All,
I did some Linux testing of the AESCrypt utility, putting a file on Dropbox
and then retrieving it on a Windoze box and using a Windows version of
AESCrypt to decrypt, then reversing the process. It seemed to work well.
The Linux install worked through the use of a Linux download and manually
following a text readme file in the download. The one concern I had was
the site did not provide an MD5 (or any other) signature for the download,
but I used ClamScan to check the downloaded archive before running or
opening it.
In operation, the only issue I had was that for Decryption, the program
prompts for your password twice. I can see this extra prompt being useful
when Encrypting, to be certain you typed the password you thought you typed
and didn't fat finger or bounce a character (since the password is not
echoed), but for Decryption, a single prompt would suffice (in my opinion).
Thanks for the feedback you provided! Chris -- I forwarded your reply to
my friend (removing your e-mail address so you won't be bothered by him) as
you included a number of more local groups he might consider for increasing
his newbee Linux skills. Thanks for the extra research!
Wes
On Thu, Dec 11, 2014 at 10:36 PM, Chris Knadle <chris.kna...@coredump.us>
wrote:
>
> On 2014-12-10 13:41, Wesley Peterson wrote:
>
>> My quest for information is probably more along the line of:
>> 1. "Have any of you used AESCrypt in a cross platform environment?"
>>
>
> Not yet; doing a quick search for a Debian package for AEScrypt shows
> that someone filed an ITP ("Intent To Package") for AEScrypt three
> years ago but the ITP is open and without an owner, which means the
> package hasn't been created yet.
>
> https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=609505
>
> If I get a chance I may poke at this.
>
> 2. "Do any of you know of any faults in AES Encryption/Decryption that
>> would
>> make it insecure for Financial information"
>>
>
> AES is one of the standard algorithms used for LUKS encryption
> in Linux distributions
>
> https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Disk_encryption#
> Ciphers_and_modes_of_operation
>
> but there's also an "initialization vector" algorithm that is used
> in conjunction with it (e.g. xts-plain64), and with AEScrypt I
> haven't yet seen what initialization vector algorithm is used or if
> there are options for setting that.
>
> How did you install AEScrypt on Mint? Build from source?
>
> 3. "Have any of you worked with any Encryption/Decryption utilities in a
>> cross platform environment that you feel might be a good fit for a user
>> who
>> needs to work primarily in a Windows and MAC environment but will be
>> {slowly} migrating to Linux as his comfort level increases?"
>>
>
> So far I've only been using sshfs with encrypted storage; i.e. LUKS
> encryption on the storage end, and encrypted transfers via ssh.
> Last I heard DropBox supposedly has options for encryption, but I
> don't use DropBox (I think I'd rather use OwnCloud).
>
> I would think that a utility that could be utilized via File Manager
>> scripting (similar to the great interface Jacksum provides) would be ideal
>> for him. So far Ive only tried the AESCrypt on my Linux Mint environment
>> (all tries done last night and this morning) and it looks reasonable to
>> me,
>> but I want to try a bit more.
>>
>> I FINALLY got my friend to try Linux after I drove down to Valley Stream
>> last summer and met him for lunch. Hes close to 100 miles away so its
>> very
>> unlikely he could attend our meetings and bounce ideas around in person,
>> though there might be some user group support for him in his area.
>>
>
> The two options for LUGs I currently know of are NYLUG in NYC -- they
> met at Bloomberg last I checked -- and LILUG who meet in Woodbury at
> Cold Spring Harbor Labs. [CSHL has several campuses -- this one is
> just off of the highway on Sunnyside Blvd, .] It looks to be about a
> 40 minute trip to either LUG from Valley Stream.
>
> --
>
> Chris Knadle
> chris.kna...@coredump.us
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org
> https://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug
>
> Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) Vassar College *
> Jan 7 - When Will Then Be Now? Soon.
> Feb 4 - Blender: The Open Source Graphics Program
>
_______________________________________________
Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org
https://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug
Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) Vassar College *
Jan 7 - When Will Then Be Now? Soon.
Feb 4 - Blender: The Open Source Graphics Program
