KeePassXC
KeePassXC is a free programme that securely manages your passwords. All passwords are stored in an encrypted database, which only requires one main password.
Anleitung: Set up KeePassXC
Note-Taking Tool: HedgeDoc
HedgeDoc is an online note-taking tool, with which you can collect, edit and, using simple Markdown syntax, format meeting notes and ideas - alone or together with others. You can export the result as PDF or publish it as a website. On the features page you get an insight into the Markdown syntax.
Registration: pad.uni-muenster.de
Manual: HedgeDoc Manual
Internet Search Engines
In the browser you have the option of specifying which search engine is to be used as the default. With Chrome and Firefox, you can integrate your own search engines in addition to the common search engines that can already be found in the pre-selection. The following search engines are recommended:
- Ecosia: Ecosia is a sustainable search engine. Ecosia GmbH invests in trees, agriculture and solar energy and plants trees with the revenue from the search ads. Since Ecosia uses Bing's algorithm, it is reliable and easy to use.
- DuckDuckGo: With the search engine Duckduckgo you can work in a particularly data protection-compliant way, as no personal information is collected and thus an anonymised search is given.
- Universität Münster Search: You can also use the search function of the Universität Münster website as a search aid.
Encryption: Cryptomator
Cryptomator is a free and open-source encryption tool that allows researchers and scientists to protect their sensitive data by creating encrypted vaults. These vaults store your files securely, making them unreadable to anyone who doesn’t have the proper decryption keys.
Important note: Always ensure compliance with your institution’s data protection policies when handling sensitive or personal data — even when using encryption.
Manual: Cryptomator Manual
Key Features
- End-to-end encryption for cloud-stored data
- User-friendly interface and simple setup
- Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android)
- No backdoors: Cryptomator doesn’t store any information about your keys or data
Use Cases for Researchers
- Storing encrypted datasets in cloud storage
- Sharing sensitive research documents securely between colleagues
- Protecting intellectual property or sensitive information before publication
- Supporting workflows that comply with data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR), such as handling personally identifiable information (PII) or sensitive medical data — provided that storing such data in university-managed cloud storage is explicitly allowed by institutional policies.
Securing Your Research Data with Cryptomator
- Encryption and Decryption: Cryptomator uses AES-256 encryption to protect your data. Files are encrypted on the client side before they are uploaded to the cloud, ensuring that they are unreadable to anyone without access to the vault.
- How Encryption Works: Cryptomator encrypts individual files, rather than creating a single encrypted container. This approach allows for more efficient syncing of large datasets with cloud services, as only changed files need to be re-uploaded instead of the entire dataset, making it efficient for cloud storage.
- Data Integrity and Security: Cryptomator ensures that even the file names, metadata, and folder structures are encrypted, providing an extra layer of protection. Your vault password is used to derive a secure encryption key that is used to lock/unlock your data. Cryptomator cannot access or recover this password.