diff --git a/encfs/DirNode.cpp b/encfs/DirNode.cpp
index 908dded..7d08b77 100644
--- a/encfs/DirNode.cpp
+++ b/encfs/DirNode.cpp
@@ -275,25 +275,43 @@ string DirNode::rootDirectory() {
   return string(rootDir, 0, rootDir.length() - 1);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Encrypt a plain-text file path to the ciphertext path with the
+ * ciphertext root directory name prefixed.
+ *
+ * Example:
+ * $ encfs -f -v cipher plain
+ * $ cd plain
+ * $ touch foobar
+ * cipherPath: /foobar encoded to cipher/NKAKsn2APtmquuKPoF4QRPxS
+ */
 string DirNode::cipherPath(const char *plaintextPath) {
   return rootDir + naming->encodePath(plaintextPath);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Same as cipherPath(), but does not prefix the ciphertext root directory
+ */
 string DirNode::cipherPathWithoutRoot(const char *plaintextPath) {
   return naming->encodePath(plaintextPath);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Return the decrypted version of cipherPath
+ *
+ * In reverse mode, returns the encrypted version of cipherPath
+ */
 string DirNode::plainPath(const char *cipherPath_) {
   try {
-    if (!strncmp(cipherPath_, rootDir.c_str(), rootDir.length())) {
-      return naming->decodePath(cipherPath_ + rootDir.length());
-    }
-
     // Handle special absolute path encodings.
-    char mark = fsConfig->reverseEncryption ? '/' : '+';
+    char mark = '+';
+    string prefix = "/";
+    if (fsConfig->reverseEncryption) {
+      mark = '/';
+      prefix = "+";
+    }
     if (cipherPath_[0] == mark) {
-      return string(fsConfig->reverseEncryption ? "+" : "/") +
-             naming->decodeName(cipherPath_ + 1, strlen(cipherPath_ + 1));
+      return prefix + naming->decodeName(cipherPath_ + 1, strlen(cipherPath_ + 1));
     }
 
     // Default.
diff --git a/encfs/FSConfig.h b/encfs/FSConfig.h
index 4e82856..5cc8fe7 100644
--- a/encfs/FSConfig.h
+++ b/encfs/FSConfig.h
@@ -41,6 +41,9 @@ struct EncFS_Opts;
 class Cipher;
 class NameIO;
 
+/**
+ * Persistent configuration (stored in config file .encfs6.xml)
+ */
 struct EncFSConfig {
   ConfigType cfgType;
 
diff --git a/encfs/FileUtils.cpp b/encfs/FileUtils.cpp
index 1c563bf..ccfaf0b 100644
--- a/encfs/FileUtils.cpp
+++ b/encfs/FileUtils.cpp
@@ -967,7 +967,6 @@ RootPtr createV6Config(EncFS_Context *ctx, const shared_ptr<EncFS_Opts> &opts) {
   long desiredKDFDuration = NormalKDFDuration;
 
   if (reverseEncryption) {
-    uniqueIV = false;
     chainedIV = false;
     externalIV = false;
     blockMACBytes = 0;
@@ -976,7 +975,7 @@ RootPtr createV6Config(EncFS_Context *ctx, const shared_ptr<EncFS_Opts> &opts) {
 
   if (configMode == Config_Paranoia || answer[0] == 'p') {
     if (reverseEncryption) {
-      rError(_("Paranoia configuration not supported for --reverse"));
+      rError(_("Paranoia configuration not supported for reverse encryption"));
       return rootInfo;
     }
 
@@ -1011,7 +1010,7 @@ RootPtr createV6Config(EncFS_Context *ctx, const shared_ptr<EncFS_Opts> &opts) {
     uniqueIV = true;
 
     if (reverseEncryption) {
-      cout << _("--reverse specified, not using chained IV") << "\n";
+      cout << _("reverse encryption - chained IV disabled") << "\n";
     } else {
       chainedIV = true;
     }
@@ -1035,7 +1034,13 @@ RootPtr createV6Config(EncFS_Context *ctx, const shared_ptr<EncFS_Opts> &opts) {
     blockSize = selectBlockSize(alg);
     nameIOIface = selectNameCoding();
     if (reverseEncryption) {
-      cout << _("--reverse specified, not using unique/chained IV") << "\n";
+      cout << _("reverse encryption - chained IV and MAC disabled") << "\n";
+      uniqueIV = selectUniqueIV();
+      /* Reverse mounts are read-only by default (set in main.cpp).
+       * If uniqueIV is off, writing can be allowed, because there
+       * is no header that could be overwritten */
+      if (uniqueIV == false)
+        opts->readOnly = false;
     } else {
       chainedIV = selectChainedIV();
       uniqueIV = selectUniqueIV();
diff --git a/encfs/FileUtils.h b/encfs/FileUtils.h
index 85ae23b..0cedb14 100644
--- a/encfs/FileUtils.h
+++ b/encfs/FileUtils.h
@@ -58,6 +58,11 @@ typedef shared_ptr<EncFS_Root> RootPtr;
 
 enum ConfigMode { Config_Prompt, Config_Standard, Config_Paranoia };
 
+/**
+ * EncFS_Opts stores internal settings
+ *
+ * See struct EncFS_Args (main.cpp) for the parsed command line arguments
+ */
 struct EncFS_Opts {
   std::string rootDir;
   bool createIfNotFound;  // create filesystem if not found
@@ -81,6 +86,8 @@ struct EncFS_Opts {
                  * behind the back of EncFS (for example, in reverse mode).
                  * See main.cpp for a longer explaination. */
 
+  bool readOnly; // Mount read-only
+
   ConfigMode configMode;
 
   EncFS_Opts() {
@@ -96,6 +103,7 @@ struct EncFS_Opts {
     reverseEncryption = false;
     configMode = Config_Prompt;
     noCache = false;
+    readOnly = false;
   }
 };
 
diff --git a/encfs/encfs.cpp b/encfs/encfs.cpp
index 9ae1ce1..42beac4 100644
--- a/encfs/encfs.cpp
+++ b/encfs/encfs.cpp
@@ -70,6 +70,18 @@ static EncFS_Context *context() {
   return (EncFS_Context *)fuse_get_context()->private_data;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Helper function - determine if the filesystem is read-only
+ * Optionally takes a pointer to the EncFS_Context, will get it from FUSE
+ * if the argument is NULL.
+ */
+static bool isReadOnly(EncFS_Context *ctx) {
+  if (ctx == NULL)
+    ctx = (EncFS_Context *)fuse_get_context()->private_data;
+
+  return ctx->opts->readOnly;
+}
+
 // helper function -- apply a functor to a cipher path, given the plain path
 static int withCipherPath(const char *opName, const char *path,
                           function<int(EncFS_Context *, const string &)> op,
@@ -130,11 +142,10 @@ static int withFileNode(const char *opName, const char *path,
 }
 
 /*
-    The rLog messages below always print out encrypted filenames, not
+    The rLog messages below always prints out encrypted filenames, not
     plaintext.  The reason is so that it isn't possible to leak information
     about the encrypted data through rlog interfaces.
 
-
     The purpose of this layer of code is to take the FUSE request and dispatch
     to the internal interfaces.  Any marshaling of arguments and return types
     can be done here.
@@ -215,6 +226,8 @@ int encfs_getdir(const char *path, fuse_dirh_t h, fuse_dirfil_t filler) {
 int encfs_mknod(const char *path, mode_t mode, dev_t rdev) {
   EncFS_Context *ctx = context();
 
+  if (isReadOnly(ctx)) return -EROFS;
+
   int res = -EIO;
   shared_ptr<DirNode> FSRoot = ctx->getRoot(&res);
   if (!FSRoot) return res;
@@ -255,6 +268,8 @@ int encfs_mkdir(const char *path, mode_t mode) {
   fuse_context *fctx = fuse_get_context();
   EncFS_Context *ctx = context();
 
+  if (isReadOnly(ctx)) return -EROFS;
+
   int res = -EIO;
   shared_ptr<DirNode> FSRoot = ctx->getRoot(&res);
   if (!FSRoot) return res;
@@ -287,6 +302,8 @@ int encfs_mkdir(const char *path, mode_t mode) {
 int encfs_unlink(const char *path) {
   EncFS_Context *ctx = context();
 
+  if (isReadOnly(ctx)) return -EROFS;
+
   int res = -EIO;
   shared_ptr<DirNode> FSRoot = ctx->getRoot(&res);
   if (!FSRoot) return res;
@@ -307,6 +324,7 @@ int _do_rmdir(EncFS_Context *, const string &cipherPath) {
 }
 
 int encfs_rmdir(const char *path) {
+  if (isReadOnly(NULL)) return -EROFS;
   return withCipherPath("rmdir", path, bind(_do_rmdir, _1, _2));
 }
 
@@ -343,17 +361,22 @@ int encfs_readlink(const char *path, char *buf, size_t size) {
                         bind(_do_readlink, _1, _2, buf, size));
 }
 
-int encfs_symlink(const char *from, const char *to) {
+/**
+ * Create a symbolic link pointing to "to" named "from"
+ */
+int encfs_symlink(const char *to, const char *from) {
   EncFS_Context *ctx = context();
 
+  if (isReadOnly(ctx)) return -EROFS;
+
   int res = -EIO;
   shared_ptr<DirNode> FSRoot = ctx->getRoot(&res);
   if (!FSRoot) return res;
 
   try {
+    string fromCName = FSRoot->cipherPath(from);
     // allow fully qualified names in symbolic links.
-    string fromCName = FSRoot->relativeCipherPath(from);
-    string toCName = FSRoot->cipherPath(to);
+    string toCName = FSRoot->relativeCipherPath(to);
 
     rLog(Info, "symlink %s -> %s", fromCName.c_str(), toCName.c_str());
 
@@ -366,7 +389,7 @@ int encfs_symlink(const char *from, const char *to) {
       olduid = setfsuid(context->uid);
       oldgid = setfsgid(context->gid);
     }
-    res = ::symlink(fromCName.c_str(), toCName.c_str());
+    res = ::symlink(toCName.c_str(), fromCName.c_str());
     if (olduid >= 0) setfsuid(olduid);
     if (oldgid >= 0) setfsgid(oldgid);
 
@@ -384,6 +407,8 @@ int encfs_symlink(const char *from, const char *to) {
 int encfs_link(const char *from, const char *to) {
   EncFS_Context *ctx = context();
 
+  if (isReadOnly(ctx)) return -EROFS;
+
   int res = -EIO;
   shared_ptr<DirNode> FSRoot = ctx->getRoot(&res);
   if (!FSRoot) return res;
@@ -400,6 +425,8 @@ int encfs_link(const char *from, const char *to) {
 int encfs_rename(const char *from, const char *to) {
   EncFS_Context *ctx = context();
 
+  if (isReadOnly(ctx)) return -EROFS;
+
   int res = -EIO;
   shared_ptr<DirNode> FSRoot = ctx->getRoot(&res);
   if (!FSRoot) return res;
@@ -418,6 +445,7 @@ int _do_chmod(EncFS_Context *, const string &cipherPath, mode_t mode) {
 }
 
 int encfs_chmod(const char *path, mode_t mode) {
+  if (isReadOnly(NULL)) return -EROFS;
   return withCipherPath("chmod", path, bind(_do_chmod, _1, _2, mode));
 }
 
@@ -427,16 +455,19 @@ int _do_chown(EncFS_Context *, const string &cyName, uid_t u, gid_t g) {
 }
 
 int encfs_chown(const char *path, uid_t uid, gid_t gid) {
+  if (isReadOnly(NULL)) return -EROFS;
   return withCipherPath("chown", path, bind(_do_chown, _1, _2, uid, gid));
 }
 
 int _do_truncate(FileNode *fnode, off_t size) { return fnode->truncate(size); }
 
 int encfs_truncate(const char *path, off_t size) {
+  if (isReadOnly(NULL)) return -EROFS;
   return withFileNode("truncate", path, NULL, bind(_do_truncate, _1, size));
 }
 
 int encfs_ftruncate(const char *path, off_t size, struct fuse_file_info *fi) {
+  if (isReadOnly(NULL)) return -EROFS;
   return withFileNode("ftruncate", path, fi, bind(_do_truncate, _1, size));
 }
 
@@ -446,6 +477,7 @@ int _do_utime(EncFS_Context *, const string &cyName, struct utimbuf *buf) {
 }
 
 int encfs_utime(const char *path, struct utimbuf *buf) {
+  if (isReadOnly(NULL)) return -EROFS;
   return withCipherPath("utime", path, bind(_do_utime, _1, _2, buf));
 }
 
@@ -462,12 +494,16 @@ int _do_utimens(EncFS_Context *, const string &cyName,
 }
 
 int encfs_utimens(const char *path, const struct timespec ts[2]) {
+  if (isReadOnly(NULL)) return -EROFS;
   return withCipherPath("utimens", path, bind(_do_utimens, _1, _2, ts));
 }
 
 int encfs_open(const char *path, struct fuse_file_info *file) {
   EncFS_Context *ctx = context();
 
+  if (isReadOnly(ctx) && (file->flags & O_WRONLY || file->flags & O_RDWR))
+    return -EROFS;
+
   int res = -EIO;
   shared_ptr<DirNode> FSRoot = ctx->getRoot(&res);
   if (!FSRoot) return res;
@@ -508,6 +544,7 @@ int _do_flush(FileNode *fnode) {
   return res;
 }
 
+// Called on each close() of a file descriptor
 int encfs_flush(const char *path, struct fuse_file_info *fi) {
   return withFileNode("flush", path, fi, bind(_do_flush, _1));
 }
@@ -545,6 +582,7 @@ int _do_fsync(FileNode *fnode, int dataSync) {
 }
 
 int encfs_fsync(const char *path, int dataSync, struct fuse_file_info *file) {
+  if (isReadOnly(NULL)) return -EROFS;
   return withFileNode("fsync", path, file, bind(_do_fsync, _1, dataSync));
 }
 
@@ -557,6 +595,7 @@ int _do_write(FileNode *fnode, unsigned char *ptr, size_t size, off_t offset) {
 
 int encfs_write(const char *path, const char *buf, size_t size, off_t offset,
                 struct fuse_file_info *file) {
+  if (isReadOnly(NULL)) return -EROFS;
   return withFileNode("write", path, file,
                       bind(_do_write, _1, (unsigned char *)buf, size, offset));
 }
@@ -595,6 +634,7 @@ int _do_setxattr(EncFS_Context *, const string &cyName, const char *name,
 }
 int encfs_setxattr(const char *path, const char *name, const char *value,
                    size_t size, int flags, uint32_t position) {
+  if (isReadOnly(NULL)) return -EROFS;
   (void)flags;
   return withCipherPath("setxattr", path, bind(_do_setxattr, _1, _2, name,
                                                value, size, position));
@@ -606,6 +646,7 @@ int _do_setxattr(EncFS_Context *, const string &cyName, const char *name,
 }
 int encfs_setxattr(const char *path, const char *name, const char *value,
                    size_t size, int flags) {
+  if (isReadOnly(NULL)) return -EROFS;
   return withCipherPath("setxattr", path,
                         bind(_do_setxattr, _1, _2, name, value, size, flags));
 }
@@ -663,6 +704,8 @@ int _do_removexattr(EncFS_Context *, const string &cyName, const char *name) {
 }
 
 int encfs_removexattr(const char *path, const char *name) {
+  if (isReadOnly(NULL)) return -EROFS;
+
   return withCipherPath("removexattr", path,
                         bind(_do_removexattr, _1, _2, name));
 }
diff --git a/encfs/main.cpp b/encfs/main.cpp
index 1af861a..728517f 100644
--- a/encfs/main.cpp
+++ b/encfs/main.cpp
@@ -65,6 +65,12 @@ using gnu::autosprintf;
 // Maximum number of arguments that we're going to pass on to fuse.  Doesn't
 // affect how many arguments we can handle, just how many we can pass on..
 const int MaxFuseArgs = 32;
+/**
+ * EncFS_Args stores the parsed command-line arguments
+ *
+ * See also: struct EncFS_Opts (FileUtils.h), stores internal settings that are
+ * derived from the arguments
+ */
 struct EncFS_Args {
   string mountPoint;  // where to make filesystem visible
   bool isDaemon;      // true == spawn in background, log to syslog
@@ -273,20 +279,23 @@ static bool processArgs(int argc, char *argv[],
       case 'D':
         out->opts->forceDecode = true;
         break;
-      /* By default, the kernel caches file metadata for one second.
-       * This is fine for EncFS' normal mode, but for --reverse, this
-       * means that the encrypted view will be up to one second out of
-       * date.
-       * Quoting Goswin von Brederlow:
-       * "Caching only works correctly if you implement a disk based
-       * filesystem, one where only the fuse process can alter
-       * metadata and all access goes only through fuse. Any overlay
-       * filesystem where something can change the underlying
-       * filesystem without going through fuse can run into
-       * inconsistencies."
-       * Enabling reverse automatically enables noCache. */
       case 'r':
         out->opts->reverseEncryption = true;
+        /* Reverse encryption does not support writing unless uniqueIV
+         * is disabled (expert mode) */
+        out->opts->readOnly = true;
+        /* By default, the kernel caches file metadata for one second.
+         * This is fine for EncFS' normal mode, but for --reverse, this
+         * means that the encrypted view will be up to one second out of
+         * date.
+         * Quoting Goswin von Brederlow:
+         * "Caching only works correctly if you implement a disk based
+         * filesystem, one where only the fuse process can alter
+         * metadata and all access goes only through fuse. Any overlay
+         * filesystem where something can change the underlying
+         * filesystem without going through fuse can run into
+         * inconsistencies."
+         * Enabling reverse automatically enables noCache */
       case 514:
         /* Disable EncFS block cache
          * Causes reverse grow tests to fail because short reads
diff --git a/tests/common.inc b/tests/common.inc
index 9effbd2..d997114 100644
--- a/tests/common.inc
+++ b/tests/common.inc
@@ -72,5 +72,26 @@ sub waitForFile
 	return 0;
 }
 
+# writeZeroes($filename, $size)
+# Write zeroes of size $size to file $filename
+sub writeZeroes
+{
+        my $filename = shift;
+        my $size = shift;
+        open(my $fh, ">", $filename);
+        my $bs = 4096; # 4 KiB
+        my $block = "\0" x $bs;
+        my $remain;
+        for($remain = $size; $remain >= $bs; $remain -= $bs)
+        {
+                print($fh $block) or BAIL_OUT("Could not write to $filename: $!");
+        }
+        if($remain > 0)
+        {
+                $block = "\0" x $remain;
+                print($fh $block) or BAIL_OUT("Could not write to $filename: $!");
+        }
+}
+
 # As this file will be require()'d, it needs to return true
 return 1;
diff --git a/tests/normal.pl b/tests/normal.pl
index 2badb01..572ef03 100644
--- a/tests/normal.pl
+++ b/tests/normal.pl
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 # Test EncFS normal and paranoid mode
 
-use Test::More qw( no_plan );
+use Test::More tests => 101;
 use File::Path;
 use File::Copy;
 use File::Temp;
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ sub corruption
 sub internalModification
 {
     $ofile = "$workingDir/crypt-internal-$$";
-    qx(dd if=/dev/urandom of=$ofile bs=2k count=2 2> /dev/null);
+    writeZeroes($ofile, 2*1024);
     ok(copy($ofile, "$crypt/internal"), "copying crypt-internal file");
 
     open(my $out1, "+<", "$crypt/internal");
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ sub links
     is( readlink("$crypt/data-rel"), "data", "read rel symlink");
 
     SKIP: {
-        skip "No hardlink support" unless $hardlinkTests;
+        skip "No hardlink support", 2 unless $hardlinkTests;
 
         ok( link("$crypt/data", "$crypt/data.2"), "hard link");
         checkContents("$crypt/data.2", $contents, "hardlink read");
@@ -306,6 +306,7 @@ sub mount
     mkdir($raw) || BAIL_OUT("Could not create $raw: $!");
     mkdir($crypt)  || BAIL_OUT("Could not create $crypt: $!");
 
+    delete $ENV{"ENCFS6_CONFIG"};
     qx(./encfs/encfs --extpass="echo test" $args $raw $crypt);
 
     ok( -f "$raw/.encfs6.xml",  "created control file");
diff --git a/tests/reverse.pl b/tests/reverse.pl
index cc3f3af..2c073e8 100755
--- a/tests/reverse.pl
+++ b/tests/reverse.pl
@@ -3,10 +3,11 @@
 # Test EncFS --reverse mode
 
 use warnings;
-use Test::More qw( no_plan );
+use Test::More tests => 26;
 use File::Path;
 use File::Temp;
 use IO::Handle;
+use Errno qw(EROFS);
 
 require("tests/common.inc");
 
@@ -44,6 +45,7 @@ sub cleanup
 # Directory structure: plain -[encrypt]-> ciphertext -[decrypt]-> decrypted
 sub mount
 {
+    delete $ENV{"ENCFS6_CONFIG"};
     system("./encfs/encfs --extpass=\"echo test\" --standard $plain $ciphertext --reverse");
     ok(waitForFile("$plain/.encfs6.xml"), "plain .encfs6.xml exists") or BAIL_OUT("'$plain/.encfs6.xml'");
     my $e = encName(".encfs6.xml");
@@ -68,7 +70,6 @@ sub copy_test
 {
     ok(system("cp -a encfs $plain")==0, "copying files to plain");
     ok(system("diff -r -q $plain $decrypted")==0, "decrypted files are identical");
-
     ok(-f "$plain/encfs/encfs.cpp", "file exists");
     unlink("$plain/encfs/encfs.cpp");
     ok(! -f "$decrypted/encfs.cpp", "file deleted");
@@ -78,9 +79,11 @@ sub copy_test
 # Parameter: symlink target
 sub symlink_test
 {
-    my $target = shift(@_);
+    my $target = shift;
     symlink($target, "$plain/symlink");
-    ok( readlink("$decrypted/symlink") eq "$target", "symlink to '$target'");
+    $dec = readlink("$decrypted/symlink");
+    ok( $dec eq $target, "symlink to '$target'") or
+        print("# (original) $target' != '$dec' (decrypted)\n");
     unlink("$plain/symlink");
 }
 
@@ -129,7 +132,7 @@ sub grow {
 }
 
 sub largeRead {
-    system("dd if=/dev/zero of=$plain/largeRead bs=1M count=1 2> /dev/null");
+    writeZeroes("$plain/largeRead", 1024*1024);
     # ciphertext file name
     my $cname = encName("largeRead");
     # cfh ... ciphertext file handle
@@ -137,6 +140,32 @@ sub largeRead {
     ok(sizeVerify($cfh, 1024*1024+8), "1M file size");
 }
 
+# Check that the reverse mount is read-only
+# (writing is not supported in reverse mode because of the added
+#  complexity and the marginal use case)
+sub writesDenied {
+    $fn = "$plain/writesDenied";
+    writeZeroes($fn, 1024);
+    my $efn = $ciphertext . "/" . encName("writesDenied");
+    open(my $fh, ">", $efn);
+    if( ok( $! == EROFS, "open for write denied, EROFS")) {
+        ok( 1, "writing denied, filehandle not open");
+    }
+    else {
+        print($fh "foo");
+        ok( $! == EROFS, "writing denied, EROFS");
+    }
+    $target = $ciphertext . "/" . encName("writesDenied2");
+    rename($efn, $target);
+    ok( $! == EROFS, "rename denied, EROFS") or die();
+    unlink($efn);
+    ok( $! == EROFS, "unlink denied, EROFS");
+    utime(undef, undef, $efn) ;
+    ok( $! == EROFS, "touch denied, EROFS");
+    truncate($efn, 10);
+    ok( $! == EROFS, "truncate denied, EROFS");
+}
+
 # Setup mounts
 newWorkingDir();
 mount();
@@ -149,6 +178,8 @@ symlink_test("/"); # absolute
 symlink_test("foo"); # relative
 symlink_test("/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/15/17/18"); # long
 symlink_test("!§\$%&/()\\<>#+="); # special characters
+symlink_test("$plain/foo");
+writesDenied();
 
 # Umount and delete files
 cleanup();