LinuxQuestions.org
Visit Jeremy's Blog.
Home Forums Tutorials Articles Register
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - General
User Name
Password
Linux - General This Linux forum is for general Linux questions and discussion.
If it is Linux Related and doesn't seem to fit in any other forum then this is the place.

Notices


View Poll Results: Between 1-10, How Secure is Firefox Sync?
(01) Not Secure At All 2 28.57%
(02) 1 14.29%
(03) 0 0%
(04) 0 0%
(05) 2 28.57%
(06) 0 0%
(07) 1 14.29%
(08) 0 0%
(09) 1 14.29%
(10) Extremely Secure 0 0%
Voters: 7. You may not vote on this poll

Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 12-07-2013, 07:03 AM   #1
Zyblin
Member
 
Registered: Oct 2013
Distribution: Linux Mint 18.3 (64)
Posts: 185

Rep: Reputation: 20
Firefox Sync, How secure is it?


On a scale between 1-10 how secure is Firefox Sync? Please add a reply explaining why it is or is not secure. What is wrong, what is right and what they could do better.

Last edited by Zyblin; 12-07-2013 at 07:10 AM.
 
Old 12-07-2013, 01:30 PM   #2
lleb
Senior Member
 
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: Florida
Distribution: CentOS/Fedora/Pop!_OS
Posts: 2,983

Rep: Reputation: 551Reputation: 551Reputation: 551Reputation: 551Reputation: 551Reputation: 551
it is as secure as any "cloud" based system. how much do you trust the Mozilla foundation to protect your data? I personally use the sync with Google's Chrome because it makes my life easier and the only thing that is synced are my book marks. saves me time on the road. Does that mean I trust google with my data? no, but its easy and the data i am sharing with them is of little use to many big boys out there who could twist/misuse my data.

its a balancing act you have to play just like everything with security on the internet.
 
Old 12-07-2013, 06:33 PM   #3
Zyblin
Member
 
Registered: Oct 2013
Distribution: Linux Mint 18.3 (64)
Posts: 185

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 20
I was hoping to get some people who have used it to vote. I think since no one here uses it or considers it worth voting on I will just use them for bookmarks and thats it.
 
Old 12-10-2013, 08:45 AM   #4
sundialsvcs
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Feb 2004
Location: SE Tennessee, USA
Distribution: Gentoo, LFS
Posts: 10,659
Blog Entries: 4

Rep: Reputation: 3941Reputation: 3941Reputation: 3941Reputation: 3941Reputation: 3941Reputation: 3941Reputation: 3941Reputation: 3941Reputation: 3941Reputation: 3941Reputation: 3941
You should assume that no "cloud-based" system is "secure," especially not one that is offered to the general public.

Consider v-e-r-y carefully why a company would see fit to offer, utterly free-of-charge, such a system to "the great unwashed." And spend millions of dollars on hardware, of course, in the doing of it. The answer is quite obvious: "they want to get at your data." Want to know who you know, who you're talking to, what you're saying to them, when you're meeting with them, where you go to lunch ... everything about you. And, they do this because they want to sell that information.

Imagine how different things would be if the original AT&T had given-away telephones for free, with the proviso that they could secretly record and transcribe every conversation, analyze its content, and use it to target advertising to you. Instead, we have "wiretapping laws." But, we don't have any such thing for the Internet. Yet.

The Nazis rounded-up the Jews, and identified them and the people who were sympathetic to them, by analyzing telephone-call records. Governments can, and do, do the same things today.

So ... lest this sound too much like Yet Another Pointless Political Rant ... "Security is a process, and it is your responsibility." Be judicious about how you use these technologies. They are convenient, but that convenience comes with a price. You might, indeed, not care whether you pay that price; it might legitimately(!) be a non-issue for you. But, know that you are paying it.

If these sync services were "secure," then they either would not exist, or they would not be free. They are convenient. Even useful. Yes, they do use consumer-grade encryption as a matter of course, but "security" can only be an attribute of the total system ... from device to device and inclusive of both-ends. Such security does not exist here. It is not-part of the design.
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 12-12-2013, 04:56 PM   #5
Eric@
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Dec 2013
Posts: 9

Rep: Reputation: Disabled
I have no comments on firefox sync nor know how secure it is. I just import and export my firefox bookmarks from PC to device or vice versa
 
Old 12-12-2013, 05:44 PM   #6
Zyblin
Member
 
Registered: Oct 2013
Distribution: Linux Mint 18.3 (64)
Posts: 185

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric@ View Post
I have no comments on firefox sync nor know how secure it is. I just import and export my firefox bookmarks from PC to device or vice versa
I use febe but since I have at least two to three OS's on my computer plus using a tablet I was hoping for something that was more secure than the average cloud services. Spideroak is something I use and I think it is great for what it is. I kind of hoped Mozilla was at least half as good. The problem is this when it comes to the cloud. If it is easy or really easy than it is not secure or it is very unsecure. With our level of technology it should not be this way at all.

Last edited by Zyblin; 12-14-2013 at 02:38 AM.
 
Old 12-13-2013, 12:27 PM   #7
lleb
Senior Member
 
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: Florida
Distribution: CentOS/Fedora/Pop!_OS
Posts: 2,983

Rep: Reputation: 551Reputation: 551Reputation: 551Reputation: 551Reputation: 551Reputation: 551
again, unless you own and control the hardware you can never really know how secure any "cloud" type service is. i personally dont trust any cloud based application/service for anything other then junk information. a few pictures that i would not mind sharing, some school documents that i either have presented to professors or that i share with classmates, etc...

for more secure cloud services i run my own https://owncloud.com/ look into it you might like what it has to offer. it can still be a bit buggy, but with good bandwidth and hardware its a nice solution for a family and select friends or even a small business.
 
Old 12-13-2013, 05:41 PM   #8
Eric@
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Dec 2013
Posts: 9

Rep: Reputation: Disabled
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zyblin View Post
Spideroak is something I use and I think it is great for what it is.
Same here, they do claim your data is private from everyone including their staff, but to play it safe, I just put non sensitive stuff.
 
Old 12-14-2013, 06:16 AM   #9
Zyblin
Member
 
Registered: Oct 2013
Distribution: Linux Mint 18.3 (64)
Posts: 185

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric@ View Post
Same here, they do claim your data is private from everyone including their staff, but to play it safe, I just put non sensitive stuff.
Anything sensitive I am careful with as well. I either don't upload it or I will encrypt it and even than it will be low level sensitive data.
 
  


Reply



Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Firefox ESR on 13.37 won't sync kfritz Slackware 1 06-30-2013 09:50 AM
[SOLVED] Can LastPass for Firefox not sync to its online service? LAPIII Linux - Software 1 05-23-2012 03:44 PM
[SOLVED] Iceweasel - How Do I Install Firefox Sync? khinch Debian 3 02-12-2012 11:32 AM
Sync firefox bookmarks.html across machines koyi Linux - Software 3 11-30-2005 12:35 PM
Flash in Firefox either oss sound and out of sync or very slow Haiyadragon Linux - Software 1 08-13-2005 05:11 AM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - General

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:15 PM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration