HOWTO: Compile and Install TrueCrypt 5.1a on Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron)

[slackenerny]

Did anyoneelse notice, that TC works reasonably slower now? Or is it just me/my machine?

best wishes

Mike

[mrzaius]

On the speed issues, this quote was presented by the deb package release mid-March for Truecrypt 5.1a:
Due to a bug in some Linux kernel versions, you may experience
a very low performance or stalling when writing data to a TrueCrypt volume.
This problem can be solved by upgrading your kernel to the latest version.


As that might imply, I was able to get it installed without a hitch. Used this URL:
http://www.truecrypt.org/downloads/t...ntu-x86.tar.gz Edit: By "it" I mean the .deb package inside that tarball. I did not have to compile it from source.

There's a couple of things that freak me out about the new 5.x version, though: Beware the new automount. If you're like me and paranoid enough to never mount a partition "rw" if you're not writing to it, you must now pass a "-m ro" option to pass the mount option, since you're no longer manually mounting the loopback device. Also, note that the default mount points use truecrypt in the name. That word was in the default device naming in the 4.x builds, and the truecrypt processes will still show up in ps, so it's not a major concern, but do be aware of it.

[skywalkin1138]

FYI, as of TrueCrypt 5.0, it no longer uses a kernel module, so you will not have to re-compile it each time the kernel upgrades.

[chilli]

FYI, as of TrueCrypt 5.0, it no longer uses a kernel module, so you will not have to re-compile it each time the kernel upgrades.

yup, so just get the .deb from http://www.truecrypt.org/downloads.php, and install it

[jdanov]

Compiling and building took some time,

but it's DEFINITELY WORKING !!!!

Great How To thanks

[adpads]

Any idea how to get this to work on the command line as well?

Sure, here are some instructions:
http://pro.to.co.ls/linux/truecrypt-...-line-version/

[mosteo]

On the speed issues, this quote was presented by the deb package release mid-March for Truecrypt 5.1a:
Due to a bug in some Linux kernel versions, you may experience
a very low performance or stalling when writing data to a TrueCrypt volume.
This problem can be solved by upgrading your kernel to the latest version.

I suspect I may be experiencing said bug. Writing to a truecrypted external USB HD, I typically see short bursts of activity and long periods of near no disk access.

I have Hardy with all the updates:

Linux hostname 2.6.24-19-generic #1 SMP Wed Jun 4 16:35:01 UTC 2008 i686 GNU/Linux

Is there more information on this? bug reports somewhere, possible solutions?

[Francewhoa]

Another how-to install TrueCrypt guide here. Great for absolute beginners. It worked with Ubuntu Desktop 8.04.1 and TrueCrypt version 5.1a or 6.1a.