Re: TrueCrypt (was: A few comments about Knoppix 5.1)

[Martin Oehler <oehler@knopper.net>]

Dear cedar,

On Wed, Jan 03, 2007 at 09:03:14PM -0800, cedar wrote:
> Martin Oehler wrote:
> > 
> > Since knoppix-image isn't using the multikey mode, this should be
> > a portable solution (not tested):
> > 
> >   http://www.scherrer.cc/crypt/
> > 
> > Does this work for you?
> 
> No.

hmm, strange. Any error messages? Or is this a "No." based on an opinion
instead of tests?

I'm able to mount a knoppix.img created with the current Knoppix version
using the filedisk driver. Used it the first time 10 minutes ago. So
at least for the knoppix.img this is a working solution for mounting
the images on a Windows system.

> When a fault in the data protection software (not only the few hundred
> lines of crypto algorithms, but in any of the thousands of lines of
> the application package!) can have extremely serious consequences, one
> does not expect each individual user to read a couple of web-pages
> and make a decision on what to use. TrueCrypt has been around
> for a while, in continuous development by the same (apparently very
> dedicated) team, it has a large installed base and an active user
> community with a critical forum that is, as far as I've seen, unique
> among the similar products. All those things contribute to the level
> of confidence that makes the difference between a crypto package used
> for "just foolin' around" and one that is used when "cryto matters".

This statement sounds so defensive. I never wrote anything negative about
TrueCrypt other than "the license might be a problem". The whole topic
would be much easier if this software was licensed under GPL instead
of a license that requires a lawyer to judge. Then we had a package inside 
Debian and everything would be fine (from our point of view). :-)

But - please be careful using terms like "just foolin' around" for
crypto implementations other than TrueCrypt (i.e. loop-aes, dm-crypt)
because the following question could arise:

  Where are the facts?

I think this could become a very interesting discussion. 

Martin