I have to cut out the naughty bits from a few videos (avi, mp4, mkv, etc.)

Originally Posted by JMacSmith Thanks. I just added him to my ignore list. I still don't know what I said that's so unbelievable and trollish––I work in Saudi Arabia half the year and I have a lot of R-Rated movies and TV shows (e.g. Westworld) on my external hard drive that I'd really rather not get caught with if I'm ever stopped by the Mutaween. If I could cut out the nude scenes and the scenes with adult situations, I'd feel a whole lot more comfortable carrying them around in my backpack. And, yeah, as you pointed out, there was no need to resurrect this post just to offer me useless advice and then insult me, but whatever.

Having experienced watching films in Malaysia, where even the underwater kiss between Tinkerbell and Peter Pan was censored out in the film Hook, I get what you're on about. However, given the amount of effort it would take to do all that editing, I would suggest perhaps either leaving R-rated movies and shows at home or encrypting them. You could even encrypt them in the cloud and download, watch and delete as necessary.

Originally Posted by hydrurga I would suggest perhaps either leaving R-rated movies and shows at home or encrypting them. You could even encrypt them in the cloud and download, watch and delete as necessary.

Ok, now you've piqued my curiosity: I'm in the middle of nowhere so our internet in the best of times is between about 20-45 kbps so downloading from the cloud wouldn't be feasible but encrypting them is.

Can you tell me more about how to encrypt them or point to an "idiot's guide" on how to do it? If it's easy enough, it would be the best bet. If not, I'll leave them home.

As I said before: no westerner I know has been harassed out here by the religious police in the 6 years I've worked/lived here, but it could happen. They are arbitrary and capricious.

Thank you

I use VeraCrypt (https://www.veracrypt.fr/en/Home.html) to encrypt either entire filesystems (partitions) or containers within a filesystem. When you need to access that partition/container, you run VeraCrypt on your computer to decrypt and mount it. You then treat it as a normal mounted filesystem and when you're finished, you unmount it with VeraCrypt.

Other software to encrypt/decrypt partitions and containers exist, as do solutions which encrypt particular files. VeraCrypt also provides "plausible deniability".

Certainly worth considering. Have a good look at the VeraCrypt site and let us know if you have any questions.

Originally Posted by JMacSmith Ok, now you've piqued my curiosity: I'm in the middle of nowhere so our internet in the best of times is between about 20-45 kbps so downloading from the cloud wouldn't be feasible but encrypting them is. Can you tell me more about how to encrypt them or point to an "idiot's guide" on how to do it? If it's easy enough, it would be the best bet. If not, I'll leave them home. As I said before: no westerner I know has been harassed out here by the religious police in the 6 years I've worked/lived here, but it could happen. They are arbitrary and capricious.

Wow, really? I gave you a link in post #7 about this very thing, and even suggested the cloud as well. Using GPG is also an option, with a simple "gpg -e <filename>" command.

Originally Posted by TB0ne Wow, really? I gave you a link in post #7 about this very thing, and even suggested the cloud as well. Using GPG is also an option, with a simple "gpg -e <filename>" command.

I didn't read your post before replying. I could have in fact directed the OP towards your post. There's quite a bit of info to take in - they probably just missed it. Or else it was only when a second person recommended it that the OP thought it might be worth considering. Anyway, we both agree that it's a good solution to the OP's issue.

Originally Posted by hydrurga I didn't read your post before replying. I could have in fact directed the OP towards your post. There's quite a bit of info to take in - they probably just missed it. Or else it was only when a second person recommended it that the OP thought it might be worth considering. Anyway, we both agree that it's a good solution to the OP's issue.

Well, it's *A* solution...personally, I'd leave all that home, period, if there's any doubt. The hidden encrypted file system is a good alternative, but personally (having had my boots on the ground in that part of the world), I'd make my life simpler and just not take it. I have a laptop that has NOTHING on it at all but an OS, with a script that auto-shreds anything I might download during the day at shutdown AND startup, that I use just for traveling abroad. I wipe/trash the disk before coming home, and have a cheap smartphone with a pay-as-you-go SIM card too.

Not that I worry about the countries I visit, but more upon re-entry to the US and their policies about 'searching data' at the border. I make sure there's nothing to search.

Why not just put your films on a USB stick, which you could swallow in an emergency?

Originally Posted by JeremyBoden Why not just put your films on a USB stick, which you could swallow in an emergency?

sounds reasonable.

anyhow, JMacSmith, i sometimes use encfs or ecryptfs for encrypting folders. It's very simple to set up. I think it should be sufficiently safe for your usage scenario, and the overhead on resources is small.

Originally Posted by TB0ne Wow, really? I gave you a link in post #7 about this very thing, and even suggested the cloud as well. Using GPG is also an option, with a simple "gpg -e <filename>" command.

Sorry. I've been busy and I just read the last few posts when that guy said I was a troll. In fact, since you posted this comment, I've been even busier.