[Bug 188085] Re: debian-installers encrypted erase disc cancel button should read Skip

[Eerik Wissenz]

Hey

I'm doing a LVM install at the moment and I've often noticed the same
thing.

The difference with "Cancel" in this step, as opposed to other steps, is
that all the other steps are necessary to complete the install. In this
case erasing the disk can be canceled and the installation continues as
usual (whereas the user may already be conditioned to assume canceling
will just bring you back to this step if you want to continue).

Of course canceling means:
1. Any information that's on the partition may persist as long, since it'll only be erased by the new system overwriting it.
2. Erasing actually means filling up the disk with random bits, which means that if you don't erase analysis of the disk will give an attacker information like how much information is on the partition. It may even aid in decrypting the disk somehow (I don't know how it could, and even if no one alive knows either ... it still doesn't mean someone in the future may figure out some clever way inconceivable to us now.) 

However, erasing a 100+ GB hdd takes a really long time, time you may
not have since you have to get work done on box.

Proposals:
So, I think this could simply be explained under the "Erase" operation, as people who this affects will certainly read any text as they wait for the erase to crawl along. So at the end of this explanation you can simply note "cancel at your own risk".

But a clever feature would be the option before erasing to "skip erase
during install, but to erase in the background later while the system is
being used".  I.e. using "secure-delete".

Of course, it doesn't need to be automatic. The text explanation can
just give the options for wiping free space pose install such as secure-
delete. We are talking encrypted LVM so I don't think newbie proofing is
necessary and anyone at this step is obviously concerned about security
and is unlikely to forget to post-install wipe if they want to.

Anyways, always a pleasure to install Debian. Great work everyone!

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/188085

Title:
  debian-installers encrypted erase disc cancel button should read Skip

Status in “debian-installer” package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed

Bug description:
  Binary package hint: debian-installer

  Erasing Disc priory to encrypted LVM takes forever.  However the only
  option on the screen is canel.  This can be misleading as it only
  skips that stage and doesn't cancel the install.  I suggest that the
  button be changed to Skip Erase or something similar to save
  confusion.

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