Secure data encryption: Truecrypt 4.3a

Truecrypt 4.3a
http://www.truecrypt.org/

Want to lock down that USB drive that you might (if you're me, you will) lose? Need to lock down some files or folders on a PC that you share with your roommate or spouse?

Protect it with an encrypted volume with TrueCrypt, the BEST free encryption utility out there.

Here are the list of features from the TrueCrypt Web-site:

• Creates a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mounts it as a real disk.
  
  
• Encrypts an entire hard disk partition or a storage device such as USB flash drive.
  
  
• Encryption is automatic, real-time (on-the-fly) and transparent.
  
  
• Provides two levels of plausible deniability, in case an adversary forces you to reveal the password:
  
  1) Hidden volume (steganography – more information may be found here).
  
  2) No TrueCrypt volume can be identified (volumes cannot be distinguished from random data).
  
  
• Encryption algorithms: AES-256, Serpent, and Twofish. Mode of operation: LRW.

I decided to use TrueCrypt because I am ALWAYS losing my USB drive and I figured I'd better secure my data on it...I have some things like product keys for my MSDN license which I do not want to get into anyone else's hands - so, I needed a way to easily protect it, but not sacrifice the ease of accessing it.

There are basically two different ways to use TrueCrypt:

1. Create a file with a pre-determined size in mind. This file becomes an encrypted vault.
2. Encrypt an entire drive volume

If you encrypt an entire volume, you will lose any existing data on the volume prior to encryption, so be aware!

I opted for the encrypted file vault - everything else on my flash drive is free software, so I don't mind if it gets lost. In either case, you must use TrueCrypt to mount the volume (just accessing the F: drive after you plug in your USB drive won't cut it)!

Mounting an encrypted flash drive (above)

Creating the volume was a cinch - you need to decide what encryption and hash algorithm you want to use (the hash is to help randomize the header key). Don't worry, usually the default options are sufficient for most people.

So, I created a 200Mb encrypted file on my 2Gb flash drive. I figured this was sufficient enough to store my important documents...

Next, to access my new vault, I just need to mount it (similar process as to mounting an encrypted device) to a drive letter. After that, saving a file in the encrypted volume is nothing different than saving it to any other location.

A quick note re: mounting TrueCrypt containers on removable media:

Q: Can I unplug or turn off a hot-plug device (for example, a USB flash drive or USB hard drive) when there is a mounted TrueCrypt volume on it?

A: Before you unplug or turn off the device, you should always dismount the TrueCrypt volume in TrueCrypt first, and then perform the 'Eject' operation if available (right-click the device in the 'Computer' or 'My Computer' list), or use the 'Safely Remove Hardware' function (built in Windows, accessible via the taskbar notification area). Otherwise, data loss may occur.

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