Ubuntu – Access encrypted drive on separate partition

ecryptfs

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.

Best Answer

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.

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