[ale] Encrypted filesystem on netbook

[Brian Pitts]

On 11/22/2009 01:22 PM, Andrew Grieser wrote:
> Hey all,
> 
> I recently got a small laptop that I will be carrying around quite a bit, and would like to encrypt some files (like ssh keys, pgp keys, firefox stored logins, etc) in case it gets lost or stolen.
> 
> What is the best way to do this? The Ubuntu alternate cd offers a completely encrypted install, but I've also seen that it offers a "private" folder. Is there a major difference in security between these options?
> 
> I would also like to be able to mount the drive (in another computer) and decrypt the data in case the laptop dies and I need to get something off of it.
> 
> If anyone has a setup that works well, I'd be interested to hear about it.

I think the encrypted 'Private' directory is a feature from an older
version of Ubuntu. What's available now that I know of is

1) Encrypt everything except /boot at the block layer using LUKS
2) Encrypt your entire home directory using the ecryptfs stacked filesystem

The first is only available using the alternative installer. I've used
the first happily on my Core 2 laptop, first in Ubuntu and now in
Fedora. I wonder how well either will perform on a cpu-anemic netbook.

-- 
All the best,
Brian Pitts