BiGg RiE wrote:Ok, Kenc51 once again some extremely sound advice, I do however have a few questions, Don't I always?
It seems like the linix partition example would be the best for my situation.
1st I haven't even used Linux before so do you have some links to a topic or website that could guide me through the setup process?
2nd with that option if someone takes my HDD out of my rig will they beable to get the info? I know you stated that I'd be prompted for the password every time I mounted the drive but would someone beable to get that info if they put it into a different system?
Also, that is my main concern with the BIOS password and the the syskey situation; obviously if someone mounts the drive in another system the BIos option is bypassed. But what about the syskey? I mean I have 5 HDD in my system only 1 is partitioned in that I have like 20GB for windows XP and the rest is for programs. My other drives are all storge. So can I apply the syskey strategy to the storage drives or even externals for that matter? If I apply syskey is it effective only to the os partition? I don't keep any important files on my os partition in an effort to minimize loss in the case of the inevitable windows crash.
Another question which is related to the answer to the one above. If syskey does apply to storage or logical drives, in the event of that pending crash is the info on that drive lost because i need the originally installed os to acess it? This could be a problem because I have a drive that has a ton of software on it and when i build rigs for people I use that to install software from. So in that case would a syskey protected drive be accessable? Or a scenerio where I'm building a new system and want to use an existing drive in it, I ussually just have to plug it in to the sata plug on the MOBO and it pops up in my computer, would that not happen with either the linux or syskey options?
I know it's alot to ask but thanx in advance,
BiGg RiE
1.) I don't have any specific guides for Linux. If you go the Linux route, you'll need a second PC. This rig can then be your File Server / Torrent Box and even your Firewall if you want. You can also setup DynDNS to access your files when not @ home. I've set this up and works great, my only issue is I can't stream the video files, it always wants to download them, and on my 384k upload speed, it can take some time.
Ubuntu is prolly the best Distro to start with as there's tons of tutorials etc available on the Ubuntu Forums.
You'll need to install Ubuntu as normal, then open "GParted" (partition program) and create a new partition (EX3 or ReiserFS would do best as they are "journalised", which means better data entegrity) then select "Enable encryption" - You will be then asked to choose a password (DON'T FORGET THIS PASSWORD!!!)
You'll be asked to create a "mount point" for the new partition, this is the directory where you want to access the files. The best place is prolly "/home/
your username/share
This will mean the directory/partition will be called "share" and will be stored in your "Home" directory
Every time you boot Linux, it will ask you to enter your password so it can mount this encrypted partition/drive. If you don't enter a password Linux will just boot and won't try to mount the partition. You can also manually mount the partition when the OS has loaded by typing "sudo mount /home/
your username/home/share" --> You'll then be asked for a password.
If you have to reinstall Linux, don't worry, you can always re-mount the partition, as long as you know the password (this password is separate/independent from you system "ROOT" password!)
2.) This partition won't be visible to anyone unless they have an OS that can read either EX3 or ReiserFS (depending on what FS you choose) AND they must try and mount it using your password. The data is stored on the drive in encrypted format.
Don't use encryption on any drive/partition that's used often by the OS as it lowers performance, it's fine for storage as that data isn't accessed often.
3.) Syskey only sets permissions to files & folders on the drive for the Kernel that's installed. ie. If you move the drive, or use a Linux boot CD, the data can still be accessed.
I used a guide for setting up TorrentFlux, SAMBA, FTP etc. it can be found in two parts
Part 1 &
Part 2
I hope this helps some...........Linux is a viable route to take and I encouraged everyone to try it, but it does take time to adjust...........I've been using it on & off for years and I still don't know alot of the basics.
We also have a Linux thread here, there's some useful info for beginners
Link
This post was made using a Dell Laptop running 64bit Ubuntu 