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#redirect [[Disk encryption software]]
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'''Cryptography on [[Linux]]''' has long been established, but lacks in consistency.
While the (end)user wants to encrypt a [[computer file|file]] or a [[filesystem]] ([[harddisk]] partition
or [[Flash memory|flash]] [[memory card]] or [[CD]]/[[DVD]] disk) and wants to be sure, that after his next
upgrade of kernel or distribution his data is still readable.
An immense amount of documentation can be found on the [[Internet]] about linux encryption,
but hardly ever it documents, under which circumstances the software works. The almost infinite
amount of combinations of [[linux kernel|kernel]], [[util-linux]], which includes the [[losetup]] program, plus
all the patches that exist for above, makes it close to impossible to guarantee the above goal.
==Software==
The following software can be used on linux to encrypt a file or filesystem. This document
aims to tell you precisely which software works on which version of your operating system.
* [[Loop device|losetup]] and cryptoloop, part of 2.6.x kernel and [[util-linux]]
* [[aespipe]], program to encrypt a file stream with the [[Advanced Encryption Standard|AES]] algorithm with key lengths 128, 192 and 256 bit
* [http://www.saout.de/misc/dm-crypt/ DM Crypt]
* [[cryptoloop]]
* [http://loop-aes.sourceforge.net/ Loop AES]
* [http://cryptmount.sourceforge.net/ Cyrpt Mount]
* [http://ecryptfs.sourceforge.net/ eCryptFS]
It is not clear, which of the encrypted files of the above software are compatible to each other,
even they seem to use the same [[AES]] algorithm.
==Distributions==
As different [[linux distributions]] are packaged with different software, the setup of encryption
varies. This document aims to guide you to the right direction for your distribution, as far as
encryption software is provided in it. Please note that memory cards and harddisk partitions are
encrypted and used equally.
{| border=1
! Distribution !! Packages needed !! Encrypt file !! Encrypt partition !! Encrypt CD/DVD
|-
| Fedora Core 5 || LUKS || ??? || ??? || ???
|-
| Suse 10 || ??? || ??? || ??? || ???
|-
| Debian Sarge || cryptsetup || losetup/cryptsetup || cryptsetup || not possible
|-
| Debian Etch || cryptsetup || losetup/cryptsetup || cryptsetup || not possible
|}
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Linux]]
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