with-cryptomator-35ff2c9709e2>
"Cryptomator is a free tool that runs on Windows, macOS, Linux,
iOS, and Android."

Even though when we set up our Google Play Store filters to eliminate
privacy flaws, the few potential privacy based apps that show up
don't advertise they'll understand a cryptomator encrypted volume.
*Tresorit* (free, no ads, no gsf) Encrypted cloud storage service
for syncing and sharing confidential documents
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tresorit.mobile>

*Boxcryptor* (free, no ads, no gsf) Secure your files in the cloud -
fast and easy enryption with Boxcryptor
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.boxcryptor2.android>

*Proton Drive* Cloud Storage (free, no ads, no gsf) Encrypted storage
space. Private and secure. Fast intuitive & easy to use
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.proton.android.drive>

But none of those, found with the search term "cryptomator" in the FOSS
Google Play Store client, seem to open up the cryptomator volumes (yet).
<https://cryptomator.org/tags/android/>

Searching for the "correct" free cryptomator APK for Android nets
<https://cryptomator.org/android/>
<https://static.cryptomator.org/android/1.7.5/Cryptomator-1.7.5.apk>
Name: Cryptomator-1.7.5.apk
Size: 21502366 bytes (20 MiB)
SHA256: CDD87E27E8F04910C5EFAE012E3F1EF90BC64922F16A7CD135B5C8125D00E200

But when I slide that over from the desktop to Android over Wi-Fi and
tap it using my desktop mouse, it gives the payware warning
"We detected that you installed Cryptomator without using Google Play
Store. Provide a valid license, which can be purchased on
https://cryptomator.org/android/"

How can they call it "free" when it requires a payware license?

Dunno yet. But searching seems to find it on the F-Droid repos.
<https://community.cryptomator.org/t/cryptomator-for-android-is-now-available-via-our-f-droid-repository/7744>
<https://docs.cryptomator.org/en/latest/android/setup/#id3>
<https://gitlab.com/fdroid/rfp/-/issues/713>
etc.

Seems sleazy to me to say it's free when it's not free at all.
As a general-use project, it has to be free or it's worthless.

If there is a _different_ free Android non-gsf ad free app which
reads/writes to/from cryptomator volumes, though (much like how the EDS app
reads/writes to/from TrueCrypt/Veracrypt volumes), that would work.

Is there?
It's either free, or it's not free, right?

It's sleazy to claim it's free when/if it's not free; so maybe I need to
search better given I've never heard of this app until this very day.

Let's try these next on Android.
<https://github.com/cryptomator/android/releases/tag/1.7.5>

Cryptomator-1.7.5_signed.apk
<https://github.com/cryptomator/android/releases/download/1.7.5/Cryptomator-1.7.5_fdroid_signed.apk>
Name: Cryptomator-1.7.5_fdroid_signed.apk
Size: 20620571 bytes (19 MiB)
SHA256: 37B023E73C040694577FCF3DA8EB8545330877EF3A8E5FB46E523892C7F5A965

Cryptomator-1.7.5_signed.apk
<https://github.com/cryptomator/android/releases/download/1.7.5/Cryptomator-1.7.5_signed.apk>
Name: Cryptomator-1.7.5_signed.apk
Size: 21502366 bytes (20 MiB)
SHA256: CDD87E27E8F04910C5EFAE012E3F1EF90BC64922F16A7CD135B5C8125D00E200

Unfortunately, they too come up with the license requirement error.
Even so, I'm sure there is a general purpose solution (their almost
always is for any Android, Linux, or Windows problem set after all).

But what is that general purpose solution for reading/writing to/from
cryptomator volumes created on the desktop and copied over to the phone?
<https://i.postimg.cc/vZd9t0ZX/cryptomator01.jpg> Need Android APK

--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information

which, in this case, is to flesh out a general purpose solution for anyone
to read/write encrypted file containers on the desktop & mobile device.

[Michael Logies]

On Tue, 15 Nov 2022 03:44:57 +0000, Andy Burnelli <sp...@nospam.com>
wrote:

>Having come from the UNIX/Solaris/Masscomp/DEC/VAXVMS/PIBM world, I have
>installed thousands of programs, so I know a lousy installer when I see it.

Then you may like:
Comparison with Other Projects - gocryptfs. Accessed November 14,
2022. https://nuetzlich.net/gocryptfs/comparison/

SiriKali works on Linux, macOS and Microsoft Windows Operating Systems
| SiriKali. Accessed November 14, 2022.
https://mhogomchungu.github.io/sirikali/

Cryptomator: FOSS does not mean that you don`t have to pay for an app
based on it. It only means that you can look into and change the
source code, IMHO. I would pay. ;-)

Best Regards

Michael

[Andy Burnelli]

Michael Logies wrote:

>>Having come from the UNIX/Solaris/Masscomp/DEC/VAXVMS/PIBM world, I have
>>installed thousands of programs, so I know a lousy installer when I see it.
>
> Then you may like:

Hi Michael,

I appreciate very much your helpful advice, as I repeat that I am the one
asking for help here, and that you hazarded a suggestion of cryptomator.

There is always an inherent risk in trying to help others learn what you
may already know, which takes a brave person to purposefully attempt.

Hence, I appreciate you volunteered for me to test that program out, where
I am aptly able to run a quick test of any program to see whether it's
suitable for a tutorial on a general purpose solution that benefits all.

Like most of the old timers on this ng, I started with computers in the
60s, 70s, and 80s when we learned basics of what a decent general purpose
solution entailed - and where UNIX/SunOS/Solaris/RedHat/CentOS were my
desktop proving grounds before Windows.

Over time, I've written so many general purpose tutorials that even I can't
count them, where the goal is _everyone_ should be able to enjoy the same
interactivity between all platforms (mobile & desktop) that I enjoy myself.

A general purpose solution, from my rather experienced and well-meaning
perspective, will _always_ need to be free & devoid of basic privacy flaws.

A perfect example of a general purpose solution for everyone is shown here:
<https://i.postimg.cc/D0qMxTMB/webdav09.jpg> FOSS general purpose solution

Where I always prove my words and capabilities (unlike virtually everyone
on an Apple newsgroup by way of contrast with the trusted Linux users).

> Comparison with Other Projects - gocryptfs. Accessed November 14,
> 2022. https://nuetzlich.net/gocryptfs/comparison/

As with most of the trusted Linux and Windows users, if someone provides a
link to help answer a question I've posed, I take the time to explore it.
<https://nuetzlich.net/gocryptfs/comparison/>

Thank you for that link, especially as I must repeat that I started with
Truecrypt years ago and moved to Veracrypt when the mystery deepened.

Looking at that link <https://nuetzlich.net/gocryptfs/comparison/> I see a
nice comparison of the following encryption tools
gocryptfs, aspiring successor of EncFS
EncFS, mature with known security issues
eCryptFS, integrated into the Linux kernel
Cryptomator, strong cross-platform support through Java, WebDAV and FUSE.
securefs, a cross-platform project implemented in C++.
CryFS, Uses chunked storage to obfuscate file sizes.

Having always interoperated between UNIX & Apple & Microsoft from the days
of Samba, Columbia Appletalk Protocol & SMB/Cifs respectively, the goal
here, for this thread, as is always my goal, is interoperability amongst
_all_ the common consumer platforms (iOS, macOS, Android, Linux & Windows).

Up until this very week, I was happy with the Linux/Windows/iOS/Android
interoperability with the resulting encrypted containers (although on iOS,
as is often the case, your privacy is invaded by the Apple mothership and,
worse, you can't use encrypted volumes with the privacy of Android due to
the requirement to purchase the apps in addition to Apple inserting their
own tracking identification header into the applications you install).

The unfortunate fact remains that the EDS software, which I have plenty of
archives of so I'm fine, is no longer available on the Google app store.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sovworks.edslite>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sovworks.eds.android>
"Supports VeraCrypt, TrueCrypt, LUKS & EncFs container formats."

Anyone who reads the feature list will be impressed at what it did for us.
<https://sovworks.com/eds/>

However, the good news, is that it still can be found on F-Droid.
<https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.sovworks.edslite/>

Which I suggest all Android users download now, while you still can.
<https://f-droid.org/repo/com.sovworks.edslite_237.apk>
Name: com.sovworks.edslite_237.apk
Size: 4094887 bytes (3998 KiB)
SHA256: 76537394771B477BA32A3855DCB7CF9E8D2EB63EB77C17BA5FD81393FDDEBFD0

As it's the only (known) general purpose solution for Android I know of.
(There are no general purpose solutions known for iOS unfortunately.)

> SiriKali works on Linux, macOS and Microsoft Windows Operating Systems
>| SiriKali. Accessed November 14, 2022.
> https://mhogomchungu.github.io/sirikali/

Yet again you've pointed me (and, by the nature of Usenet, us) to a
seemingly excellent cross platform general purpose encryption solution!

SiriKali works on Linux, macOS and Microsoft Windows Operating Systems

to manage ecryptfs, cryfs, encfs, gocryptfs, fscrypt and securefs
based encrypted folders.

If someone is going to be helpfully suggesting a general purpose solution,
I'm going to just as helpfully install it and let folks know how it goes.
<https://github.com/mhogomchungu/sirikali/releases/download/1.5.0/SiriKali-1.5.0.setup.exe>
Name: SiriKali-1.5.0.setup.exe
Size: 12486371 bytes (11 MiB)
SHA256: 714AD1677E8966CFE3DE026D64F386ECD9A058F97CAD2FAD2A3AA1DAD89CEAB0

<https://github.com/mhogomchungu/sirikali/releases/download/1.5.0/SiriKali-1.5.0.exe.zip>
Name: SiriKali-1.5.0.exe.zip
Size: 17065242 bytes (16 MiB)
SHA256: 8DDB302F6443FCCFFF7AE218BA764B3FB717677A011804613130A9839FD9DAE4

Unlike cryptomator, the SiriKali installer is better written in that it
asks where to go and it asks to create a desktop shortcut (as it should).

As with cryptomator, there wasn't any obvious of phoning home when it was
run, and as with cryptomator, the check-for-updates setting was off, as it
should be.

The sirikali GUI had a create volume and mount volume button, so I tried to
mount an existing Veracrypt volume which was named 'volume1.vc' on Windows.

Apparently sirikali only wants to mount a 'folder', and not a file (as far
as I could tell as I also tried to "openwith" with a context menu option).

Unfortunately SiriKali doesn't seem to be available on Android:
<https://play.google.com/store/search?q=SiriKali&c=apps>
But there may be Android apps that can read/write SiriKali folders.

Since SiriKali wouldn't open an existing Veracrypt container file, it's
going to be far less useful for our cross-platform purposes, but I did try
to "Create Volume" which then also failed, but this time it was merely due
to the lack of the encryption systems it wanted to see being installed.
Securefs Is Not Installed
Cryfs Is Not Installed
Encfs Is Not Installed
Sshfs Is Not Installed
Cppcryptfs Is Not Installed

Given there's already the EDS solution for Android that I only found today
was still on F-Droid (I hadn't expected it to be there when it was removed
from the Google Play Store repository), I think it's probably not worth
exploring SiriKali at the moment but it does seem to be a good solution in
and of itself (without the requirement of being fully cross platform).

Note that I'm aware of the typical definition of "cross platform" being
only the common consumer desktops - but to me - it means mobile devices too
(where Android interoperability is usually easy but iOS interoperability is
often impossible - and yet sometimes I'm mildly surprised that general
tools work on iOS that also work on the other platforms, e.g., iFUSE).

> Cryptomator: FOSS does not mean that you don`t have to pay for an app
> based on it. It only means that you can look into and change the
> source code, IMHO. I would pay. ;-)

It's not really about whether or not you'd pay the twelve bucks as what I
am always writing are cross platform general purpose tutorials that
_everyone_ can instantly follow step by step to instant success.

In _all_ my many cross platform tutorials, all the software is freely
available because that's a key component of being "general use", and of
course none of them contain well known spyware (which the cryptomator
Android utility definitely contains) but what's even worse than both of
those objections to "I would pay", is that in order to pay for something,
you have to jump thru hoops to maintain your privacy.

Yes, I'm aware of burner methods of paying for an app while retaining some
semblance of your privacy, but it belies the act of paying is by its very
nature, a weak-minded submission to the abject surrender of your loss of
your privacy - just as anyone who logs into any account to obtain a service
that they didn't have to log into the account to obtain - is literally
surrendering like sheep to being led to slaughter without putting up a
fight for their own decency and privacy.

Having said that, I'm aware most people are like sheep led to slaughter.

I hope you understand that it's not about the twelve bucks - but about
writing a general purpose solution that doesn't line us up for execution.

In summary, thank you for the suggestions of cryptomator and SiriKali, both
of which I tested out briefly and found to be viable desktop software; but
neither met the requirement (yet) of working well with mobile devices.

At the moment, with the discovery of EDS on F-Droid, the old cross platform
encrypted container tutorials will still work - albeit using new APK URIs.

--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information

which, in this case, is to document a general purpose encryption solution.

[Andy Burnelli]

Michael Logies wrote:

> I downloaded F-Droid and then EDS Lite. But the software looks
> abandoned? Dead link to the full version?
> http://www.sovworks.com/index.php

Hi Michael,

Wow. I'm impressed. You tried what I was suggesting. That's great!
It's rare anyone on Usenet follows through on any thread suggestion.

I appreciate that you tried to use EDS Lite on Android with a Google Drive
(which is something I've never tried to do as I shun putting my personal
files on anything other than my own local network over Wi-Fi alone).

I will openly admit the EDS Lite GUI is _not_ intuitive.

Here are twenty screenshots showing the general purpose solution I ran.
<https://i.postimg.cc/xjgzJCh0/eds01.jpg> EDS Lite exFAT module installed
<https://i.postimg.cc/ZqkBtyBL/eds02.jpg> EDS opens Veracrypt container
<https://i.postimg.cc/vBhcVqPP/eds03.jpg> Desktop & mobile portability
<https://i.postimg.cc/QthFVGq9/eds04.jpg> It's a general purpose solution
<https://i.postimg.cc/bwSDBRJJ/eds05.jpg> Closing the container on Android

I think we're each attempting to accomplish a _different_ task, where
you're trying to share over a Google Drive & I'm trying to share only over
my local network.

> I put a Veracryptcontainer (2 GB) on Google Drive (first only online,
> than with offline availability) and tried to open it with EDS Lite on
> my Smartphone. But it failed. I deinstalled. Not worth the hassle for
> me.

Since my philosophy is nothing that's important is ever stored on the
Internet, I haven't personally attempted to put anything on the net like
you did above.

That's a completely different use model than the model I espouse.

But if storing your private data on the net is your preferred use model,
then that's _not_ what I have been asking about in this thread.

> Direct mounting of the container on Gdrive from Veracrypt on
> Windows was no problem.

Agree that the use model for Veracrypt is as simple as can be, and agree
that the EDS Lite use model is not, but it's the _only_ known general
purpose solution for Android (which is why the question was asked here).

Let's run a quick experimental step-by-step procedure to test it out.

1. Download & install Veracrypt (I installed it on Windows but it won't
make any difference what desktop platform you run Veracrypt on).
<https://www.veracrypt.fr/en/Downloads.html>
<https://launchpad.net/veracrypt/trunk/1.25.9/+download/VeraCrypt%20Setup%201.25.9.exe>
Name: VeraCrypt Setup 1.25.9.exe
Size: 22165328 bytes (21 MiB)
SHA256: 9328F69FE8CCA3377B66783FBAE4405D764E77EAE75CC2B62AC082C551D93A0E

2. Create a test encrypted container on the macOS/Linux/Windows desktop PC.
(I created a 100 MB volume on Windows named "foo.vc" with Veracrypt.)
a. Start Veracrypt & press the "Create Volume" button
b. Create an encrypted file container > Next
c. Standard VeraCrypt volume > Next
d. Select file > c:\tmp\foo.vc (the file did not exist prior) > Next
[Note: I probably should have used the *.hc default file extension.]
e. AES/SHA-512 > Next
f. 100 MB > Next
g. Password = snafu > Next > Yes (to insecure password)
h. Volume Format = exFAT, Cluster = Default > mouse entropy
[Note: I probably should have used the FAT default for Android!]
i. Format > OK
j. Exit

3. Now put something (anything) into that encrypted file container.
a. Start Veracrypt & press the "Select File" button
b. Press "Select File" & find your "c:\tmp\foo.vc" file
c. Select an unused drive letter (e.g., N:) & press "Mount"
d. Enter the password "snafu" & press "OK"
e. That should mount the volume as drive N: on Windows
f. Add any file to that encrypted volume (e.g., test.txt)
g. Then dismount the encrypted volume by pressing "Dismount"
h. Exit

4. Copy that foo.vc encrypted file container over to the mobile device.
Check that the encrypted file is on both the desktop & mobile device.
Windows:
C:\tmp> dir foo.vc
Volume in drive C is pc1
Volume Serial Number is 0000-0001
Directory of C:\tmp
11/16/2022 03:35 AM 104,857,600 foo.vc
1 File(s) 104,857,600 bytes
0 Dir(s) 41,801,887,744 bytes free

Android:
C:\> adb shell "cd /sdcard/0000 && ls -alsF foo.vc"
0 -rw-rw---- 1 root everybody 104857600 2022-11-15 19:42 foo.vc

5. Download and install EDS Lite on the mobile device (Android).

<https://f-droid.org/repo/com.sovworks.edslite_237.apk>
Name: com.sovworks.edslite_237.apk
Size: 4094887 bytes (3998 KiB)
SHA256: 76537394771B477BA32A3855DCB7CF9E8D2EB63EB77C17BA5FD81393FDDEBFD0

6. Open that foo.vc encrypted container in EDS Lite on Android.
a. Start EDS Lite (mine is version 2.0.0.237)
b. Navigate to the location of the copied foo.vc container file
c. Select the file and press the hamburger > Open file as container
d. Enter the password (snafu) > OK
e. Error: Please install the exFat module

7. Drat. Serves me right for not using the FAT default. :)
In EDS Lite, go to Settings & "Install ExFAT module"
"In order to open an ExFAT formatted container, you can install
an additional ExFAT file system module. The open source module
can be downloaded from "https://github.com/sovworks/edsexfat".
<https://github.com/sovworks/edsexfat/releases/tag/v1.2>
<https://github.com/sovworks/edsexfat/releases/download/v1.2/libedsexfat-v1.2-arm64-v8a.so>
Name: libedsexfat-v1.2-arm64-v8a.so
Size: 454400 bytes (443 KiB)
SHA256: 97E12C32C630EFB04BF30FE4EAA79B71E03D16A80937EA928A38D49FA06B7158

The desktop saves the file directly onto the mounted Android filesystem
over Wi-Fi so you can now open that shared object module in EDS Lite.
a. Start EDS Lite > Settings > Main settings
b. Install ExFAT module > Select File > (press the checkmark)
c. You should see "The file has been installed."

8. Open that foo.vc encrypted container in EDS Lite on Android.
a. Start EDS Lite on Android (mine is version 2.0.0.237)
b. Navigate to the location of the copied foo.vc container file
(Later you'll have a "Manage Containers" option but if you've
never opened a container, you'll just see your file system.)
c. Select the file and press the three dots at top right
d. Select the menu option of "Open file as container"
e. Enter the password (snafu) > OK
f. You should see the test.txt file you added on the Windows side.

If you like, you can modify the data in the encrypted container,
and then close the encrypted container, and then copy it back
over to your desktop to ensure that both ways work fine.

9. To close the container in EDS Lite
a. Press the three lines at top left of the EDS Lite GUI
b. Select the "Stop service and exit" button in EDS Lite
c. You should see the message "Closing" and all will exit

Please note that the EDS Lite GUI changes based on whether you've
already opened an encrypted container and whether or not you've
previously allowed EDS Lite access to your Android file system.

Below are some representative screenshots taken during my test.
<https://i.postimg.cc/xjgzJCh0/eds01.jpg> EDS Lite exFAT module installed
<https://i.postimg.cc/ZqkBtyBL/eds02.jpg> EDS opens Veracrypt container
<https://i.postimg.cc/vBhcVqPP/eds03.jpg> Desktop & mobile portability
<https://i.postimg.cc/QthFVGq9/eds04.jpg> It's a general purpose solution
<https://i.postimg.cc/bwSDBRJJ/eds05.jpg> Closing the container on Android

The end result is that I've described a general purpose use model
which allows anyone on the planet with a common desktop (whether that is
macOS, Windows, or Linux) to create and maintain a portable encrypted file
container on the desktop (using VeraCrypt in this case) and then to share
for read/write onto their mobile device (in this case, an Android phone)
without using only freeware sans ads or gsf spyware and without ever
needing to put any of your private data on the Internet as it is all
done over Wi-Fi keeping all private data on your local LAN at all times.

--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information

which, in this case, is to describe a general purpose encryption solution
which works on any common desktop and on the Android & iOS mobile devices.

[Andy Burnelli]

Michael Logies wrote:

> I downloaded F-Droid and then EDS Lite. But the software looks
> abandoned? Dead link to the full version?
> http://www.sovworks.com/index.php

Hi Michael,

On just that topic alone, there are so many ways to install software on
Android that the method you used, while appropriate, I don't ever use.

<https://i.postimg.cc/wvsbcNBz/scrcpy05.jpg> Drag APK from Windows

For one, I almost always download any F-Droid-based Android APK using a
Windows web browser - simply because it's so easily done (bearing in mind
that the mobile phone file system is always mounted as drive letters on
Windows over the Wi-Fi local network anyway).
<https://i.postimg.cc/k5gv0yw8/vysor34.jpg> Apple iOS & Android mirroring

So the mobile file system and the desktop file system are essentially one
and the same just as the Android GUI is displayed on the desktop monitor.
<https://i.postimg.cc/xjz3V8Gs/vysor32.jpg> ScrCpy vs Vysor PC mirror

However, as you noted, people "can" download APKs "off" the F-Droid
repository using the Android "F-Droid" app; but even that I wouldn't do.
<https://f-droid.org/F-Droid.apk>

I find the AuroraDroid app a much better F-Droid client than the F-Droid
client is an F-Droid client, so if anything, I would have used Auroradroid.
<https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.adroid/>

But even that I would have downloaded from the desktop using a web browser.
<https://f-droid.org/repo/com.aurora.adroid_8.apk>

And, even then, I wouldn't get it from the F-Droid repo but directly.
<https://auroraoss.com/>

Having said that, I would agree with you that the sovworks web site stinks.
<http://www.sovworks.com/index.php>

That's why I used my desktop to get the EDS Lite APK from the F-Droid repo.
<https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.sovworks.edslite/>

Specifically, this is the APK I downloaded using a desktop web browser.
<https://f-droid.org/repo/com.sovworks.edslite_237.apk>

Remember, the Android & desktop file systems are the same on your LAN,
so whatever you do on Windows is already on Android, and vice versa.

In summary, I pretty much use the desktop to manage Android at all times
that I'm home or in the office where the only time I use the Android GUI
is when I'm not sitting at a computer with mouse, keyboard & monitor.

It's all about interoperability between mobile device & desktop computer.
<https://i.postimg.cc/TYvqdxCT/vysor35.jpg> iOS & Android PC mirroring

[Andy Burnelli]

Andy Burnelli wrote:

> I think we're each attempting to accomplish a _different_ task, where
> you're trying to share over a Google Drive & I'm trying to share only over
> my local network.

I'm trying to understand what didn't work for Michael when he tested it.

But, I openly admit I'm completely ignorant of how these "drive" mechanisms
work since I never use them (onedrive, google drive, dropbox, whatever).

*Don't they just act "as if" they're mounted on your desktop filesystem?*

If so, then why wouldn't any file "inside" Michael's Google Drive just act
like any other file that was sitting on his file system (or mounted to it)?

More specifically, if I had an encrypted file container named "foo.vc" on
my file system and another copy inside a Google Drive, what's different?

[MikeS]

I may have misunderstood what you are trying to do but am confused about
how you use Google Drive. In the past I found it is possible to work
directly with an encrypted file container on Dropbox but not Google
Drive. This is because only Dropbox supports Delta update of files. If
you change a single file in a large container on Google Drive the entire
container needs to be uploaded again.

[Andy Burnelli]

MikeS wrote:

> I may have misunderstood what you are trying to do but am confused about
> how you use Google Drive.

Thank you for your kind clarification on how Google Drive operates
differently than, oh, say, Dropbox in terms of file system changes.

I apologize if I've misused any terminology as I don't ever use Internet
storage, so I'm completely and utterly unfamiliar with how any of these
"drive" products works (whether they're "OneDrive", "Google Drive", etc.).

With that in mind, I think it was Michael Logies who found that the EDS
Lite freeware for Android didn't open correctly an encrypted Veracrypt
container file which he had created on Linux when he placed it on a Google
Drive.

I think Michael Logies said that the Linux Veracrypt encrypted file
container _did_ work when he simply copied it from Linux to Android.

Given the assumption that everyone knows more than I do (knowing I know
nothing about these "drive" systems), I have to believe his results, a
priori.

Hence the question is why does a Veracrypt file NOT work when shared on a
Google Drive when that same Linux-encrypted file works fine on his LAN?

> In the past I found it is possible to work
> directly with an encrypted file container on Dropbox but not Google
> Drive. This is because only Dropbox supports Delta update of files. If
> you change a single file in a large container on Google Drive the entire
> container needs to be uploaded again.

That may very well be the reason for Michael Logies' results, so we have to
await his response as to whether your suggestion fits his observations.

I thank both of you for helping out, as it's very important, to me anyway,
that we come up with a general purpose solution that everyone can use to
share encrypted file containers between the desktop and mobile devices.

[Big Dog]

On 11/16/2022 4:58 PM, MikeS wrote:

> I may have misunderstood what you are trying to do

I think they're trying to create an encrypted volume on one platform and
then share it with every other platform including their mobile phones.

[Andy Burnelli]

Michael Logies wrote:

> I'm in the process of testing this for Veracrypt on Windows 10

Below are my re-tests using FAT (instead of exFAT) for the benefit
of everyone who wants a _local_ solution (i.e., without the cloud).

It would be wonderful if others can run a similar test, using the cloud!
But first I'd suggest folks run the _local_ solution (as it's simpler).

Everything below was done from the desktop alone at all times
(with the phone simply networked on my LAN over Wi-Fi).

In case it helps you (or more importantly, others) run this general purpose
_local_ solution (i.e., not using the Internet to store your containers)
here's a quick synopses of what I did to test Windows to/from Android.

exFAT formatted encrypted container file between desktop & mobile over Wi-Fi.

<https://i.postimg.cc/xjgzJCh0/eds01.jpg> EDS Lite exFAT module installed
<https://i.postimg.cc/ZqkBtyBL/eds02.jpg> EDS opens Veracrypt container
<https://i.postimg.cc/vBhcVqPP/eds03.jpg> Desktop & mobile portability
<https://i.postimg.cc/QthFVGq9/eds04.jpg> It's a general purpose solution
<https://i.postimg.cc/bwSDBRJJ/eds05.jpg> Closing the container on Android

FAT formatted encrypted container file between desktop & mobile over Wi-Fi.
<https://i.postimg.cc/26c2nPhj/eds06.jpg> Opening encrypted container file
<https://i.postimg.cc/Ghsqsg2r/eds07.jpg> Editing contents of container files
<https://i.postimg.cc/N0yMgXDN/eds08.jpg> Closing container prior to re-copy

In keeping with my goal (always) of creating a general purpose solution,
I'll belabor the issue by describing the basic steps for others to follow.

1. With a desktop browser, download VeraCrypt & EDSLite onto your desktop.
<https://launchpad.net/veracrypt/trunk/1.25.9/+download/VeraCrypt%20Setup%201.25.9.exe>
<https://f-droid.org/repo/com.sovworks.edslite_237.apk>

2. Using the desktop, create an encrypted container using VeraCrypt.
a. Start VeraCrypt on your desktop
b. Create Volume
c. Create an encrypted file container > Next
d. Standard VeraCrypt volume > Next
e. Volume Location = c:\tmp\foo.hc (this does not exist yet) > Next
f. Encryption Algorithm = AES, Hash Algorighm = SHA512 > Next
g. Volume Size = 100 MB > Next
h. Password = snafu > Next (say "Yes" to the short password query)
i. Filesystem = FAT (options allow for NTFS, exFat, or None)
j. Wiggle the mouse for seed entropy & press "Format" when green
k. When it's done, hit "OK" and "Exit"

3. Using the desktop, add any file to the VeraCrypt encrypted container.
a. Start VeraCrypt on your desktop (it should already be running)
b. Select File = c:\tmp\foo.hc
c. If not selected, select any available Windows Drive letter (N:)
e. Mount (enter password "snafu" & press "OK")
f. This mounts the encrypted volume as a drive letter on Windows (N:)
g. Create foo.txt inside with "Hello World" inside the text file
h. Dismount All (to close the encrypted file system on the desktop)
i. Exit

4. Using the desktop, slide the edslite APK & foo.hc over to Android
a. You can use a USB cable with MTP (which is what most would do)
b. Or you can use adb on the desktop to copy them over to Android
c:\> adb push "C:\tmp\com.sovworks.edslite_237.apk" /sdcard/Download
c:\> adb push "C:\tmp\foo.hc" /sdcard/Download
Note that each phone OEM "can" use a different filespec for
internal & external sdcards (e.g., /storage/emulated/0/Download)
c. Any freeware WebDAV server mounts Android over Wi-Fi as a drive letter
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zq.webdav.app_free>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.webdavserver>
d. Or you can use FTPUse to mount Android over Wi-Fi as a drive letter
<https://www.ferrobackup.com/map-ftp-as-disk.html>
e. If you mirror Android onto your desktop, you don't even need to
physically touch the phone as it can all be done on the desktop.
<https://www.vysor.io/download/>
<https://sourceforge.net/projects/scrcpy.mirror/>
Examples:
<https://i.postimg.cc/k5gv0yw8/vysor34.jpg> iOS & Android mirroring

<https://i.postimg.cc/wvsbcNBz/scrcpy05.jpg> Drag APK from Windows

Note: Tutorials for all were written by me years ago on the autoarchives
<http://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android>

5. On Android, install EDS Lite & open (& edit) the encrypted container
(Note the EDS Lite GUI changes depending on what stage you're on.)
a. Start EDS Lite (v2.0.0.237) on Android (mine is Android 12)
b. In the EDS Lite file browser navigate to & tap on the foo.hc file
/sdcard/Download/foo.hc
c. Enter the password ("snafu") when EDS Lite requests it
d. That will open the encrypted container on Android
e. Edit the foo.txt file & add another line & save the file
f. Exit out of EDS Lite on the phone
(All this was done by me on the desktop over Wi-Fi using mirroring.)

6. On the desktop, copy the closed file container back over your LAN
a. c:\> adb pull /sdcard/Download/foo.hc "C:\tmp\foo.hc"

7. On the desktop, confirm with VeraCrypt that the edits show up.

Having shown that you can stay on the desktop the entire time
to create modify copy and copy back encrypted data over your
own Wi-Fi network without putting your personal data on the net,
it would be interesting to see how others do the same task, but
using their Google Drive, DropBox, OneDrive, etc. network storage.

As always, the goal is to team up with others who know far more
than I ever will know, so that we can all learn from each other.

--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information

which, in this case, is to hack out a general purpose solution for all.

(Note the Windows newsgroup is NOT autoarchived - but the others are,
which is why it's important, for future re-use, that they are there.)

[Andy Burnelli]

Michael Logies wrote:

> sorry, I don't have time for that. I simply don't need and want a
> Veracrypt-container on Android.

That's fine. I do appreciate very much you tested Veracrypt containers on
network drives (such as the DropBox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.), as I
don't put anything on the net that I don't have to but I do realize others
often do, so your tests are useful for those people.

> For me Android is an insecure platform
> per se, because my smartphones won't get security updates any more.

Hmmm.... given Android updates far longer than iOS does (most people are
completely unaware of that fact because they only know what Apple feeds
them to believe instead of understanding how iOS & Android update), I don't
know if there is any consumer mobile platform more secure than is Android.

In case people aren't aware of the "project mainstream" & "project treble"
(since renamed by Google many times), almost all of Android is now updated
asynchronously just like Linux is and sort of like how Windows is updated.

So even an old Android should be almost fully updated nowadays (after
Android 10 anyway) whereas an old iPhone that can't run iOS 16 is never
going to be updated (which Apple was forced to publicly admit recently).

My point is that Android is updated far longer than most people think,
and iOS is updated far shorter than most people think - and - for common
consumer mobile platforms... that's the sum total of available choices.

I have both, by the way, but iOS is a toy operating system, such that
you'll notice I did not include them on these discussions because all they
ever do is desperately defend everything Apple fed them to believe, almost
all of which is propaganda and not in the least even close to factual.

> I'm in the process of switching some PCs (private and in my office)
> from Windows to Chrome OS Flex, learning about its linux subsystem
> (debian 11) in the process. I keep one Windows-VM and use it with
> Remmina (in the linux subsystem of Chrome OS). I also could install
> Veracrypt in the linux subsystem, but did not test it because of time
> constraints.

I have written a tutorial on how to install the Windows subsystem for linux
in five minutes, if you want it, we can find it in the auto archives:
<http://groups.google.com/g/alt.comp.microsoft.windows>

Note that the Windows newsgroup everyone uses (which is not that one),
is NOT autoarchived - which is why I often add that newsgroup when I want
a tutorial to be available to everyone now and in the distant future as
the entire goal is to learn, teach, disseminate, and learn more from all.

> At the moment I like Chrome OS Flex more than e. g. Linux Mint. But
> with Chrome OS I will learn more about Linux. So if Google should
> evolve Chrome OS in a direction i don't like, I would switch to Linux,
> again (MX or Mint at the moment because I only have old PC hardware).

While I grew up on IBM mainframes, and then I designed and wire wrapped my
own microprocessor board designs (programming with an EEPROM), I moved to
"UNIX" early in my Silicon Valley career (VMS, PDP 11, MassComp, SunOS,
Solaris, Redhat, CentOS, etc.), but since then I have mostly used Linux to
dual boot with Windows mostly so that the iOS devices work how they should.

In that regard, a dual-boot Ubuntu/Windows is a fantastic creature, in
terms of interoperability with the festugenah horrid iOS operating system,
where, paradoxically, Ubuntu treats the iOS device as a basic USB stick.

Read _and_ write.
Fancy that!

Linux natively treats the entire iOS device as a read _and_ write filesys!
<https://i.postimg.cc/NFkXsJ0X/files01.jpg> iOS/Win is 1-way & DCIM only
<https://i.postimg.cc/L8b18Zmx/files02.jpg> iOS "Files" does nothing useful
<https://i.postimg.cc/d3SGkdgr/files03.jpg> Android is two way, everything
<https://i.postimg.cc/QMk7tvZW/files04.jpg> Ubuntu is two way, everything
<https://i.postimg.cc/qqg61Rh8/files05.jpg> Ubuntu, movies _to_ iOS on USB
<https://i.postimg.cc/Jhmy9KH7/files06.jpg> Ubuntu uses iFuse for its magic
<https://i.postimg.cc/KjK4nHwf/files07.jpg> Ubuntu is two-way, everything
<https://i.postimg.cc/3xcCBngd/files08.jpg> iOS is just a dumb brick on Win
<https://i.postimg.cc/mDx3xkp4/files09.jpg> iOS only DCIM & only 1-way copy
<https://i.postimg.cc/9MGdc2s7/files10.jpg> Android is 2-way fast over USB
<https://i.postimg.cc/cChf8mx1/files11.jpg> iOS requires hacks just to copy
<https://i.postimg.cc/pVJf72fN/files12.jpg> iOS hacks very often will fail
<https://i.postimg.cc/g269S8rT/files13.jpg> How does macOS work with iOS?
<https://i.postimg.cc/s2x0f9Js/files14.jpg> Simultaneous linux, win10 & iOS

If anyone can get Chrome OS to do something like that, it would be great!

--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information

which, in this case, is to always try to be helpful in ways that are
beneficial to everyone reading this thread now, and long into the future.

[Andy Burnelli]

Michael Logies wrote:

> On Sun, 13 Nov 2022 11:30:08 +0100, "J.O. Aho" <us...@example.net>
> wrote:
>
>>You can always use keepass,
>

> Yes, runs fine for me on Android (Keepass2Android), Linux MX
> (KeepassXC, 1, 2), Windows (KeepassXC) und Chrome OS (KeepassXC in the
> Linux subsystem, easy, because "fuse" (1, 2) works out of the box.

As JO Aho noted, keepass is yet another cross platform encryption solution.
Encrypted PASSWORD containers <https://keepass.info/download.html>
Encrypted FILE containers <https://www.veracrypt.fr/code/VeraCrypt/>

I wasn't aware that keepass could handle files but I was aware that
"attachments" were recently added to its cross-platform capabilities.

One "issue" we've hashed out in detail recently is what's _different_ about
the various "keepass-like" software that is out there for us to use today.
1. Keepass <https://keepass.info/>
2. KeepassX <https://www.keepassx.org/>
3. KeepassXC <https://keepassxc.org/>
4. Enpass <https://www.enpass.io/>

The general consensus appears to be that keepassXC is the common factor.
XC === cross platform compatibility

The problem isn't what to use on the desktop, but what to use for your
mobile device, and what use model do you use to synchronize the data.
<https://i.postimg.cc/j50KtJng/keepass01.jpg> Keepass APKs on Android

> My encrypted keepass-container is on google drive, with local backups.

While I understand the desire to use the "portability" of the Internet to
store keepass encrypted password files, the same philosophy I use to store
encrypted file containers works for my kdbx password files on all operating
systems.

The logic is that these are the tradeoffs:

Storing private data on the Internet
a. It's easy as the MARKETING organizations made it easy for you to do
b. But... and this is a biggie... your personal data is on the net!
c. (albeit, it's encrypted)

Storing private data only on your LAN
a. You have to think ahead to synchronize the files periodically
b. But... and this is a biggie... your personal data isn't on the net!
c. (encrypted or not)

As for the mobile device, it's less clear which use model best fits
synchronizing data completely offline without putting it on the net.
<https://i.postimg.cc/j50KtJng/keepass01.jpg> Keepass APKs on Android

In general, while most people use the KeepassXC variant for the desktop,
which keepass variant do most people tend to use on the mobile device?

[Andy Burnelli]

UPDATE:

This is an important update since EDS Lite is the only "known" free
gsf-free ad-free privacy-aware program on Android which reads VeraCrypt
container files from the desktop (whether macOS, Windows, or Linux).

For whatever reason, EDSLite just re-appeared on the Google Play Store repo
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sovworks.edslite>

I found it when I was looking for information _why_ it had disappeared.
<http://www.sovworks.com/>

Even so, I'd _still_ archive it from the desktop from the F-Droid repo.
<https://f-droid.org/packages/com.sovworks.edslite/>

Where I usually obtain all my APKs while sitting on the desktop, e.g.,
<https://f-droid.org/repo/com.sovworks.edslite_237.apk>

As the use model is to mount your mobile device onto your desktop anyway.

<https://i.postimg.cc/D0qMxTMB/webdav09.jpg> FOSS general purpose solution

That way you always have a ready-made archive of all your installed APKs
which you can use on phone after phone after phone over time for Android.

<https://i.postimg.cc/wvsbcNBz/scrcpy05.jpg> Drag APK from Windows

Even so, the FOSS Google Play Store clients auto-create an APK archive.
<https://i.postimg.cc/bN875p8b/apk01.jpg> 1600 APKs extracted onto Windows
<https://i.postimg.cc/cLXyGjTH/apk02.jpg> APK app auto-storage on Windows
<https://i.postimg.cc/j2g26zws/apk03.jpg> Updates WITHOUT a Google account
<https://i.postimg.cc/02jbkHFr/apk04.jpg> Sort & display apps how you like
<https://i.postimg.cc/mgFkM1bs/apk05.jpg> Sort by install or last update
<https://i.postimg.cc/Gt53TdVt/apk06.jpg> View every activity in each app
<https://i.postimg.cc/MZPpFmHw/apk07.jpg> List by install or update date
<https://i.postimg.cc/Jhxs4VrD/apk08.jpg> Sort by all sorts of criteria
<https://i.postimg.cc/sx1X6hXh/apk09.jpg> Find & install APKs over the web
<https://i.postimg.cc/3rbWynSC/apk10.jpg> Save APKs on sdcard or storage
<https://i.postimg.cc/1zK34xRf/apk11.jpg> One sd stores all Android APKs
<https://i.postimg.cc/ry1DK5cL/apk12.jpg> Save APKs when installing apps

The point being that you should auto-archive the EDS Lite APK now, so that
if it disappears again in the future, you'll have it saved in your archive.

--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information

which, in this case, is to inform peopl, for the permanent Usenet record.

[Andy Burnelli]

Michael Logies wrote:

>>If anyone can get Chrome OS to do something like that, it would be great!
>

> I just connected my older iPhone SE (2nd generation, I believe) into
> my Chrome OS Flex. I can read the DCIM-directory, but not write.

Hi Michael Logies,

This is VERY important because one in ten million people, if that,
know what I'm about to tell you below about read _and_ write to iOS.

When I dual boot a Windows desktop to Ubuntu, I have complete simultaneous
full read and write (both ways!) permission to all three operating systems:
1. Windows (even though it's not even running)
2. Ubuntu (which is what I'm booted to)
3. IOS (even the root partition, including all app storage space!)

Read _and_ write.
But you need to know the single simple (trivial in fact) trick.

Which one in ten million people happen to know.
Even though I've posted this trick many times to Usenet tutorials.

This is important because it shows how people on Usenet, when working
together, can solve problems that no MARKETING org wants us to solve.

To copy files both ways (read _and_ write):
1. Apple MARKETING wants you to use the iTunes abomination on Windows
2. Apple MARKETING doesn't want you to connect to Linux in any manner

Luckily, native Ubuntu iFuse works _perfectly_ between Linux & iOS.
Unfortunately, to my knowledge, iFuse does not exist for Windows.
<https://superuser.com/questions/179436/is-it-possible-to-use-fuse-with-windows>

Back to your read _and_ write tests of "Chrome OS Flex", it may matter if
iFuse is native (or ported) to that operating system. I don't know.
<https://libimobiledevice.org/#downloads>

I don't know anything about "Chrome OS Flex" but I know Ubuntu when it
comes to plugging an iPhone/iPad over USB into it for read _and_ write.
*How to read/write access iOS file systems on Ubuntu/Windows over USB cable*
<https://groups.google.com/g/misc.phone.mobile.iphone/c/IFC52JXBQ1c>

The best marketing organization on the planet doesn't want you to know that
Linux iFuse (I only tested Ubuntu though) automatically turns the entire
iOS device (much more than just DCIM) into a read _and_ write USB stick.

However, what I keep forgetting to mention is there is a secret trick, (I
tested on Ubuntu) for obtaining that _write_ permission from Linux to iOS.

<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios000.jpg> Ubuntu before iOS
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios010.jpg> Trust This Computer?
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios020.jpg> Allow device access?
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios030.jpg> iOS mounts on Ubuntu
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios040.jpg> View iOS filesystem
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios050.jpg> Including DCIM folder
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios060.jpg> For both read & write
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios070.jpg> If you know a trick
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios080.jpg> This is the trick!
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios090.jpg> Which nobody knows!
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios100.jpg> iFuse is Ubuntu native
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios110.jpg> iFuse mounts Windows
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios120.jpg> iFuse mounts iOS
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios130.jpg> iFuse mounts all!
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios140.jpg> read and write iOS
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios150.jpg> Copy Win10 to iOS
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios160.jpg> Any file you want
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios170.jpg> Anywhere you want
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_ios180.jpg> Read & write all!

Notice something very interesting, which is everyone claims to know how
to do this, but if you don't know the secret trick (see above), you can't.

But once you know the secret trick, then it's perfect!
*Windows & Linux & iOS all simultaneous file systems*

Notice that's with _two_ (not three!) operating systems booted?
(Where Windows & Linux are a dual boot setup.)

This is not with a VM.
It's too perfect.

Simultaneous access to the full Windows, Linux & iOS file systems.
Read _and_ write.

Note: One in a million (maybe one in ten million) people know how to do this.
But I haven't tested it on Chrome OS (just Ubuntu & Windows 10 & iOS).

--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information

which, in this case, is to show a read/write trick for iOS that probably
one in ten million people are aware of (maybe even fewer given it's iOS).

[Carlos E.R.]

On 2022-11-18 20:01, Andy Burnelli wrote:
> Michael Logies wrote:
>
>>> If anyone can get Chrome OS to do something like that, it would be
>>> great!
>>
>> I just connected my older iPhone SE (2nd generation, I believe) into
>> my Chrome OS Flex. I can read the DCIM-directory, but not write.
>
> Hi Michael Logies,
>
> This is VERY important because one in ten million people, if that, know
> what I'm about to tell you below about read _and_ write to iOS.
>
> When I dual boot a Windows desktop to Ubuntu, I have complete
> simultaneous full read and write (both ways!) permission to all three
> operating systems:
> 1. Windows (even though it's not even running)
> 2. Ubuntu (which is what I'm booted to)
> 3. IOS (even the root partition, including all app storage space!)

I can, out of the box, doing nothing special. Not to IOS, I don't have
any apple hardware.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

[Andy Burnelli]

Carlos E.R. wrote:

>> Hi Michael Logies,
>>
>> This is VERY important because one in ten million people, if that, know
>> what I'm about to tell you below about read _and_ write to iOS.
>>
>> When I dual boot a Windows desktop to Ubuntu, I have complete
>> simultaneous full read and write (both ways!) permission to all three
>> operating systems:
>> 1. Windows (even though it's not even running)
>> 2. Ubuntu (which is what I'm booted to)
>> 3. IOS (even the root partition, including all app storage space!)
>
> I can, out of the box, doing nothing special. Not to IOS, I don't have
> any apple hardware.

Hi Carlos,
Yes. Agreed. You are correct. Android works differently than does iOS.
I didn't mention Android because Android isn't a walled garden.

The simplest way to put it is the last thing Apple wants is
interoperability between anything that isn't made & sold by Apple.

Apple "doesn't support" Linux.
But that turns out to be a good thing.

Because Apple's idea of "support" means to lock it up so only Apple software will work.
Like they do when they "support" Windows (with the iTunes abomination).

With Android, you don't need anything to turn the _entire_ phone into a
read-only file system (including the root partitions) and most of the rest
of the phone into both a read and write filesystem (just like a USB drive).

But iOS is different.
Anything from Apple sucks in terms of interoperability.
At least on the Apple-supported platform of Windows, iOS is different.

On Windows, if you plug in an iOS device over USB, it's just read access.
And only read access to the one minor DCIM directory. Nothing else.

In fact, if you install the iTunes bloatware, you _lose_ functionality.
It's unheard of but you have less functionality with iTunes than without!

But with a dual boot of Windows/Linux (booting to Linux), iOS works great!
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_dualboot87.jpg> Dualboot desktop
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_serial01.jpg> root dmesg on iOS :)
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_trust01.jpg> Trust this computer?
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_trust02.jpg> Allow this device?

It takes intelligence and knowledge to perceive the beauty of what I just
said, which is why I'm happy to disseminate this information to others here.

The great news is that with a dual boot to Linux on a Windows machine,
if you set up the Windows machine right (which only one in a thousand know how),
then you have _simultaneous_ read _and_ write access to all _four_ file systems!
1. Ubuntu (if you boot to Ubuntu)
2. Windows (if you know how to set it up to not fastboot or hibernate)
3. iOS (if you know what I have recently told Michael Logies how to do)
4. Android (this is a given)

But, if you know what you're doing, which only one in ten million (or so)
people do, then when you plug iOS into Ubuntu, you can read & write it all!

Here are examples of full read _and_ write between iOS & Linux & Windows:
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_apps01.jpg> Documents on iOS
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_apps02.jpg> App storage on iOS
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_apps03.jpg> Internal app space
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_apps04.jpg> iOS write access!
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_apps05.jpg> Win10 & Linux & iOS
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_apps06.jpg> Win10 access too!
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_apps07.jpg> Copy to all 3 OS's
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_apps08.jpg> Win10 System files
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_apps09.jpg> Read and write!
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_apps10.jpg> Access to all iOS
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_apps11.jpg> All iOS app storage!
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_apps12.jpg> Windows to Linux/iOS!
<http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=18_apps13.jpg> It all just works!

--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information

which, in this case, is to let people know what one in a million don't know,
which is how to connect iOS to Windows/Linux for full read/write access.