Droid pro encryption? honeycomb?

[madonnell]

When I got my droid pro over the holidays, I understood device encryption would be enabled "1st quarter 2011". (verizon reps claim it does encryption, but moto site had some news releases saying "not yet, but 1st Q"). I got it as a bit of a gamble, since in the end I need device encryption to use it for work (will have to replace it one of these days if it is not coming).

Has anyone heard any updates on the droid pro encryption plans?

Android 3.0 honeycomb is supposed to have device encryption support. Any idea if they are planning to update the pro with 3.0?

Any other thoughts on how encryption might make it to the pro?

 

[tjk629]

3.0 Honeycomb is exclusive for tablets.

 

[imompero]

3.0 Honeycomb is exclusive for tablets.

Currently Honeycomb is only on tablets but that does not mean Honeycomb will not be coming for smartphones as well.

 

[tjk629]

I believe google has made it clear that 3.0 is tablet exclusive. The closest 3.0 has seen on phones is threw hacking. The current rumor is that Ice Cream Sandwitch will incorporate elements of honeycomb.

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums App

 

[imompero]

from BGR

“The version of Honeycomb we’ve shown is optimized for tablet form factors. All of the UI changes are the future of Android. Yesterday’s event focused on tablet form factors, which is where you’ll first see Honeycomb.”

This might be open to interpretation but it seems to me that we will see honeycomb on phones just that so far it has been show in a configuration specifically setup for tablets....but I guess we will not know until google sheds some more light.

 

[androzza]

When I got my droid pro over the holidays, I understood device encryption would be enabled "1st quarter 2011".

Any other thoughts on how encryption might make it to the pro?

It'll probably come out on the last day of the first quarter (i.e., March 31).

Motorola has promised it to the their corporate customers, as well as advertised the feature's availability, so it would be a huge black eye for them if they failed to deliver. (A couple of days late, like after the weekend, probably wouldn't be noticed -- but I can't imagine that they'd fail the people who stuck their necks to add Android into traditional BlackBerry shops.

 

[androzza]

When I got my droid pro over the holidays, I understood device encryption would be enabled "1st quarter 2011".

Well, we're now officially into the second quarter of 2011. It looks like Motorola didn't do as they promised.

Is there anybody from Motorola who reads this and who can comment about what appears now to be a broken promise?

 

[imompero]

yeah that pretty much sucks, i am waiting on the droid bionic, they claim that this droid will have email encryption and remote wipe. Things that my job requires. If the bionic does not have these features then I am stuck with a blakberry for work

 

[ek_skotous]

The Droid Pro OTA update has been released in the last couple of days. I just installed it today and it does support native encryption of the Internal Memory and SD card.

Its still based on Android 2.2.1 (Froyo). This gives some hope that encryption is possible on other devices too then without the need for Honeycomb (which as stated is still tablet only)

 

[madonnell]

so its here ...

Installed the ota update. (Rerooted w aroot). Enabled sd card and device encryption in security menu. It rebooted and apparently encrypted the internal storage (took a while and showed a lock / encryption icon while it did).

Interesting that i later pulled the sd card out and had no trouble reading it on my computer. Hmmm.

 

[andy'sfriend]

Installed the ota update. (Rerooted w aroot). Enabled sd card and device encryption in security menu. It rebooted and apparently encrypted the internal storage (took a while and showed a lock / encryption icon while it did).

Interesting that i later pulled the sd card out and had no trouble reading it on my computer. Hmmm.

That is interesting. Did it otherwise impact the performance of the phone? Should it? I'm not very familiar with encryption...

 

[ek_skotous]

Installed the ota update. (Rerooted w aroot). Enabled sd card and device encryption in security menu. It rebooted and apparently encrypted the internal storage (took a while and showed a lock / encryption icon while it did).

Interesting that i later pulled the sd card out and had no trouble reading it on my computer. Hmmm.

Based on some encryption testing I have done on other mobile platforms (such as BlackBerry and Windows Mobile) when SD card encrypton is enabled on either of those platforms it only encrypts NEW data saved to the SD card from the device from that point going forward but not existing data on the SD card. Perhaps the Droid Pro SD card encryption would work the same way. I would try to download some things to the SD card from the device, then try to read the SD card in a card reader and see if the new data that was saved to the SD card from the Droid Pro AFTER the policy was enabled is now encrypted.

 

[google123]

Hmmmm, if thats the case it sounds like backing up the SD card, reformatting it in the phone, enabling encryption and then restoring the contents is the way to go in order to fully encrypt your SD card contents.

 

[ek_skotous]

Hmmmm, if thats the case it sounds like backing up the SD card, reformatting it in the phone, enabling encryption and then restoring the contents is the way to go in order to fully encrypt your SD card contents.

I was able to enable encryption on the test Droid Pro today and confirmed its really the opposite actually. Its just like I suspected and just how it works on BlackBerry or Windows Mobile. Nothing already saved to the SD card before encryption is enabled is touched. The only thing that gets encrypted is NEW data that is saved from Android to the SD card AFTER the encryption was turned on. However, unlike the other platoforms nothing shows up in mass storage mode to tell you that the files are encrypted

I did a test and took some pictures on the phone after encryptoin was turned on for the SD card and they were definitely encrypted as was a file I downloaded from the phone. Whether using the phone in mass storage mode or putting the SD card into a card reader they cannot be read.

However, here is the trick, if the phone is put into PC mode then you can read the encrypted pictures and transfer them to a PC

Of course to enable encrypytion you have to set a PIN and that would prevent the phone from being synched to the PC unless it was first unlocked with that PIN. Only negative compared to other platforms is that mass storage mode does not show any altered file extension to indicate which files are encrypted like it does for BB or Windows Mobile.

 

[madonnell]

Thanks ek_skotous - I have not had a chance to play with it since I posted the comment.

Since it claims to use AES/256, does anyone know if it is possible to read the encrypted files from a PC with some appropriate standalone tool and a knowable key? (I'm not real familiar with windoze software, but something like 'aes crypt')?

I was able to enable encryption on the test Droid Pro today and confirmed its really the opposite actually. Its just like I suspected and just how it works on BlackBerry or Windows Mobile. Nothing already saved to the SD card before encryption is enabled is touched. The only thing that gets encrypted is NEW data that is saved from Android to the SD card AFTER the encryption was turned on. However, unlike the other platoforms nothing shows up in mass storage mode to tell you that the files are encrypted
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