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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

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External drive encryption question (kbin.social)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by g6d3np81@kbin.social to c/linux@lemmy.ml

22 comments fedilink hide all child comments

How should I do it if I want to...

Format external SSD to use with linux
Full drive encryption
Compatible with windows (temporarily)
Preferably do it with KDE GUI

Context: A linux noob. I got a new laptop earlier this year and uses it mainly for tinkering/playing with linux, get competent with it before dropping windows completely on my main desktop. There is a lot of stuff I want to move back and forth between those machines during this learning period.

My idea is to use an external SSD which when I'm done with windows, I can still use it to store work files or any sensitive stuff, so it will need encryption.

Saw a reddit thread saying I still need veracrypt, which I'm totally ok with on windows side but I prefer keeping everything simple on linux side (I only know it can be done without any extra package)

Extra question:
I can possibly store all works and sensitive data on encrypt external and leave root drive unencrypted. In that case, which file system should I use on which drive? Does it matter?

Thank you in advance.

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[–] g6d3np81@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I try not to mess with my my current windows desktop setup too much if I don't have to (mission critical). It's not on VM.
Would love to do it with LUKS/EXT4 if possible but it's not supported on windows (am I correct?)

If I use VC then I have to install it on both win and linux and also any additional machine I intend to decrypt with, that's quite unwieldy compare to LUKS. I also have lobotomized my current install to cripple spying and broke it to the point it can not update to support wsl.

Seems like bitlocker is a proper solution for the moment. Or just do two partitions (maybe two drives), encrypt one with LUKS, wipe everything unencrypted when done using it.

[–] BuckShot686@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago

It's quite an easy program to install and it's also cross platform. The fact drives need the softwarenon aNY PC trying to gain access seems like a feature to me. Maybe if you wanted to copy something from the encrypted drive to a friends computer, only then would it be somewhat of a nuisance. But this all ties into me recommending to leave some portion of the hard drive alone. You'd be able to access anything not in VC's space anywhere, while it's also a breeze to download and install VC too.