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Is the encfs project no longer maintained? It seems the last update 1.7.4 was released on November 18 2010. In a security audit several weaknesses have been identified, but no updates have since been issued. Should encfs still be used? if not, why is it in the standard repositories of Ubuntu?

Minos
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The project lives, and is working on a 2.0 revision:

https://github.com/vgough/encfs

"EncFS has been dormant for a while. I've started cleaning up in order to try and provide a better base for a version 2, but whether EncFS flowers again depends upon community interest. In order to make it easier for anyone to contribute, it is moving a new home on Github. So if you're interested in EncFS, please dive in!"

Mace Moneta
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Yes, it does look as if encfs is no longer maintained. It is in Ubuntu 14.04 because it still is in Debian wheezy. It has been removed from Debian jessie, so should be gone from future versions of Ubuntu. Like the OP in this Debian bug report, I do not have the competence to judge this, but I recommend that you do not use it unless you have to, given the removal from jessie.

muru
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    Thanks, knowing that it will be removed from Ubuntu in the future seems like a very good reason not to start using it now. – Minos Sep 02 '14 at 12:43
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Edit: See the comment by jpnp below which suggests gocryptfs

As this answer states encfs is indeed not safe nor maintained any longer.

So to completely answer your question there are several alternatives to encrypt files and folders, listed from simple to extensive encryption possibilities:

And there are really many more.

Also look here for a similar answer, it might help you.

Daan Koetsenruijter
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    For others finding this old question: gocryptfs is the most direct replacement for encfs. Written by a former encfs contributor, it uses the same model of file based encryption via FUSE, and is a near drop-in replacement, but with more modern encryption. It has also survived an audit without serious issues. – jpnp Nov 03 '18 at 11:45