Encryption

[oldster]

I am running Ubuntu MATE 14.04 and would like to know if there is "free" software out there that will encrypt my hard drive or should i have choosen to encrypt during the install of Ubuntu MATE. Thanks

 

[arochester]

http://www.howtogeek.com/116032/how-to-encrypt-your-home-folder-after-installing-ubuntu/

 

[Jim Laughlan]

I am running Ubuntu MATE 14.04 and would like to know if there is "free" software out there that will encrypt my hard drive or should i have choosen to encrypt during the install of Ubuntu MATE. Thanks

Throwing in my 2 cents, I would encrypt the entire hard drive on boot up and use a program like Vera Crypt to encrypt the files that are sensitive. What it does it creates an encrypted volume and you can make it any size you like and as have many as you want and keep it wherever you want (obviously the /home directory is best. These "volumes" are actually files. WHen you open Vera Crypt, you mount the volume your working with, enter the decryption password then the root (or in Ubuntu's case the sudo password) and it will open up the volume and you can work on your files or save files in that volume as needed. ALWAYS BACK THAT VOLUME FILE UP TO A USB DRIVE OR A CLOUD LIKE GOOGLE DRIVE, DROPBOX OR MEGA. After you install it, just play with it a while and get comfortable before you start using it full time.
That's what I do and it works for me. But then again, that's me.

Regards
Jim