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Setting: Disarm actually locks (temporarily?)

Open maltfield opened this issue 11 months ago • 2 comments

Problem

If someone needs to step away from their computer while still working on decrypted, sensitive documents (eg to go to the bathroom), then there's a brief window of vulnerability between [a] disarming and [b] locking their computer.

Solution

Possibly a better solution would be to change the "Disarm" button into a "Toggle" button between a more-dangerous trigger (eg soft-shutdown) and a less-dangerous trigger (eg lock-screen).

Context

This was inspired by a recent comment on PeerTube

It's a great design, but I have to say I immediately expect the failure point will be the person who gets in the habit of disconnecting the loop from their belt so the can "quick grab a ketchup" that is out of reach, or run to the restroom. Enough times of that habit and then just once where you forget to manually lock and you're done. I definitely agree with your comment about activists, though - that seems like a perfect use case.

source: https://neat.tube/w/sRkFue3cH924j6Q1nuUAZG;threadId=8383

We actually already do something similar to this with the QubesOS "Disarm". I chose to make the "Disarm" not actually Disarm -- it just makes triggers for the next 30 seconds lock the screen.

  • https://www.buskill.in/qubes-disarm/

UX Implementation

Perhaps add a simple checkbox to the Settings menu for "lockscreen" button

When this checkbox is enabled, then a new button is added to the main screen (when the app is armed with anything other than the lock-screen trigger).

I don't know what the button should say, but clicking it should temporarily change the trigger to the 'lock-screen' trigger for 30 seconds.

That way, there's a safer way to go to the bathroom:

  1. Click this new button
  2. Unplug the cable (within 30 seconds)
  3. Your machine locks
  4. Return to the machine
  5. Plug-in the cable
  6. Unlock the screen

As soon as the cable is plugged-in again, any removal event would trigger the originally-set trigger

maltfield avatar Jan 27 '25 18:01 maltfield

Comments are appreciated for how to implement a safer step-away-to-use-the-bathroom with most intuitive UX possible.

maltfield avatar Jan 27 '25 18:01 maltfield

Maybe the "temporary 30 seconds" and "second button" thing just adds unnecessary complexity to the UX, and we should instead make it so the "disarm actually locks" button does what it says:

  1. If the BusKill app is open (regardless of the armed state), then any unplug event triggers a lock screen
  2. If the BusKill app is open and in the armed state, then an unplug event triggers the enabled trigger in settings.
  3. If the BusKill app is closed, then an unplug event does nothing.

If we do this, then the only change to the UI would be that the "BusKill is disarmed" text should change to "BusKill is armed with 'lock-screen' trigger" when everything is blue. And the button should probably never say "Disarm" -- but rather "Arm" both times, but with small text below that which indicates the trigger that will be armed when pushed.

maltfield avatar Jan 27 '25 18:01 maltfield