Other Projects ============== There are several open-source file encryption solutions for Linux available. In contrast to disk-encryption software that operate on whole disks (TrueCrypt, dm-crypt etc), file encryption operates on individual files that can be backed up or synchronised easily. This page compares: * [gocryptfs](https://nuetzlich.net/gocryptfs/) (this project), aspiring successor of EncFS * [EncFS](https://github.com/vgough/encfs), mature with known security issues * [eCryptFS](http://ecryptfs.org/), integrated into the Linux kernel * [Cryptomator](https://cryptomator.org/), strong cross-platform support through Java and WebDAV If you spot an error or want to see a project added, please [file a ticket](https://github.com/rfjakob/gocryptfs-website)! Overview -------- | | gocryptfs | encfs | ecryptfs | cryptomator | | ------------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------ | --------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | First release | 2015 [1] | 2003 [2] | 2006 [3] | 2014 [4] | | Language | Go | C++ | C | Java | | License | MIT | LGPL/GPL [5] | GPL | MIT | | Development hotspot | Austria | USA | UK (Canonical Ltd) | Germany | | Lifecycle | Active development | Maintainance | Active development [9] | Active development | | File interface | FUSE | FUSE | in-kernel filesystem | WebDAV | | Platforms | Linux (OSX planned [7]) | Linux, OSX; third-party Windows port | Linux only | Linux, OSX, Windows | | User interface | Command line only | Command line; third-party graphical | Integrated in login process | Graphical only; Command line planned [8] | References: [[1]](https://github.com/rfjakob/gocryptfs/releases/tag/v0.1) [[2]](https://github.com/vgough/encfs/blob/master/ChangeLog#L1442) [[3]](https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=237fead619984cc48818fe12ee0ceada3f55b012) [[4]](https://github.com/cryptomator/cryptomator/releases/tag/v0.1.0) [[5]](https://github.com/vgough/encfs/blob/master/COPYING) [[6]](https://github.com/cryptomator/cryptomator/tree/master/LICENSES) [[7]](https://github.com/rfjakob/gocryptfs/issues/15) [[8]](https://github.com/cryptomator/cryptomator/issues/43) [[9]](https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/log/fs/ecryptfs) General Security ---------------- | | gocryptfs | encfs default | encfs paranoia | ecryptfs | cryptomator | | ----------------------- | --------- | ------------- | -------------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------- | | Documentation available | Yes [1] | Yes [2] | Yes [2] | No [4] | Yes [3] | | Password hashing | scrypt | PBKDF2 | PBKDF2 | (none, implemented in external tool) | scrypt | References: [[1]](security.md) [[2]](https://github.com/vgough/encfs/blob/master/DESIGN.md) [[3]](https://cryptomator.org/#security) [[4]](http://ecryptfs.org/documentation.html) actually, there is a lot of ecryptfs documentation, but none of it seems to describe the used crypto. File Contents ------------- | | gocryptfs | encfs default | encfs paranoia | ecryptfs | cryptomator | | --------------------- | --------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | --------------------- | ---------------------- | | Encryption | GCM | CBC; last block CFB [1] | CBC; last block CFB [1] | CBC | CTR with random IV [2] | | Integrity | GCM | none | HMAC | none | HMAC | | File size obfuscation | no | no | no | yes (4 KB increments) | yes (random padding) | References: [[1]](https://github.com/vgough/encfs/issues/9) [[2]](https://github.com/cryptomator/cryptomator/issues/128#issuecomment-168942517) File Names ---------- | | gocryptfs | encfs default | encfs paranoia | ecryptfs | cryptomator | | ----------------------- | --------------------- | -------------------- | -------------------- | -------- | ----------- | | Encryption | EME [4] | CBC | CBC | CBC | SIV | | Prefix leak | no (EME) | no (HMAC used as IV) | no (HMAC used as IV) | yes [2] | no (SIV) | | Identical names leak | no (per-directory IV) | no (path chaining) | no (path chaining) | yes [1] | yes [3] | | Maximum name length [5] | 176 | 176 | 176 | 144 | 1026 | References: [[1]](https://gist.github.com/rfjakob/a04364c55b3ee231078d) [[2]](https://gist.github.com/rfjakob/61a17bf3c7eb9932d791) [[3]](https://github.com/cryptomator/cryptomator/issues/128) [[4]](https://github.com/rfjakob/eme) [[5]](https://gist.github.com/rfjakob/c70344e2e7a1d765af1f) Performance ----------- All tests are run on tmpfs rule out any influence of the hard disk. The CPU is an Intel Pentium G630 with 2 x 2.7GHz. | | gocryptfs | encfs default | encfs paranoia | ecryptfs | cryptomator | | ------------------------ | --------- | ------------- | -------------- | -------- | ------------- | | Streaming write | 84 MB/s | 104 MB/s | 56 MB/s | 130 MB/s | 55 MB/s | | Extract linux-3.0.tar.gz | 48 s [4] | 20 s | 23 s | 8.4 s | 468 s [1] [2] | | ls -lR linux-3.0 | 1.9 s | 2.8 s | 2.8 s | 0.5 s | 127 s [3] | | Delete linux-3.0 | 4.5 s | 3.9 s | 4.1 s | 0.5 s | 376 s [3] | Notes: [1] All file acesses to cryptomator go through the WebDAV protocol, which is less performance-oriented than FUSE. However, an optimized WebDAV client may be able to significantly speed up small-file workloads. [2] Tested with the dave cli WebDAV client, which gave better speed than gvfs (Gnome built-in) and davfs2 [3] Tested with gvfs in the `/run/user/.../gvfs/dav:...` mount [4] See [gocryptfs ticket#16](https://github.com/rfjakob/gocryptfs/issues/16) Disk Space Efficiency --------------------- (all file sizes in bytes) | | gocryptfs | encfs default | encfs paranoia | ecryptfs | cryptomator | | -------------------- | --------- | ------------- | -------------- | --------- | --------------------- | | Empty file | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,192 | 104 - 4,231 | | 1 byte file | 51 | 9 | 17 | 12,288 | 104 - 4,231 | | 1,000,000 bytes file | 1,007,858 | 1,000,008 | 1,007,888 | 1,011,712 | 1,001,096 - 1,101,192 | | | | | | | | Note: cryptomator adds a random padding which is why the resulting size is non-deterministic.