How to Encrypt Computer Files
November 15, 2009 | In: Computers
I can’t believe how careless people are with their data nowadays. Last week, a friend used his flash drive to transfer files on my computer. As I was copying files, I accidentally included a couple of files which contained all of his financial information. Lucky for him I’m a friend but what if he accidentally lost the drive?
This is why encrypting data with sensitive information is critical. Remember those lost company laptops that contained critical corporate data? Shouldn’t be much of a problem if they were protected from nosy and prying eyes.
Anyway, for the past couple of years, I’m a sworn advocate of TrueCrypt - a free encryption software that gives your private data a great deal of protection through encryption. It has the capablity to create virtual encrypted drives as computer files and even encrypt entire partitions or storage device like flash drives and whole hard drives.
TrueCrypt has versions for Windows 7/Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux. Download it here.
One of my most-used feature is to create virtual encrypted disk. This as something similar to an ISO file (which is basically a complete copy of an optical disc) which you can “mount” using special software (like MagicDisc) for it to act like an actual optical disk.
The virtual encrypted disk will simply reside as a file in your computer but would act like a drive when mounted. All files that reside in this virtual disk are automatically encrypted. When you access them, Truecrypt provides real-time decryption using your computer’s memory so the decrypted data doesn’t get stored permanently elsewhere.
The cool thing about TrueCrypt is that it handles both the creation and mounting of vritual encrypted disk so it’s basically an all-in-one encryption software.
Here’s how to create a virtual encrypted disk using TrueCrypt in which you can safely store your private data.
How to Create an Virtual Encrypted Container Disk in TrueCrypt
1. Install TrueCrypt
2. Run TrueCrypt
3. Click Create Volume. This will launch the TrueCrypt Volume Creation Wizard.
4. Select “Create an encrypted file container” then click Next.
5. Select “Standard TrueCrypt volume” then click Next.
6. In the Volume Location screen, select the folder in which you’d want your container to be created and type in the container’s name. I usually use a generic name for my encypted disks to make them inconspicuous. Click Next to proceed.
7. In encryption options, select the type of encryptions you’d like to use. You can choose among a combination of encryption and hash algorithms. The screen gives you information about these algorithms. All of them work great so it’s just a matter of what combinations you’d like to use. Click Next to proceed.
8. Next, enter the size of your container. Click Next to proceed.
9. Now you’d be asked to enter a password for the volume. TrueCrypt recommends using a minimum of 20 characters. You can use a maximum of 64 characters for the password. A combination of upper and lowercase, alpha and numbers and punctuation marks is also advisable. The Next button will only become clickable if password fields match.
10. TrueCrypt will now create your virtual container disk. Click format and wait for it to finish.
11. Once done, a message box will appear telling you that the disk has been created successfully.
12. In the next screen, just click Exit to finish.
Now that you have created your volume, you need to mount it using TrueCrypt to use it.
How to Mount and Use an Virtual Encrypted Container Disk in TrueCrypt
1. Select a drive letter to be used for mounting the disk.
2. Select the file that you’ve created.
3. Click Mount. You will be prompted to enter your password. Click OK.
4. Once successfully mounted, you will see the disk in the list. You can simply double-click on the name of the volume to open it. A Windows Explorer window will pop up. It works just like any other drive. You can move, copy, and delete files and folder in it and they’re automatically encrypted.
5. Just click dismount when your done.
6. Exit TrueCrypt.
You can treat the virtual encrypted disk like any other file. You can move it, copy it, and even delete it knowing that the data contained inside are encrypted.
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