The Ubuntu One Encrypt/Decrypt script is a simple Nautilus script that allows you to encrypt/decrypt your files and folder from the context menu. It is easy to use and doesn’t require any configuration. Note: The script only works in Gnome Nautilus.

  1. Download the Ubuntu One Encrypt/Decrypt script from Gnome-look
  2. Save the script to the /home/username/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts folder.
  3. Right click on the script and select Properties. Go to the Permission tab and check the box “Allow executing file as program”.

Press Alt + F2 and enter the follow command to restart Nautilus: 4. Re-open Nautilus. Right click on any file/folder that you want to encrypt. Select “Scripts -> Ubuntu One Encrypt Decrypt script.sh”.

  1. In the popup window, select “Encrypt”.

  2. It will then prompt you to enter a strong passphrase.

Once it’s done, it will encrypt your file/folder and move it to your Ubuntu One folder. If it is a folder, it will first compress it before the encryption. This is what you will see in your Ubuntu One folder after the encryption.

Decryption

To decrypt a file/folder, you have to first copy the encrypted file/folder from the Ubuntu One folder and paste it to another location (the script won’t work within the Ubuntu One folder). Right click on the encrypted file/folder and select “Scripts -> Ubuntu One Encrypt Decrypt script.sh”. This time, select Decrypt. Once authenticated, the script will proceed to decrypt the file. If it is a folder, the script will untar the compressed file and restore the actual folder. Advantages

  1. Easy to use.
  2. Good for storing backup of files/folders that you seldom use. Disadvantages
  3. It is not dynamic. You have to encrypt/decrypt the file/folder every time you want to access it.
  4. It doesn’t sync your file/folder. You have to repeat the same process again every time you add/remove files to/from a folder or make changes to a file. Note: This script will work for Dropbox as well. You just have to open the script in a text-editor and change every instance of “Ubuntu One” to “Dropbox” (assuming your dropbox folder is /home/username/Dropbox). Your encrypted file will then be saved to the Dropbox folder. Download Ubuntu One Encrypt/Decrypt Image credit: Big Stock Photo