Using EncFS with graphical front ends

Administration

Cryptkeeper lets the user set up multiple encrypted directories according to the method described here. Each of these appears in the list view for the context menu. A check mark in front of an entry signals that the folder has been activated in the system. One mouse click on an activated folder deactivates it.

In order to administer Cryptkeeper files, click in the context menu on the Edit entry. The software will open a window where all of the encrypted folders will be listed to the left in a list view. To the right, you will find three buttons for deleting folders no longer used and modifying the password for the selected directory. If you want to delete a folder, the corresponding routine will ask whether the designated folder is really supposed to be deleted. Then it will ask whether you really want to delete all of the encrypted files that the folder contains. Once these questions are answered affirmatively, the tool will remove the directory from the system (Figure 5).

Figure 5: You can process the encrypted folders in an easy-to-use dialog.

Gnome Encfs Manager

The Gnome Encfs Manager also integrates automatically into the system tray in other desktop environments. It will appear as a small symbol composed of a folder and key. In order to get the user interface onto the desktop, click on this icon and then on Show Manager in the context menu that opens. A window will appear with an empty list view and a buttonbar sitting horizontally at the top. A menubar sits at the upper edge of the window itself (Figure 6).

Figure 6: The Gnome Encfs Manager also has a minimalistic look and feel.

You navigate to the configuration dialog by clicking on the menu Manager and then picking Preferences . You can then specify the basic settings, such as automatic program start during system boot or the display options for the symbol in the system tray.

Navigate to a dialog for defining the directory to be encrypted and the mount directory by clicking on Manager | Create or import a stash . When finished, enter a password for the folder that will be encrypted. You can also open this dialog by clicking on the plus button in the toolbar. After setting up the directory, it will appear in the list view of the main window. You can set up multiple directories at this point and selectively integrate them into the system (Figure 7).

Figure 7: The simple user interface makes it possible for even the most inexperienced user to easily set up and encrypt a new directory.

You can specify individual options for each folder by clicking on the Stash | Configure menu. So, for example, you can specify a time period after which the software will automatically deactivate a directory that has remained idle. System behavior during boot can also be defined at this point. If necessary, you can change the password by clicking on Stash | Change Password for each tagged folder.