Encrypted files on Linux can be implemented in many ways, the key is to choose the right tool. 1. Use GPG to quickly encrypt individual files, support symmetric and asymmetric encryption, suitable for temporary protection of files; 2. eCryptfs is suitable for encrypting the entire directory, and automatically encrypted by mounting encrypted folders, suitable for protecting user private data; 3. Create an encryption container, combining dd, lostup and cryptsetup tools to create a TrueCrypt-like encrypted space, suitable for storing sensitive information for a long time. Each method is suitable for different scenarios. When using it, you should pay attention to saving passwords and keys to avoid data loss.
Encrypting files is actually not difficult on Linux. The key is to choose the right tools and methods. If you just want to temporarily protect several files, or manage sensitive data for a long time, Linux provides several practical encryption methods. Below I will introduce several common and easy-to-get-hand methods.
Encrypt a single file with GPG
GPG (GNU Privacy Guard) is a very commonly used encryption tool in Linux, suitable for encrypting individual files or text content. It supports two methods: symmetric encryption and asymmetric encryption.
-
Symmetric encryption : Use the same password to encrypt and decrypt the commands as follows:
gpg -c filename
After execution, a
.gpgfile will be generated, and when decrypting it:gpg -o output_file -d filename.gpg
Asymmetric encryption : requires public and private keys, which are suitable for multi-person collaboration scenarios. This method is slightly more complex, but is safer. You can encrypt with your own public key and then decrypt with your private key.
Note: Do not delete the original file after encryption, unless you confirm that the encryption is successful. You can use
shredorrm -fto safely delete the original file.
Encrypt the entire directory with eCryptfs
If you want to encrypt a user directory or a specific folder, eCryptfs is a good choice. It is one of the encryption mechanisms used by systems such as Ubuntu.
Installation and use steps:
Install eCryptfs-utils:
sudo apt install eviptfs-utils
Mount an encrypted directory:
mkdir ~/secure mount.ecryptfs ~/secure ~/secure
Set encryption options (such as passwords, encryption algorithms, etc.)
After that, all files you put into this directory will be automatically encrypted. When uninstalling:
umount ~/secure
This method is suitable for protecting private information, pre-reservation and other scenarios.
Create an encrypted container (similar to TrueCrypt)
If you want a "encrypted safe", you can create an encrypted file container. The method is generally to combine dd , losetup and cryptsetup .
The general process is as follows:
Create an empty file as a container:
dd if=/dev/zero of=~/myvault.img bs=1M count=100
Bind to loop device and encrypt:
losetup /dev/loop0 ~/myvault.img cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/loop0 cryptsetup open /dev/loop0 myvault
Format as ext4 and mount:
mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/myvault mount /dev/mapper/myvault /mnt
Now /mnt is an encrypted space, and the data placed in it will be encrypted. Remember to uninstall and shut down the device after using it.
Basically that's it. Each method is applicable to different scenarios. GPG is suitable for simple and fast encryption, eCryptfs is suitable for directory-level protection, and encrypted containers are more suitable for long-term storage of sensitive data. It is not complicated but easy to ignore, don't forget to save the password and key, otherwise the data will not be restored if it is lost.
The above is the detailed content of How to encrypt files on Linux. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!
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