Frequently Asked Questions

How to for using zuluCrypt-cli is here: https://github.com/mhogomchungu/zuluCrypt/wiki/zuluCryt-cli-howto

How to for using zuluMount-cli is here: https://github.com/mhogomchungu/zuluCrypt/wiki/zuluMount-cli-howto

1. What is a system volume?

A "system volume" is defined as a volume that is either known to the system or resides in a hard drive that is located inside the computer. A volumes is defined to be known to the system if it has an entry in "/etc/fstab", "/etc/crypttab", "/etc/zuluCrypt/system_volumes.list" or if udev identifies it as system if udev is enabled.

2. What is a non system volume?

A "non system volume" is a volume that is either unknown to the system, resides in a hard drive that is located outside the computer (ie an external hard drive) or has an entry in "/etc/zuluCrypt/nonsystem_volumes.list".

3. How can i make a volume identified as "system" to be "non system"?

Add it to "/etc/zuluCrypt/nonsystem_volumes.list". The addition above can be done with a GUI by starting zuluCrypt-gui from root's account and then clicking the menu->options->manage system volumes.

4. How can i make a volume identified as "non system" to be "system"?

Add it to "/etc/zuluCrypt/system_volumes.list" The addition can be done with a GUI by starting zuluCryp-gui from root's account and then clicking the menu->options->manage non system volumes.

5. I can not seem to be able to create a new encrypted volume in my hard drive, what gives?

For security reasons, in "system volumes", actions like creating new volumes, adding keys to volumes or removing keys from volumes are restricted to root user or to normal users who are members of group "zulucrypt".

6. I can not seem to be able to mount an unencrypted volume in zuluMount, whats going on?

For security reasons, mounting unencrypted "system volumes" in zuluMount is restricted to root user or normal users who are a member of group "zulumount".To work around this limitation, set up the volume to have an entry in "/etc/fstab" and with "user" option set or add the following to "/etc/zuluCrypt/nonsystem_volumes.list".

7. Why is my external hard drive that is clearly "non system" identified as "system".

You must have udev enabled. This is a problem with udev and please consult its documentation to see how you can work around the problem from their end. You can set zuluCrypt/zuluMount to see the volume as non system by following instructions in entry number 3 of this FAQ. The following link gives more insight of udev's problem: http://lamarque-lvs.blogspot.com/2011/07/e-sata-solid-and-udisks-part-2.html

8. I can not seem to be able to unlock encfs volume, what is going on?

Make sure you have "encfs" program installed and its located at "/usr/bin/".

9. How do i make a debian package for zuluCrypt?

Instructions for doing so are here[1].

[1] https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mhogomchungu/zuluCrypt/master/debian_package_info/BUILD_INSTRUCTIONS

10. zuluCrypt volumes do not show up in nautilus left panel, whose bug is it?

zuluCrypt by default creates its mount points at "/run/media/private/$USER" and nautilus doesn't seem to like this path and decides to not show them.

The problem is on nautilus and i think the solution is for nautilus to display all mount points a user has access to instead of cherry picking "blessed paths" where mount point must reside for them to be displayed.

11. How do i unlock a VeraCrypt volume that uses a PIM value?

FAQ for both zuluCrypt-cli and zuluMount-cli has info on how to do it from the CLI. From GUI, this functionality is exposed only in zuluMount-gui and the prompt to enter the PIM value is in the menu that can be activated by clicking "options" button on the dialog that asks for a password to unlock a volume.

12. How do i create a VeraCrypt volume that uses a PIM value?

VeraCrypt volumes that use a PIM value can currently be created only from the terminal. An example that shows how to create a VeraCrypt volume in "/dev/sdX" that uses a PIM value of "15" and using default crypto properties is: zuluCrypt-cli -ck -d /dev/sdX -t vcrypt -g /dev/urandom.aes.xts-plain64.256.sha512.15

13. How do i mount a file system with different file system options?

The ability to mount a file system with user specified file system options is exposed only in zuluMount. In zuluMount-cli, file system options can be set using "-Y" switch. Example on how to mount a vfat file system hosted in "/dev/sdc1" with "utf8" options is: zuluMount-cli -m -d /dev/sdc1 -Y utf8 Options are separated by a comma.

It is possible to set the file system mount option in zuluMount-gui by clicking the "Options" button at the mount dialog followed by selecting "Set File System Options".

Persistent file system options can also be set through two configuration files.

/etc/zuluCrypt/fs_options configuration file hosts options that are set per volume. An example that shows two entries in the above config file that direct what volume should be mounted with what file system options is below:

 UUID="368D-0BFB" utf8
 UUID="553Q-7CA0" iocharset=iso8859-1

blkid tool can be used to find out file system's UUID.

/etc/zuluCrypt/generic_fs_options configuration file hosts options that are set per file system. An example that shows two entries in the above config file that direct what volume should be mounted with what options is below:

 vfat utf8
 ext4 data=ordered

14. Can i have a secured conversation with you?

Yes, you can send me an email at [email protected] encrypted with the following public key

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