Folder security software

[JohnH]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone knows of a Linux folder security package that will allow me to secure a folder with a password.

Currently I run my secure folders under a different user name, but would like something a bit like the (dare I say) Windows feature of being able to lock a folder. Any ideas?

(Perhaps a project for Mint that I think would be popular.)

Regards
John

[900i]

Try Truecrypt it's probably the best app for this kind of thing. Just Google it as I don't have the address to hand.

[JohnH]

Thanks 900i

I'll give it a go.
cheers
John

[red-e-made]

JohnH,

I've used two methods myself - an easy one and a more complex one.

The easy one is of course just changing the permissions on the folder you want secured. Say, for example, you want the folder "Documents" in your home folder secured. You can open the terminal and type:

Code: Select all

sudo chmod -R 000 /home/JohnH/Documents

and bam - folder is locked and the contents cannot be viewed. To unlock it, you type the same command substituting "000" with "777".

The more complex and more secure solution would be TrueCrypt. For this, you can create a new partition in your hard drive or even on a flash drive, and make it a TrueCrypt volume. I highly recommend TrueCrypt - it's extraordinarily easy to use and very, very secure.

[Fred]

JohnH,

Currently I run my secure folders under a different user name, but would like something a bit like the (dare I say) Windows feature of being able to lock a folder. Any ideas?

The advice given by red-e-made is dead on accurate. I would like to point out a few things however. The solution using permissions works as good as the Windows folder locking scheme. That's to say, not hardly at all, if you are referring to real security. Unless you are talking about Windows new Bit-Locker encryption, the Windows folder locking scheme is easily by-passed, as are the Linux permissions approach. The jury is still out on Bit-Locker. It is proprietary and hasn't been peer reviewed so all we can do at this point is take Microsoft's word at how good it is. I'll leave it to you to attach whatever value their word has.

If the data in the folders in question really needs to be secured, use TrueCrypt. It is peer reviewed and uses accepted, peer reviewed, encryption algorithms.

Fred

[red-e-made]

I see Fred, as per usual, is extremely helpful.

I came back to this thread to say that I might have given the impression that TrueCrypt was "complicated". It is not. I downloaded the Linux version (http://www.truecrypt.org/downloads.php) and found it very easy to use - the program walks you through each step, simply and easily.

In my line of work there are plenty of documents that I handle that cannot be seen outside of my workgroup, so I took an ordinary 4GB flash drive, created a separate 1GB partition within it, and made that partition a TrueCrypt volume. The remaining 3GBs contains plausible but worthless data. The great thing is, the separate partition and the data within is by all accounts invisible. Even when this 3GB partition is empty and the TrueCrypt volume is full, Properties shows an empty flash drive with nothing in it. Even when I open the flash drive in gparted, only then do I see two partitions, but the TrueCrypt volume still appears to be empty. And I'm just using the basic version - the improved version of TrueCrypt goes even farther.

So yes, TrueCrypt is the way to go.

[JohnH]

Thank you one and all, I've installed Truecrypt and giving it a go.

Regards
John

[Fred]

JohnH,

I don't know if you have worked with much true encryption software or not. If you haven't, I would caution you not to forget your key or pass phrase, unless you have contacts with a institution that has a really good, spare super computer laying around and 50 - 75 years to spare.

You won't get your data back by taking your machine to Best Buy.

Conversely, it really doesn't do much good to tape the pass phrase to the bottom of the computer either.

Good luck,

Fred