Shopping for an encrypted filesystem

SECRET CANDIDATES

Article from Issue 72/2006
Author(s): , Author(s):

If you’re not a security expert and you're looking for a crypto filesystem, you may be wondering about the alternatives. We took at a look at some popular crypto options for Linux.

Crypto filesystems keep your data safe – even if someone steals your computer. The recent popularity of portable PCs has brought increased awareness about the need for protection, but even users with desktop systems have reasons for wanting to ensure that their data stays secret. Linux offers a number of encrypted filesystem options – each with a different approach to the encryption problem. We took a look at some of the alternatives, with the goal of providing some insights on encryption techniques, code quality, and the relative merits of the various solutions. We examined the following encrypted filesystems: • Loop-AES • DM-Crypt • Truecrypt • Crypto-FS • Enc-FS In addition to looking at technologies and techniques, we will also examined some performance parameters for these encryption options.

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
Print Issues
Digital Issues
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Print Subs
Digisubs
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • DM-Crypt/ LUKS

    Encrypting a home directory is easy. Encrypting your whole hard disk – including the root filesystem – takes a little more effort.

    more »
  • Command Line: Encrypting Partitions

    Modern installers offer the option of encryption with just a few clicks, but you might want to take control of the process. We show how to encrypt your partitions safely without sacrificing convenience.

    more »
  • Crypto Tricks Intro

    Today’s computers are fast enough for some very sophisticated cryptography techniques. We’ll show you how to keep your data safe from the prying eyes of snoops and spies.

    more »
  • DM-Crypt

    If you’re serious about keeping secrets, try hard disk encryption with DM-Crypt and LUKS.

    more »
  • CD Encryption

    An encrypted hard disk on your server is no help if valuable data on CDs or DVDs falls into the hands of spies. We’ll show you some convenient solutions for encrypting data on removable media.

    more »
comments powered by Disqus

Visit Our Shop

Trial Subscription

Digital Subscription

Subscribe

Direct Download

Read full article as PDF:

Encrypted_Filesystems_Review.pdf (317.01 kB)

News

Tag Cloud

Administration Community Desktop Events Hardware Linux Linux Pro Magazine Mobile Programming Software Ubuntu Web Development Windows free software open source