Encrpyt Single Partitions

[TorchlightJay]

Hey all,

I was wondering if it's possible to encrypt single (or a few) partitions and if so, what tools would I use? I have seen a lot of tutorials for encrypting files and entire hard drives but I haven't seen much in terms of doing a single partition. I want to be able to create custom partitions and then encrypt them all individually, not just one fell swoop of the whole hard drive. Any ideas?

[HermanAB]

dm-crypt is the standard.

[TorchlightJay]

cool, can I use DM Crypt even after the partition is setup or is formating necessary? Is the partition bootable? can I mount and use it? Just curious.

[euler_fan]

Truecrypt has some capability in this regard as well.

[TorchlightJay]

Cool, which is better? Truecrypt or DM-Crypt? Is it more or less a "Pepsi & Coca-Cola" style argument or are there major differences?

[euler_fan]

I don't think for most things you're going to see a huge difference. I use Truecrypt because there are some files I have which are sensitive (like copies of bank account number, etc) but I don't feel a need to encrypt the entire disk. For this TrueCrypt excels.

The other thing would be if there is a particular feature you decide you need, for instance I think the consensus is that dm-crypt is better for whole disk encryption if such is even possible in Linux with TrueCrypt (I think it is in Windows, for instance).

Just remember: anyone with physical access to the machine while its running, some wits, and some technical savy can now get past your encryption using methods which have been recently (http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/02/cold_boot_attac.html) disclosed (http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1257).

[HermanAB]

Crypto is complicated. Happy reading:
http://www.saout.de/misc/dm-crypt/