this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2025
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Do you encrypt your drives and why or why not? (lemmy.ml)
submitted 2 weeks ago by monovergent@lemmy.ml to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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I was recently intrigued to learn that only half of the respondents to a survey said that they used disk encryption. Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows have been increasingly using encryption by default. On the other hand, while most Linux installers I've encountered include the option to encrypt, it is not selected by default.

Whether it's a test bench, beater laptop, NAS, or daily driver, I encrypt for peace of mind. Whatever I end up doing on my machines, I can be pretty confident my data won't end up in the wrong hands if the drive is stolen or lost and can be erased by simply overwriting the LUKS header. Recovering from an unbootable state or copying files out from an encrypted boot drive only takes a couple more commands compared to an unencrypted setup.

But that's just me and I'm curious to hear what other reasons to encrypt or not to encrypt are out there.

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[–] BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I don't think I encrypt my drives and the main reason is it's usually not a one-click process. I'm also not sure of the benefits from a personal perspective. If the government gets my drives I assume they'll crack it in no time. If a hacker gets into my PC or a virus I'm assuming it will run while the drive is in an unencrypted state anyway. So I'm assuming it really only protects me from an unsophisticated attacker stealing my drive or machine.

Please educate me if I got this wrong.

Edit: Thanks for the counter points. I'll look into activating encryption on my machines if they don't already have it.

[–] ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I used to, but not anymore, except for my laptop I plan on taking with me travelling. My work laptop and personal laptop are both encrypted.

I figure my home is safe enough, and I only really need encryption if I'm going to be travelling.

One of my friends locked himself out of his PC and all his data because he forgot his master password, and I don't want to do that myself lol

[–] KarnaSubarna@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 weeks ago

Exactly the same rationale as mine.

[–] giacomo@lemm.ee 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

laptop yeah

desktop nah

[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

No.

I spend a significant amount of time on other things, e.g. NOT using BigTech, no Facebook, Insta, Google, etc where I would "volunteer" private information for a discount. I do lock the physical door of my house (most of the time, not always) and have a password ... but if somebody is eager and skilled enough to break in my home to get my disks, honestly they "deserve" the content.

It's a bit like if somebody where to break in and stole my stuff at home, my gadgets or jewelry. Of course I do not welcome it, nor help with it hence the lock on the front door or closed windows, but at some point I also don't have cameras, alarms, etc. Honestly I don't think I have enough stuff worth risking breaking in for, both physical and digital. The "stuff" I mostly cherish is relationship with people, skills I learned, arguably stuff I built through those skills ... but even that can be built again. So in truth I don't care much.

I'd argue security is always a compromise, a trade of between convenience and access. Once you have few things in place, e.g. password, 2nd step auth, physical token e.g. YubiKeyBio, the rest becomes marginally "safer" for significant more hassle.