Access Information Using Inbox
Business Case
It may the case that the research team needs outside information from an individual or organization who is not part of the team and does not have an account with tiCrypt. It is imperative that only people who are part of research under your instituion are granted an account. The solution for this problem is tiCrypt inboxes.
What is an inbox?
An inbox in tiCrypt is essentially a "mailbox" that is used by outside individuals to import data into the system. As you know, any individual who has an account can easily drag and drop files or directories from their local into the vault. Users who do not have an account use an inbox created by a tiCrypt user. Follow the steps below to see how an inbox is created and used.
Create an inbox
- Locate a directory in your vault. You can use an existing directory or you can create a new one as seen in the video below. Right-click on the directory that you would like to turn into an inbox and select "Make inbox". Set the expiration date and size of your inbox, and then copy the URL.
Only users who have inbox permissions can accomplish this task. If the "Make Inbox" is not an option, it means you do not have the permissions.
As you can see, there are various methods for outside users to access this inbox. The most common is via URL, however we provide methods for linux and Windows as well.
- Send the URL to the individual who is importing data into tiCrypt. When they navigate to that URL, it will bring them to a tiCrypt page. After agreeing to the terms, that user can select or drag and drop files that they need to import into the system as seen below.
We highly encourage an expiration date on this inbox. Individuals who obtain this URL cannot ever gain access into tiCrypt yet it is still recommended.
- The owner of the inbox can review the files that were imported by clicking on the inbox and viewing the new files or directories inside of it.
- If you have received all necessary information or the inbox has expired, it is now time to delete the inbox. Right click on the inbox and select manage inbox. Then select Remove Inbox. Watch the video below to see how to accomplish this.
You must delete the inbox and turn it back into a directory in order to transfer it into the virtual machine. Inboxes CANNOT be put into a virtual machine.
Notice how the inbox icon prior to deleting the inbox was a mailbox. After deleting it, it turns back into a directory.
- It is now time to get that outside data into a virtual machine. Navigate to the virtual machines panel and select the virtual machine in which you would like to import that data. Click on the tranfer icon as seen below.
- When you click in the transfer icon, a panel will expand where the left side is your vault and the right side is the file tree of the virtual machine. You can drag and drop files and directories from your vault into the virtual machine as seen above.
This concludes how to not only securely import outside data into the system, but to also transfer it into your virtual machine.
Create a Password Protected Inbox
To create a password protected Inbox:
Go to tab, in the
My Filessection and create a new directory or select an existing directory.Click the
Manage Inboxbutton in the top right panel then click button in the bottom right. You will be able to choose an access point name, expiration date and total capacity, as well as the name of the uploader and a message for the uploader.Scroll down and check the box that says
Enable password protection for this access pointthen click the button.Type in an inbox password twice then click in the bottom right.
Copy the URL of your access point and share it with the uploader.
To access your inbox, the uploader will be required to type in the inbox password before uploading files to your inbox.
Access a Password Protected Inbox
To access a password protected inbox:
Pastethe URL your received from the tiCrypt user into a browser window and pressEnter.In the newly open page, type in the inbox password to access the inbox.
Once in the inbox, click on either the or buttons from the center of the page.
In the prompt, select the files you would like to upload then click
Open.Click button in the top right panel.
When all files are marked as "uploaded" click the button in the top right.
Now your files and directories have been successfully shared with the tiCrypt user.
An uploader can clear their upload history by clicking 'Clear Uploads' in the top right corner of the upload page in their browsers.
The left panel of the upload page in the browser will indicate the remaining inbox space available to the uploader.