Note: This article was originally published in 2013. Some steps, commands, or software versions may have changed. Check the current Ubuntu documentation for the latest information.

If you’re encountering this issue, this troubleshooting guide will help you identify the root cause and apply the appropriate fix. This applies to Ubuntu environments.

Resolve: Your web-server does not have the (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mcrypt “Mcrypt”) module installed. Without it, encryption will be a lot slower.

(How to install mcrypt in an (http://www.ubuntu.com “Ubuntu (operating system)”))

I have installed UpdraftPlus in order to manage backups of the site. The downside is they seem to be moving towards having you buy addons for a lot of the functionality but for now it gets the job done and it is a very complete plugin. One of the big issues I am facing with it though is that the message “Your web-server does not have the mcrypt module installed. Without it, encryption will be a lot slower.” keeps popping up. I am sure I have installed and re-installed mcrypt several times but still no dice so I finally figured out what was wrong: The installation of mcrypt does not link the apache php (runtime?) to mcrypt. So follow this simple instructions to install mcrypt and make sure it is linked correctly:

  1. Install mcrypt by running the following command: (http://wiki.debian.org/Apt “Advanced Packaging Tool”) install (http://www.php.net “PHP”)-mcrypt
  2. Make sure the following file exists: /etc/php5/(http://https://httpd.apache.org/ “Apache HTTP Server”)/conf.d/mcrypt.ini
  3. If the file is missing, you can copy it from: /etc/php5/cli/conf.d/mcrypt.ini or**/etc/php5/conf.d/mcrypt.ini**
  4. If you need to re-install mcrypt you can do so with this command:apt-get —reinstall install php5-mcrypt
  5. Don’t forget to restart apache: sudo service apache2 restart

If for some reason you can’t find mcrypt.ini anywhere, you can create the file with the following text inside of it: ; configuration for php MCrypt module extension=mcrypt.so Consider also creating a symbolic link if you want to keep your settings in sync: ln -s **/etc/php5/conf.d/mcrypt.ini** **/etc/php5/apache2/conf.d/mcrypt.ini**

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Summary

This guide covered the common causes and solutions for this Ubuntu issue. If the problem persists, check the official documentation or system logs for additional diagnostic information.