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My situation is as follows. I upgraded my ubuntu version (12.04 to 14.04), using as a fresh install ~ it consistently failed when using update manager or apt-get.

I kept my home on a separate partition, I have backups of the important information.

when I set up 12.04 I used an encrypted home drive.

After my upgrade, my encrypted home is not mounting correctly and I'm currently unable to decrypt it.

I also have the following folders / files on the partition:

    .
    └── davem ~ this my old home drive, it contains the files .ecryptfs .Private
README.txt and Acces-your_Private-Data.desktop
    .
    └── .ecryptfs ~ this again contains a 'copy' of my davem folder, here follows a copy
of the tree, from this directory.
    .
    └── davem
        ├── .ecryptfs
        │   ├── auto-mount 
        │   ├── auto-umount
        │   ├── Private.mnt
        │   ├── Private.sig
        │   └── wrapped-passphrase
        └── .Private
            ├── ECRYPTFS_ ... and many other 'files' which I guess correspond to my original directories and files.

when using cryptkeeper I select the 'import EncFS folder', however in the window that opens I do not see the hidden .ecryptfs folder, and if I type it in manual (or any of it's sub folders) I get the response that the folder is not am EncFS encrypted folder.

So I have The questions regarding this sitation:

1) how to determine the type of encryption on the folder. 2) how to mount it so as I can access the data on it.

I assume that the password was my login password on my system, so I know what it is.

any assistance it greately appreciated.

If the mods feel that this should belong on the 'linux / unix' stack overflow, feel free to move it over.

Thanks all.

David.

DaveM
  • 143

1 Answers1

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Looks like it's using eCryptfs encryption.

If the home folders are set up for the same locations, and you're using the same username and same passphrase, I think you should be able to log in & decrypt your home as usual... unless there were major changes from 12.04 to 14.04, I'm not sure.

You could mount it with ecryptfs-recover-private if you just want to read & copy the files over to a new (encrypted) profile.

Or you could try ecryptfs-rewrap-passphrase to "unwrap an eCryptfs wrapped passphrase, rewrap it with a new passphrase, and write it back to file" using your old & new login passphrases. Then you should be able to decrypt & use your old home folder again (if it's in the right location, etc).

See the man pages for more info, and keep/make a backup of the files before changing them, just in case. Really should have a backup of the un-encrypted files too (encrypted using a different method perhaps, like a tar.gz.gpg) to be extra careful too.

Xen2050
  • 8,705
  • Thanks. This meant I was able to make a proper backup. I'm now performing a full clean install. – DaveM Feb 02 '15 at 11:33