Keyboard layout for bootup password

Earlier this year I wrote about encryption of folders in the working-partition of EasyOS:

http://bkhome.org/news/201806/encryption-has-arrived-for-easyos.html

This required entering a password in the initrd, before the folders have anything in them. It cannot be done after the folders have some content.

There is a problem though. It is fine for those of us with a US-layout keyboard, but there is a complication for others. I have setup the 'init' script in the initrd, to automatically apply the entered password as the password for 'root' and 'zeus' users.

This is a problem, because after bootup and you choose a non-US layout, then if you ever want to enter the password for 'root' or 'zeus', it might not be correct. I think that is the situation, if I have thought it through correctly.

So, in the 'init' script in the initrd, there is now a list of keyboard layouts, and you type a number corresponding to the one appropriate for your keyboard, then you enter the password.

The layout you choose is remembered, so future bootups will only ask for the password.

I do plan to create a GUI for this, both to select keyboard layout then enter password, or even have an on-screen keyboard and allow mouse input. The plan is to use LittlevGL for this, but that is "down the track".

Tags: easy