Top all-time · #2558
Zetetic
Company blog · zetetic.net/blog · on HN as billymeltdownsecurityprogramming
Zetetic is the company blog at zetetic.net, writing about security and programming. Since 2008, 30 different Hacker News readers have linked it 71 times, most often “SQLCipher – Full Database Encryption for SQLite”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-10-27, and you can follow it by feed.
Rarely recommended · 0 of 37 sampled comments recommend it?
Why HN links it
Commenters link Zetetic's pages on SQLCipher, its encrypted SQLite extension, and its STRIP and Codebook password managers, mostly as product mentions or for SQLCipher's design details.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 37 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Zetetic makes the SQLCipher Encrypted Database and Codebook Password Manager. We specialize in data security.
Most-linked posts?
- SQLCipher – Full Database Encryption for SQLite8 people · 8 mentions · first linked 2014-12-15
- /codebook/4 people · 11 mentions · first linked 2017-11-16
- SQLCipher is a security extension to the SQLite database platform4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2017-06-16
- Encryption in your iPhone application? Get ready for paperwork.3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2009-08-03
- SQLCipher 4.0.0 released2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2018-12-01
- /software-onetime2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2012-08-07
- Strong Password Hashing for ASP.NET2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2012-03-29
What Hacker News says?
Signal is encrypted at rest. It uses a special encrypted version of Sqlite. https://www.zetetic.net/sqlcipher/
Comment linking /sqlcipher/
on “Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests”Submitted SQLCipher – Full Database Encryption for SQLite as a story · 55 points
HN discussionOr you can use local WiFi -- now you have a choice. If you do choose a cloud service, note that the database file is encrypted by STRIP, https://www.zetetic.net/blog/2014/09/10/how-strip-syncs-with... "When initialized with a passphrase SQLCipher derives the key data using PBKDF2 (e.g. OpenSSL’s PKCS5_PBKDF2_HMAC_SHA1 on some platforms.) Each database is initialized with a unique random salt in the first 16 bytes of…
Comment linking /blog/2014/09/10/how-strip-syncs-with-dropbox-google-drive/
on “LastPass Security Notice”Submitted Gone Nomad? Try Coworking. as a story · 45 points
HN discussionSTRIP ( https://www.zetetic.net/strip/ ) is a mature offline password manager that has been around since the late 1990s, available on iOS, Android, Windows and OSX. It uses the open-source encryption extension to SQLite, https://github.com/sqlcipher/sqlcipher , developed by the same company. STRIP supports mobile-desktop synchronization over local wifi or remote cloud (Dropbox & Gdrive).
Comment linking /strip/
on “LastPass Security Notice”Submitted Hewitt is Right, Ament is Wrong as a story · 31 points
HN discussion> Always use a third party like 1Password or similar. Or even better, don't rely on a third-party hosted service. I've been a Codebook[1] user since the old-days when they used to call it Strip. They are old-school, local-system storage. With sync/backup done how you like it (all three encrypted before it leaves your computer): - Dropbox - Google Drive - Local folder (which you can then sync with using your own mech…
Comment linking /codebook/
on “Scammed out of $130K via fake Google call, spoofed Google email and auth sync”Submitted The State of MySQL: The Elephant in the Room as a story · 30 points
HN discussionI use codebook which allows syncing directly between devices, to a local folder, to Google Drive, or to Dropbox. It doesn’t have Linux support though. I’ve been really happy with it, and it’s a one-time cost (per device though). The company who makes it also makes an open source encryption layer for SQLite. https://www.zetetic.net/codebook/
Comment linking /codebook/
on “Bitwarden: Free, open-source password manager”Submitted LDAP schema, LDIF tools for .NET as a story · 12 points
HN discussionReading through that, it seems like Mendeley uses SQLite for it's local database. There aren't that many SQLite encryption libraries around (generalising), so it's probably using either SQLCipher or SEE. https://www.zetetic.net/sqlcipher https://www.sqlite.org/see/doc/trunk/www/index.wiki There's a reasonable chance the page size and passphrase is stored or cached on the machine. If someone (not me) takes the time a…
Comment linking /sqlcipher
on “Mendeley encrypts users' database after Zotero provides an importer”Submitted Ranting Considered Useful as a story · 12 points
HN discussionHow about cutting the cord on silly SaaS services like LastPass or Bitwarden ? Zetetic Codebook [1] is the way to go. Pros: • It has desktop clients • It has apps • It has secure encrypted sync • It has responsive dev team • No silly subscription model Cons: • It doesn't have a fancy web app (but do you need one ?) I've no affiliation apart from being a long term happy user. [1] https://www.zetetic.net/codebook/
Comment linking /codebook/
on “LastPass Android app has got 7 trackers in it”Submitted Wild Speculation on iPhone 3G S Hardware Encryption as a story · 10 points
HN discussionFor anyone looking for a personal password manager that is not a browser extension but also provides the functionality to auto-type passwords into the focused field I highly recommend codebook https://www.zetetic.net/codebook/ It's a one-time fee (per device~ish) and you can connect & sync it to Google Drive, Dropbox, Local folder, or to another device over WiFi. I've been using it for a few years and it has great i…
Comment linking /codebook/
on “Spook: Side channel attack which could read the memory from password managers”Submitted Encryption in your iPhone application? Get ready for paperwork. as a story · 9 points
HN discussionEnpass is another alternative with good cross device and platform support. Under the covers they use SQLCipher[1] which I’m guessing you could build your own interface for. [1] https://www.zetetic.net/sqlcipher/
Comment linking /sqlcipher/
on “Bitwarden second security audit report”Submitted Twitter API: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility as a story · 9 points
HN discussionYou can use a YubiKey for Google 2-factor along with a helper app like Yubikco's "sidekick" for Windows [1] or my company's OneTime on Mac [2]. A YubiKey costs about $25 but is very portable, fast and convenient option. [1] http://yubico.com/totp [2] http://zetetic.net/software-onetime
Comment linking /software-onetime
on “Please turn on two-factor authentication”Submitted Improvements to SQLCipher - Cross-Platform SQLite Encryption as a story · 5 points
HN discussioniOS/macOS/Win/Android Codebook, https://www.zetetic.net/codebook/ - no subscription - open-source encryption (SQLCipher) - device-to-device encrypted sync via ethernet/wifi, dropbox, google drive - indie US developer, lineage to 1998 STRIP on PalmPilot - TOTP 2FA authenticator - sync encrypted notes/images 1999, http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9911/30/palm.tools.idg/ > Secure Tool for Recalling Important Passwords…
Comment linking /codebook/
on “macOS Sonoma silently enabled iCloud Keychain despite my precautions”Submitted Mass Market Encryption Commodity Classification for iPhone Apps in 8 Easy Steps as a story · 5 points
HN discussionCodebook by Zetetic, going strong since 1998. Uses an open-source extension to SQlite for encryption. https://www.zetetic.net/codebook/ https://www.zetetic.net/sqlcipher/
Comment linking /sqlcipher/
on “PSA: LastPass Does Not Encrypt Everything in Your Vault”Submitted STRIP is dead Long live Strip as a story · 5 points
HN discussionSimilarly, my employer offers a product[1], which I have worked on, that can subscribe to Event Logs, syslog, ZMQ, etc., and do whatever you like with them. The inspiration to write this was the near-impossibility of getting the interesting, mostly AD-related stuff before all the super-chatty, useless crap pushes it out of the circular logs. [1] http://zetetic.net/software-combine-index
Comment linking /software-combine-index
on “Samba 4.0 released ”Submitted FAILCamp Continued: Word List Fail as a story · 5 points
HN discussionI’ve been using CodeBook for several years and have been pretty happy with it. One time cost (per OS) and can sync over WiFi or to Dropbox/google drive. No browser plugins, instead it provides a global hot key activation which authenticates you (Touch ID or password), lets you search for the account then auto-types the password. On iPhone it integrates well for providing passwords to sites and they just recently add…
Comment linking /codebook/
on “Ask HN: Alternatives to 1Password”Submitted Strong Password Hashing for ASP.NET as a story · 4 points
HN discussionSQLCipher encrypts the WAL.[1] [1] https://www.zetetic.net/sqlcipher/design/
Comment linking /sqlcipher/design/
on “Corrupt Signal DB issue crashing App and losing data”Submitted Open Letter: Worth More than "Free" as a story · 4 points
HN discussion
