I'm in the middle of installing Xubuntu 13.10 and the Ubuntu page I was following on how to install from a USB stick says nothing about these two choices (on the Installation type screen):

#1)Encrypt the new Ubuntu installation for security (you will choose a security key in the next step).

#2)Use LVM with the new Ubuntu installation (this will set up Logical Volume Management. It allows taking snapshots and easier partition resizing)

I'm a writer using the computer for mostly writing ebooks but I also do all the things most people do: buy stuff online, online banking etc. I want my information to be safe but I don't want to overburden my system with security stuff either. I just wonder what I should do about these two choices. My natural inclination is to choose both the encryption and the LVM. Can anybody shed some light on this for a newbie like me? Thanks!

Hi,

say yes to LVM, and if you don't mind entering a passphrass at boot time to decrypt the disk I'd suggest saying yes to encryption. Note however that if you loose/forget your passphrase it will be essentially impossible to get anything off the hard drive.

Cheers,

Evo2 (currently using LVM and encryption on my main laptop).

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Thanks Evo2 but I've just recently heard that choosing the encryption slows the computer down. Have you heard anything like that?

The encryption would depend on if it is a laptop or desktop and how concerned your are of others accessing your data. As far the lvm vs standard this is a link a thread discussing the very same. http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ioning-652748/

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and here is another one about the advantages of lvm
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Lvm

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Thanks colorpurple. It's a desktop and of course I'm concerned about others accessing my data. But I'm not storing state secrets or anything. I'm just doing ordinary things like buying stuff online and online banking. So the question would be,Would I be safe doing those sorts of things without encrypting the whole OS.

Will look at those links. Thank you.

Looked at the lvm links. Super helpful. Thanks!

Hi,

while there is an overhead it should not be noticeable for day to day use.

Evo2.

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You should always pick LVM when it comes to vms/servers/workstations where you can increase the disk size. It makes adding storage much easier.

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Personally, I probably wouldn't do either encryption or LVM for a home system. My thoughts on that being, if you have to ask whether you need them, then you don't. I use both quite a bit (but not on my everyday desktop). Both have benefits of course. But I don't think either is really necessary on a home system. For the stuff I wish to encrypt one my everyday desktop, I use TrueCrypt to encrypt only those things, not encrytion of the entire file system.

But I don't feel terribly strong on this one way of the other. You're not really going to go wrong either way. One point - If you have problems and corruption, which you probably won't, you will have a harder time recovering if you have to deal with encryption and LVM. Also, if your hard drive goes bad and you're trying to recover photos or something off of it as a last ditch effort, tools like "photorec" are not going to be successful if they're having to deal with encrypted data.

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Thanks haertig. You present a very sensible, balanced point of view. I have finished my install, and I chose to engage neither the encryption nor the LVM. Appreciate it.