dm-crypt
I managed to get through the
latest
Debian installer release and enabled the option to encrypt the
/home partition using
dm-crypt.
It was not a difficult process, I followed the
Guide
as best I could, the only thing I noticed was that if I encrypted
one partition for some reason it then insisted on encrypting the
swap partition, as I have haven't redone the install I don't know
if this was my fault or a bug.
I am not exactly sure how it all works, but if I don't supply a
password as the system boots the /home partition appears totally
empty if anyone were to poke around. As far as performance goes,
for me at least I do not even know I am using it, does the
encryption take place on the fly? or its done when the kernel
decides its time to write stuff down? Anyway, it's something I will
definitely use on my laptop as I am prone to leaving it unattended
and even though I haven't much data of use to anyone, its just icky
knowing someone could browse your home directory if your laptop
were stolen.
The Debian installer is really getting nifty.