hi, this is what i have, multiple users would be sending in files to a linux server at an isp via ssh2, the files may or may not be encrypted at the time of transmission and are in java, if they are not encrypted they will be by the isp for the half second or so before they are sent to us, we program in VB, upon completion of our duties we would send back the file to the isp, the next time the customers send in data they would also get updated data from us thru the isp

the directory if unencrypted has some exposure, because of the lag time that would exist before the customer picks up the file - may be a day or so

can the directory for those files also be encrypted?

thanks

alot

dave

You can encrypt a directory or partition reasonably easy (SuSE 8.2, for example, has a nice gui for created encrypted partitions).

But be aware of the limitations of doing this. If you encrypt a file, you have to decrypt it before you can read it (unless you're very clever ;-). Similarly, if you encrypt a directory or partition, you have to decrypt it before you can write files to it or read the files in it.

This means that when your server is up and running, anyone with the right permissions can access that directory just as you can. What encryption protects against is someone access the directory/partition if they have access to the box when it is powered off or the dir/part is unmounted - not in use.

For example, if you have a laptop and want to encrypt the data, this will protect against someone stealing the laptop in your bag and accessing the data but won't protect against someone getting the data if your laptop is powered on and being used.

Iain.

excellent, thank you, we will be installing that on a dedicated bsd linux server, hopefully we will have no compatibility problems