sd4l-user — General discussion and support questions

[SD4L-user] Odd behavior with Scramdisk 2.0-2 on Ubuntu 9.10

[Stewart M. <smm...@gm...>]

Hello all,

I'm reporting some odd behavior with Scramdisk on my laptop (a Dell
Inspiron 1525) using Ubuntu 9.10 (2.6.31-22-generic kernel). 

When I mount my encrypted drives, sometimes immediately upon mounting
the drive gets opened under nautilus, and sometimes it does not (this
seems random). Secondly, sometimes I see the drive appear on the desktop
using its file name, as it previously always had (as in "myencrypted
file 1") but now sometimes it is given a name by its size (as in "2.1 GB
filesystem"). Finally, whereas it used to mount the drives on the desk
arranged in order they were mounting, now the placement seems more
random.

Everything works acceptably and there's no real loss in functionality.
But I figured that I'd put this out to see if anyone else is
experiencing this behavior.

Stewart

Re: [SD4L-user] sdmount "could not lock /etc/mtab" unless run by root

[Hans-Ulrich J. <han...@t-...>]

Hello Jonathan,

I would recommend building ScramDisk as root.
Perhaps the installed binaries from you build
don't belong to user root. In that case the
SUID bit wouldn't help.

By the way I have just uploaded packages for
Ubuntu 10.04. When installing Ubuntu 10.04
I checked carefully what additional packages
are required for building ScramDisk. I had to
install

g++
qt3-dev-tools
texlive-latex-base
texlive-pstricks
texlive-fonts-recommended
texlive-lang-german

The last package, however, is only needed
for the German documentation. If it isn't
installed, hyphenations in the German
documentation will be wrong.

Installing texlive packages can be completely
avoided by downloading English and German
documentations, copying them into the docs
folder and renaming them to scramdisk.pdf
and scramdisk_de.pdf. If these two files are
newer than the other files in the docs folder
make will recognize that it hasn't to do
anything within the docs folder.

Best regards,
Ulrich

Jonathan Coles wrote:
> Hello Ulrich,
> 
> The SUID bit is exactly as you described. Your binary works fine.
> No problem with "could not lock /etc/mtab".
> 
> So, the problem is in my build. As you pointed out in another thread,
> I should use qt3 libraries, not qt4. Perhaps that will fix the problem.
> Other than that, I don't know what I can change about how I build the 
> program.
> Do I need to run make as root? I've seen no messages about permissions 
> problems.
> 
> I appreciate you making binaries available.
> But I also like the idea of having the source available and building it 
> myself.
> 
> Thanks.
> 

Re: [SD4L-user] sdmount "could not lock /etc/mtab" unless run by root

[Jonathan C. <jco...@ro...>]

Hello Ulrich,

The SUID bit is exactly as you described. Your binary works fine.
No problem with "could not lock /etc/mtab".

So, the problem is in my build. As you pointed out in another thread,
I should use qt3 libraries, not qt4. Perhaps that will fix the problem.
Other than that, I don't know what I can change about how I build the 
program.
Do I need to run make as root? I've seen no messages about permissions 
problems.

I appreciate you making binaries available.
But I also like the idea of having the source available and building it 
myself.

Thanks.

Hans-Ulrich Juettner wrote:
> Hello Jonathan,
>
> the binaries /usr/bin/sramdisk, /usr/bin/sdcreate,
> /usr/bin/sdmount and /usr/bin/sdumount are installed
> by the SD4L packages with SUID bit set. The command
> ls -l will show them with rights "-rwsr-xr-x" with
> "s" standing for the SUID bit.
> This means that these commands are executed with super
> user rights. The effect should be the same as calling
> a normal binary with sudo. Could you please have a look
> whether the SUID bit has been removed on the system
> which shows this problem? If not, that system may do
> some special things in order to prevent SUID bit
> programs to be executed with super user rights.
>
> Best regards,
> Ulrich
>
> Jonathan Coles wrote:
>   
>> I mount a Scramdisk partition using sdmount. Unless I run sdmount as 
>> root (sudo), I get the error, "could not lock /etc/mtab".
>>
>> On another machine, this isn't a problem. If I did something special to 
>> make it work over there, I have forgotten it.
>>
>> Any ideas what causes this error?
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>>     
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> SD4L-user mailing list
> SD4...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/sd4l-user
>
>   

Re: [SD4L-user] sdmount "could not lock /etc/mtab" unless run by root

[Hans-Ulrich J. <han...@t-...>]

Hello Jonathan,

the binaries /usr/bin/sramdisk, /usr/bin/sdcreate,
/usr/bin/sdmount and /usr/bin/sdumount are installed
by the SD4L packages with SUID bit set. The command
ls -l will show them with rights "-rwsr-xr-x" with
"s" standing for the SUID bit.
This means that these commands are executed with super
user rights. The effect should be the same as calling
a normal binary with sudo. Could you please have a look
whether the SUID bit has been removed on the system
which shows this problem? If not, that system may do
some special things in order to prevent SUID bit
programs to be executed with super user rights.

Best regards,
Ulrich

Jonathan Coles wrote:
> I mount a Scramdisk partition using sdmount. Unless I run sdmount as 
> root (sudo), I get the error, "could not lock /etc/mtab".
> 
> On another machine, this isn't a problem. If I did something special to 
> make it work over there, I have forgotten it.
> 
> Any ideas what causes this error?
> 
> Thanks.
> 

Re: [SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade to Linux kernel 2.6.31-21-generic (Ubuntu 9.10)

[Hans-Ulrich J. <han...@t-...>]

Hello,

I've just uploaded two packages for Ubuntu 9.10 and
kernel 2.6.31-21 together with the GnuPG signatures.
ScramDisk will work again with this update.

Best regards,
Ulrich

Jonathan Coles wrote:
> SD4Linux worked beautifully until I upgraded my Ubuntu 9.10 system 
> (32-bit) to kernel 2.6.31-21-generic.
> Is an updated package in the works?
> 
> I can still use SD4Linux if I boot up with the 2.6.31-20-generic kernel.
> 
> Thanks.
> 

[SD4L-user] sdmount "could not lock /etc/mtab" unless run by root

[Jonathan C. <jco...@ro...>]

I mount a Scramdisk partition using sdmount. Unless I run sdmount as 
root (sudo), I get the error, "could not lock /etc/mtab".

On another machine, this isn't a problem. If I did something special to 
make it work over there, I have forgotten it.

Any ideas what causes this error?

Thanks.

Re: [SD4L-user] Doc-building trouble prevents building ScramDisk 2.0-2 64-bit

[Jonathan C. <jco...@ro...>]

I installed yet another package, texlive-extra-utils, and after a 
reboot, I was able to compile.

Is there a full listing of the packages required to compile SD4L?

The docs part of the build seems to be more complicated than the 
application. Without that, the compile would be a breeze.

Thanks.

Jonathan Coles wrote:
> My attempt to build SD4L is blocked by a problem in the docs 
> compilation. Can this be bypassed? Surely the PDF could be supplied as a 
> complete PDF or made available separately.
>
> I had to install something like 23 packages to get pdflatex and my 
> compile of ScramDisk ends with this absurd output because 'ptmr7t' can't 
> be found (What can I do about that?):
>
>     No file scramdisk.aux.
>     (/usr/share/texmf-texlive/tex/latex/psnfss/ot1ptm.fd)
>     kpathsea: Running mktextfm ptmr7t
>     mktextfm: Running mf-nowin -progname=mf \mode:=ljfour; mag:=1;
>     nonstopmode; input ptmr7t
>     This is METAFONT, Version 2.718281 (TeX Live 2009/Debian)
>
>
>     kpathsea: Running mktexmf ptmr7t
>     ! I can't find file `ptmr7t'.
>     <*> ...:=ljfour; mag:=1; nonstopmode; input ptmr7t
>                                                      
>     Please type another input file name
>     ! Emergency stop.
>     <*> ...:=ljfour; mag:=1; nonstopmode; input ptmr7t
>                                                      
>     Transcript written on mfput.log.
>     grep: ptmr7t.log: No such file or directory
>     mktextfm: `mf-nowin -progname=mf \mode:=ljfour; mag:=1; nonstopmode;
>     input ptmr7t' failed to make ptmr7t.tfm.
>     kpathsea: Appending font creation commands to missfont.log.
>
>     ! Font OT1/ptm/m/n/10.95=ptmr7t at 10.95pt not loadable: Metric
>     (TFM) file not
>     found.
>     <to be read again>
>                        relax
>     l.128 \begin{document}
>                          
>     ?                                   
>
> Hitting return at each of the many '?' prompts (I also tried 'quit') 
> allows the script to continue until final failure:
>
>     mktextfm: `mf-nowin -progname=mf \mode:=ljfour; mag:=1; nonstopmode;
>     input ptmri7t' failed to make ptmri7t.tfm.
>     make[1]: *** [scramdisk.pdf] Error 1
>     make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/jcoles/Downloads/ScramDisk-2.0/docs'
>     make: *** [all] Error 1
>
> Any ideas what the problem is, or better yet, the fix?
>
> Thanks.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> _______________________________________________
> SD4L-user mailing list
> SD4...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/sd4l-user
>
>   

[SD4L-user] Doc-building trouble prevents building ScramDisk 2.0-2 64-bit

[Jonathan C. <jco...@ro...>]

My attempt to build SD4L is blocked by a problem in the docs 
compilation. Can this be bypassed? Surely the PDF could be supplied as a 
complete PDF or made available separately.

I had to install something like 23 packages to get pdflatex and my 
compile of ScramDisk ends with this absurd output because 'ptmr7t' can't 
be found (What can I do about that?):

    No file scramdisk.aux.
    (/usr/share/texmf-texlive/tex/latex/psnfss/ot1ptm.fd)
    kpathsea: Running mktextfm ptmr7t
    mktextfm: Running mf-nowin -progname=mf \mode:=ljfour; mag:=1;
    nonstopmode; input ptmr7t
    This is METAFONT, Version 2.718281 (TeX Live 2009/Debian)


    kpathsea: Running mktexmf ptmr7t
    ! I can't find file `ptmr7t'.
    <*> ...:=ljfour; mag:=1; nonstopmode; input ptmr7t
                                                     
    Please type another input file name
    ! Emergency stop.
    <*> ...:=ljfour; mag:=1; nonstopmode; input ptmr7t
                                                     
    Transcript written on mfput.log.
    grep: ptmr7t.log: No such file or directory
    mktextfm: `mf-nowin -progname=mf \mode:=ljfour; mag:=1; nonstopmode;
    input ptmr7t' failed to make ptmr7t.tfm.
    kpathsea: Appending font creation commands to missfont.log.

    ! Font OT1/ptm/m/n/10.95=ptmr7t at 10.95pt not loadable: Metric
    (TFM) file not
    found.
    <to be read again>
                       relax
    l.128 \begin{document}
                         
    ?                                   

Hitting return at each of the many '?' prompts (I also tried 'quit') 
allows the script to continue until final failure:

    mktextfm: `mf-nowin -progname=mf \mode:=ljfour; mag:=1; nonstopmode;
    input ptmri7t' failed to make ptmri7t.tfm.
    make[1]: *** [scramdisk.pdf] Error 1
    make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/jcoles/Downloads/ScramDisk-2.0/docs'
    make: *** [all] Error 1

Any ideas what the problem is, or better yet, the fix?

Thanks.

[SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade to Linux kernel 2.6.31-21-generic (Ubuntu 9.10)

[Jonathan C. <jco...@ro...>]

SD4Linux worked beautifully until I upgraded my Ubuntu 9.10 system 
(32-bit) to kernel 2.6.31-21-generic.
Is an updated package in the works?

I can still use SD4Linux if I boot up with the 2.6.31-20-generic kernel.

Thanks.

Re: [SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade Linux kernel 2.6.28-18-generic

[bob <bo...@op...>]

wow !!!!!
thank you so much.  not only do i have scramdisk but i didn't have to 
learn anything (yet)

thank you
bobt

On 04/15/2010 04:03 PM, Hans-Ulrich Juettner wrote:
> Hello Bob,
>
> I've updated my Fedora systems too and just uploaded two
> more SD4L packages for Fedora 12 with kernel 2.6.32.11
> to sourceforge.net (together with the signature files).
>
> Best regards,
> Ulrich

Re: [SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade Linux kernel 2.6.28-18-generic

[Hans-Ulrich J. <han...@t-...>]

Hello Bob,

I've updated my Fedora systems too and just uploaded two
more SD4L packages for Fedora 12 with kernel 2.6.32.11
to sourceforge.net (together with the signature files).

Best regards,
Ulrich

bob wrote:
> hi ulrich
> 
> thank you for your help.  when i updated my system it went straight to 
> 2.6.32.11 skipping 2.6.32.10 and when i searched for the earlier version 
> i had no luck.  i got the same "no device.." msg when i tried sd4l with 
> the later kernel.
> 
> but i think that as much as learning how to build the package seems like 
> a pain to me now, it will pay off in the long run - learning a little 
> more about linux and becoming a little more independent.
> 
> i really do appreciate all your help.  now i guess it's time for me to 
> roll up my sleeves.
> 
> thanks again.
> bob t

Re: [SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade Linux kernel 2.6.28-18-generic

[bob <bo...@op...>]

hi ulrich

thank you for your help.  when i updated my system it went straight to 
2.6.32.11 skipping 2.6.32.10 and when i searched for the earlier version 
i had no luck.  i got the same "no device.." msg when i tried sd4l with 
the later kernel.

but i think that as much as learning how to build the package seems like 
a pain to me now, it will pay off in the long run - learning a little 
more about linux and becoming a little more independent.

i really do appreciate all your help.  now i guess it's time for me to 
roll up my sleeves.

thanks again.
bob t

On 04/14/2010 04:33 PM, Hans-Ulrich Juettner wrote:
> Hi Bob,
>
> I've installed Fedora 12 just before building the packages on it.
> I did that with a netinstall CD which downloaded the latest kernel
> package from the Fedora repository. You should get the same kernel
> package by simply updating (all) the packages on your computer.

Re: [SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade Linux kernel 2.6.28-18-generic

[Hans-Ulrich J. <han...@t-...>]

Hi Bob,

I've installed Fedora 12 just before building the packages on it.
I did that with a netinstall CD which downloaded the latest kernel
package from the Fedora repository. You should get the same kernel
package by simply updating (all) the packages on your computer.

But, of course, I can give you some hints for building SD4L.
Some hints for building are also in section 6 in the
"ScramDisk for Linux User Guide and Technical Documentation"
which is installed with the package in /usr/share/doc/scramdisk
and is also on the website of SD4L.

You need development packages for building SD4L. Which packages
exactly depends on the distribution. Necessary tools are the
compiler gcc and g++ (as the GUI is written in C++), the make
utility, the qt3-development packages. For the documentation
which is also built by calling make (see below) you need the
LaTeX system. The TeX-Live packages will serve that purpose.

With all necessary development tools installed on your system
you could do an
   tar xvzf ScramDisk_2.0-2.tar.gz
to unpack the sources. Than
   cd ScramDisk-2.0
and simmply call
   make
That will build everything of the SD4L software.
Another
   make install
called with root privileges will install the software on your
system. It could be uninstalled later by calling
   make uninstall
again with root privileges within the ScramDisk-2.0 directory.
However, in general, it is preferable to have the SD4L software
under the package control of your system.
For this purpose there are different mechanisms on Debian and Ubuntu
systems and on RPM-based systems like Fedora and openSUSE.

For Debian and Ubuntu systems a .deb package could simply be built
by the command
   make deb
after the first call of make within the ScramDisk-2.0 directory.

For Fedora and openSUSE a .rpm package may be built with the
additional tool rpmbuild. You need to create a directory (e.g.
called rpmbuild and either in the home directory /root of the
superuser or below /usr/src) with subdirectories
   BUILD
   BUILDROOT
   RPMS
   SOURCES
   SPECS
   SRPMS
Than, as user root, change to that directory, put the .spec file
appropriate for your distribution (e.g. scramdisk-fc.spec for Fedora)
(which can be found in the ScramDisk-2.0 directory from above)
in the SPECS subdirectory and put the the put the original
archive ScramDisk_2.0-2.tar.gz in the SOURCES subdirectory.
Than call
   rpmbuild -ba SPECS/<your .spec file>
This builds the software as above within the BUILD subdirectory.
After the command has finished you will find the .rpm package
in some subdirectory of the RPMS subdirectory which will be
created by the command specific for your systems architecture.

The packages can be installed with either
   dpkg -i <.deb package>
for Debian and Ubuntu distributions or with
   rpm -i <.rpm package>
for Fedora and openSUSE distributions.

Best regards,
Ulrich


bob wrote:
> hi ulrich
> i've searched for a copy of the 2.6.32.10 kernel but have not found 
> one.  but now i realize that that's not really the solution. i think the 
> time has come, as the walrus said, for me to learn how to build the 
> package myself.  that way i won't be afraid of upgrades.  in a previous 
> life i did some enterprise java development so i should have a short 
> learning curve.
> i don't want to wear out my welcome but if you could possibly just give 
> me a couple of tips - locations of tutorials, etc. - i would be grateful.
> thanks for all your help.
> bob t
> 

Re: [SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade Linux kernel 2.6.28-18-generic

[bob <bo...@op...>]

hi ulrich
i've searched for a copy of the 2.6.32.10 kernel but have not found 
one.  but now i realize that that's not really the solution. i think the 
time has come, as the walrus said, for me to learn how to build the 
package myself.  that way i won't be afraid of upgrades.  in a previous 
life i did some enterprise java development so i should have a short 
learning curve.
i don't want to wear out my welcome but if you could possibly just give 
me a couple of tips - locations of tutorials, etc. - i would be grateful.
thanks for all your help.
bob t

Re: [SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade Linux kernel 2.6.28-18-generic

[Hans-Ulrich J. <han...@t-...>]

Hello Bob,

your kernel 2.6.31.5-127.fc12.i686.pae is older
than the kernel with which I've built the Fedora 12
package of Scramdisk. Could you please do an online
software update of your system? You should get the
kernel 2.6.32.10-90.fc12.i686.PAE with the software
update. The first four numbers of the kernel version
2.6.32.10 are vital for the Scramdisk kernel module.
After the software update and a reboot of your
computer Scramdisk should work.

Best regards
Ulrich

bob wrote:
> i don't want to become a pest but here's what i did -
> 
> i uninstalled sd4l 2.0-1 and then downloaded and installed 
> 2.0-2_Fedora-12_2.6.32.10-pae_i386.rpm
> 
> i still get the "No such device or address" msg.
> 
> i uninstalled and d/l'ed and reinstalled again - same msg.  i've been 
> able to create both scramdisk and truecrypt containers but get the same 
> message when trying to mount them.
> 
> my system is fedora 12   2.6.31.5-127.fc12.i686.pae
> 
> any ideas gratefully accepted.
> 
> thanks - bob t

Re: [SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade Linux kernel 2.6.28-18-generic

[bob <bo...@op...>]

i don't want to become a pest but here's what i did -

i uninstalled sd4l 2.0-1 and then downloaded and installed 
2.0-2_Fedora-12_2.6.32.10-pae_i386.rpm

i still get the "No such device or address" msg.

i uninstalled and d/l'ed and reinstalled again - same msg.  i've been 
able to create both scramdisk and truecrypt containers but get the same 
message when trying to mount them.

my system is fedora 12   2.6.31.5-127.fc12.i686.pae

any ideas gratefully accepted.

thanks - bob t

Re: [SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade Linux kernel 2.6.28-18-generic

[Hans-Ulrich J. <han...@t-...>]

Hello Bob,

I've just uploaded the two packages
   ScramDisk_2.0-2_Fedora-12_2.6.32.10-pae_i386.rpm
and
   ScramDisk_2.0-2_Fedora-12_2.6.32.10_x86_64.rpm
together with GnuPG signatures to the sourceforge.net project
site of SD4L.

I'm sorry for not having published packages for Fedora 12 earlier.
The generic .tar.gz file contains the sources from which you can
build such packages yourself, provided you have the necessary
development tools. As you are a new Linux user, you probably
won't like to take that trouble.

The packages for Fedora 11 doesn't work on Fedora 12 because
Scramdisk packages are required to be built for the exact kernel
on which they were to be used later.

Please, choose the x84_64 package if you have a 64-Bit version
of Fedora 12, otherwise the i386 package is the right one for
you. I hope that will work for you. If not, don't hesitate to
contact me again.

Best regards,
Ulrich

bob wrote:
> i'm a new linux user - trying to migrate from mucrosoft.  i'm using 
> fedora 12 and installed sd4l 2.0-1 for fedora11.  i have the same 
> problem - "no such device or address".  i'd like to install sd4l 
> release  2.0-2 but i don't know what to do with the generic tar.gz file 
> in order to install it.  i know i need to learn these things - i will - 
> but for now i'd really appreciate it if someone could either tell me how 
> to set up the files to install it or perhaps set up a 2.0-2_fedora-12 
> i386 installation file.  i'm still feeling my way around linux so the 
> easier the better.
> thanks for any help you can offer.
> bob t
> 

Re: [SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade Linux kernel 2.6.28-18-generic

[bob <bo...@op...>]

i'm a new linux user - trying to migrate from mucrosoft.  i'm using 
fedora 12 and installed sd4l 2.0-1 for fedora11.  i have the same 
problem - "no such device or address".  i'd like to install sd4l 
release  2.0-2 but i don't know what to do with the generic tar.gz file 
in order to install it.  i know i need to learn these things - i will - 
but for now i'd really appreciate it if someone could either tell me how 
to set up the files to install it or perhaps set up a 2.0-2_fedora-12 
i386 installation file.  i'm still feeling my way around linux so the 
easier the better.
thanks for any help you can offer.
bob t

Re: [SD4L-user] Using .sig files

[Hans-Ulrich J. <han...@t-...>]

Hi Joanthan,

yes the .sig files are detached pgp signatures.
Using the command line they may be verified by

gpg --verify <.sig file>

when the signed file (the file without the .sig extension)
is in the same folder as the signature file.
Probably it suffices to click or double click the
.sig file in your favorite file system browser.

My pgp signing key which signs all SD4L packages is

Ulrich Juettner (Scramdisk for Linux Signature Key)
<han...@t-...>

the fingerprint is

478E BB6C 740F 0C9D D6A2 95EC 51D3 2249 68CE D9BE.

You may get the public key from the keyservers e.g.

wwwkeys.pgp.net

or

keyserver.veridis.com

Best regards
Ulrich

Jonathan Coles wrote:
> Sorry if this is a really dumb newbie question, but ...
> 
> how can I verify my downloaded packages using the .sig file?
> 
> If gpg is to be used, I need your public key. Where would I get this?
> 
> If that's not the right program, could you clue me in as to how to do this?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> SOLARIS 10 is the OS for Data Centers - provides features such as DTrace,
> Predictive Self Healing and Award Winning ZFS. Get Solaris 10 NOW
> http://p.sf.net/sfu/solaris-dev2dev
> _______________________________________________
> SD4L-user mailing list
> SD4...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/sd4l-user
> 

[SD4L-user] Using .sig files

[Jonathan C. <jco...@ro...>]

Sorry if this is a really dumb newbie question, but ...

how can I verify my downloaded packages using the .sig file?

If gpg is to be used, I need your public key. Where would I get this?

If that's not the right program, could you clue me in as to how to do this?

Thanks.

Re: [SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade Linux kernel 2.6.28-18-generic

[Hans-Ulrich J. <han...@t-...>]

Hello Stewart,

The error message is misleading, the problem was with the new kernel.
I built packages for the new kernel so that the SD4L kernel module
will load again. The new packages also include a minor fix in the GUI.
Therefore, they got the new release number 2.0-2.

Best regards,
Ulrich

Stewart Millen wrote:
> On Fri, 2010-02-05 at 09:07 -0500, Stewart Millen wrote:
> 
> Forgot to add that I'm using Ubuntu 9.04.
> 
>> Hello all,
>>
>> SD4Linux stopped working today after upgrading the kernel from
>> 2.6.28-17-generic to 2.6.28-18 generic. The error message upon attempted
>> mounting was "no such device or address", which I figured it meant that
>> there is a problem resolving the mounting point after the kernel
>> upgrade.
>>
>> Stewart
> 
> 

Re: [SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade Linux kernel 2.6.28-18-generic

[Stewart M. <smm...@gm...>]

On Fri, 2010-02-05 at 09:07 -0500, Stewart Millen wrote:

Forgot to add that I'm using Ubuntu 9.04.

> Hello all,
> 
> SD4Linux stopped working today after upgrading the kernel from
> 2.6.28-17-generic to 2.6.28-18 generic. The error message upon attempted
> mounting was "no such device or address", which I figured it meant that
> there is a problem resolving the mounting point after the kernel
> upgrade.
> 
> Stewart

[SD4L-user] SD4Linux stops working after upgrade Linux kernel 2.6.28-18-generic

[Stewart M. <smm...@gm...>]

Hello all,

SD4Linux stopped working today after upgrading the kernel from
2.6.28-17-generic to 2.6.28-18 generic. The error message upon attempted
mounting was "no such device or address", which I figured it meant that
there is a problem resolving the mounting point after the kernel
upgrade.

Stewart

Re: [SD4L-user] Remote authentication?

[Hans-Ulrich J. <han...@t-...>]

Hi Niall,

Niall Murphy wrote:
> Hi, 
> 
> Maybe you can help me. I'm trying to evaluate what encryption solution would be best for my company's setup.
> 
> We provide a computer that acts as a server for our customers, who have no physical interaction with the machine.
> We need the data on this machine to be decrypted as it is needed by a number of services on-the-fly.
> As we need to provide automatica authentication we either need to:
> 
> Keep the parts of the filesystem required to boot up and allow an OpenVPN ssh session - permanently decrypted - so that we can remotely authenticate
> or 
> Provide a usb key containing the secret key to our customer and read this key when the machine boots.
> 
> Obviously the latter option involves more risk as someone intending on stealing the machine need only steal its acompanying usb key should the customer not keep it safe. Also, if the power were to go we need a way to automatically authenticate meaning the key would have to be paired with the machine at all times.
> 
> We currently have OpenVPN set up on the machine we want to encrypt so that it keeps contacting us to tell us it is online and it initiates an OpenVPN connection with us when it does go online, so half the work is done in this regard.
> 
> I was just wondering if your product would support custom authentication in this manner? and if you have any further suggestions, either on what files would have to remain decrypted for this to work, or what possible alternatives there may be.
> 
> If you need any further description of the above please let me know.
> 
> 
> Thanks.
> 

ScramDisk 4 Linux doesn't provide any custom but only password
authentication. If I understand your use case right a possible
solution with SD4L would be to have the data of your customers
on the server encrypted separately in distinct containers. Each
customer could log in to the server over the OpenVPN connection
and/or with an SSH session. Then, he opens/mounts his encrypted
container with SD4L supplying his container-password. You may
build this into the login procedure with some scripting.
Afterwards the customer works with his data which are decrypted
on-the-fly on reading and encrypted on-the-fly on writing.
Before logout the customer closes/dismounts his container
which again may be scripted into the logout procedure.

Best regards
Ulrich

[SD4L-user] Remote authentication?

[Niall M. <n.m...@ju...>]

Hi, 

Maybe you can help me. I'm trying to evaluate what encryption solution would be best for my company's setup.

We provide a computer that acts as a server for our customers, who have no physical interaction with the machine.
We need the data on this machine to be decrypted as it is needed by a number of services on-the-fly.
As we need to provide automatica authentication we either need to:

Keep the parts of the filesystem required to boot up and allow an OpenVPN ssh session - permanently decrypted - so that we can remotely authenticate
or 
Provide a usb key containing the secret key to our customer and read this key when the machine boots.

Obviously the latter option involves more risk as someone intending on stealing the machine need only steal its acompanying usb key should the customer not keep it safe. Also, if the power were to go we need a way to automatically authenticate meaning the key would have to be paired with the machine at all times.

We currently have OpenVPN set up on the machine we want to encrypt so that it keeps contacting us to tell us it is online and it initiates an OpenVPN connection with us when it does go online, so half the work is done in this regard.

I was just wondering if your product would support custom authentication in this manner? and if you have any further suggestions, either on what files would have to remain decrypted for this to work, or what possible alternatives there may be.

If you need any further description of the above please let me know.


Thanks.


--
Niall