Guides/On this machine
Encrypt files on a library or hotel computer — carefully
A library or hotel computer is not your machine. Encryption alone cannot protect you from keyloggers or screen recorders on hardware you don't control. Elba is useful in narrow cases; the wider advice is to avoid touching sensitive data on shared computers at all.
Safer patterns
Read a sealed vault (from your USB stick) on the public machine, but do not type your password if you suspect a keylogger. If the machine allows a fresh browser session and reboot, that helps a little; it is not a real defence.
What to avoid
Editing sensitive work, entering banking credentials, or opening long-term vault passwords on any shared machine. Wait until you are on your own device.
Questions people actually ask
- Should I use my main password?
- No. If the machine is compromised, a captured password compromises every vault it opens.
- Is a portable browser safer?
- A little, but not enough. Assume the hardware is not yours.
Take the island
Elba is one HTML file. It runs locally in a Chromium browser, seals a folder with AES-256-GCM, never phones home, and becomes open source on 1 January 2030.
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- Keep a diary on a shared computer — sealed with a password
On a shared home or family computer, a private journal needs more than a folder name. Elba seals the whole thing behind AES-256-GCM.
- A portable encryption tool that fits on a USB drive
Elba runs from a USB stick with no install. One HTML file, one launcher, one folder — sealed with AES-256-GCM wherever you plug it in.