> How can you create an encrypted partition to your hard drive?

Download and install Truecrypt, and follow the encrypted partition wizard.

> And if you go that route, is it possible to re size that partition?

Not safely, no.

> What if you forget your password?

Then you can't access your data. That's the whole point of encryption.

> Whats a password file?

A file you can use instead of a password. Essentially, Truecrypt uses the first 1024 kilobytes of the file as a password. You point Truecrypt at the file to decrypt. You can also use a keyfile in combination with a password.

SEMW

How can you create an encrypted partition to your hard drive? And if you go that route, is it possible to re size that partition? What if you forget your password? Whats a password file?

Diego

@flash2004: Ironically, I'm viewing your comment and seeing the problem that you're seeing on SEMW's comment. And yes, Truecrypt is an amazing tool. I use it on one of my thumbdrives.

The only problem I see with this tool is that when some people are confronted with what encryption to use, they won't know what to choose, and may choose one just because it sounds cool (Serpent... oooh!).

interficio

BTW.. Truecrypt is a great tool.
This is a perfect example of how open source products can be better than their closed-source competitors ;-)

flash2004

Sometimes in Firefox 2 (or even 3) , LH pages dont render properly.
I wonder what the problem is ?
It renders correctly in IE though...
See screenshot : [img363.imageshack.us]

flash2004

Awesome! Now it's possible to create hidden volumes in Mac/Linux (This feature was only for Windows in Truecrypt 5.1).

Also, the performance boost with multi-core CPUs is really noticeable!

Thumbs up TrueCrypt!

FortySixAndTwo

@interficio :
Yeah.. that's quite ironic (infact I removed the word ironic from my comment at the last moment, so that I dont sound like a firefox fanboy ;-))

BTW.. any encryption greater than or equal to 256 should be fine people like us who need to protect data from mere mortals.
(I guess US DOD has the artillery to break through any encryption by now.. even if it doesn't have a backdoor)

flash2004

I really should look into this stuff, not least when it's flippin' free; and judging by the stories I keep hearing on the news about M.O.D. officials leaving laptops on trains... perhaps I should forward the link!

L.Rawlins

@flash2004: Actually, if you choose an rather strong password and use the best encryption possible, it would probably be an extremely hard challenge for the DoD.
Serpent is stronger than Rijndael (AES), I believe, but Rijndael was chosen because it had the best strength/speed ratio.

interficio

@interficio: I dunno, does it really matter for Joe Blow? I suppose if you were in actual danger of being hunted down by the DoD, you'd probably know the benefits and drawbacks of each method.

I'm using the previous version of TrueCrypt and I ♥ it. I encrypt my personal files before they're uploaded to Mozy. The best part is being able to name your volumes with any file extension -- no one knows that .ini file is actually all my financial data! Muwhahahaha!

Oh wait...

OX4

@interficio: And note that TrueCrypt makes you use a password at least 20 characters in length, which should be sufficiently long to keep the NSA out.

SeanOHara

What is a keyfile, and how can you use it in combination with a password?

Diego

Yes, they have a back-door: If they want my data, they'll probably declare me an enemy combatant and hold me until I tell them the password, and then they'll threaten to waterboard me unless I tell them the alternate password to the hidden partition. I am the weakest link in any encryption scheme, if my opponent has power over me or my family.

Not that the DoD would find my very ordinary Quicken data interesting...

kleinfelter

@kleinfelter: Given the unlikely hood of you being declared an enemy combatant, there is a "Plausible Deniability" feature to the program. [www.truecrypt.org]

It pretty much hides the fact that there is an encrypted file on the computer.

Git Em SteveDave seeks Lego build buddy. How about you?

Awesome! Truecrypt is one of my favorite programs. I store all my research data on a encrypted 160GB drive, and Truecrypt has never let me down.

Off to download the new version!

Neel_Relaxation

my favorite program that really isn't actually there

0zSpitt

They sure are generous with their version numbers.

Ortzinator

@Diego: See TrueCrypt's documentation at [www.truecrypt.org] Probably way more information than you need. Basically you need both the file and your password to open the encrypted volume.

OX4

On OS X what's the benefit of using a tool like TrueCrypt over creating an encrypted disk volume via Disk Utility?

jimcro

@flash2004:I've noticed that too occasionally

@jimcro: It's crossplatform so you can use the same encrypted container in OS X and Windows and Linux.

johnsmith1234

If you're on Linux and in the market for encryption software, go window shopping at Planet LUKS. Once you've formatted an external USB drive with LUKS and put a filesystem on it, your desktop will automatically prompt you for the passphrase whenever you connect the drive to a Linux computer. Then the encryption works seamlessly. You can also read/write LUKS volumes in Windows using FreeOTFE if you have to. I wouldn't recommend it over Truecrypt in all cases, but it's worth looking at.

nighttimestereo

@OX4: of course, a 2gig ini file doesnt draw attention...

caedus

I use truecrypt, and have for a while. Before that, I used PGP Desktop, but truecrypt has the added advantage of being free! And the hidden partition is just GeekCool for those of us that don't routinely store the nuclear launch codes for the US DoD. Of course, the problem with storing keyfiles and encrypted files as innocuous looking files on your computer means that you have to remember not only the password(s), you need to remember if you stored it as Some_movie.avi or Not_my_porn.zip, and if that hash file was actually the hash for the linux distro you downloaded, or a keyfile for your Uber Secret Filez.

...spoken by the man that accidentally deleted the keyfile for his 5gb encrypted file.

shockwaver

@Diego:

Awesome! Great news for multiplatform installations like ours.

Now, does anyone know of a way to mount a drive on a remote host (e.g. WebDAV on Dreamhost) where

(a) files are encrypted
(b) folder structures are maintained
(c) access is transparent (e.g. once we enter password or keyfile we don't have to decrypt each file - as in zip files)
(d) without creating a fixed size container?

Sparseimage files would be fine. Just trying to avoid creating a 100GB container on Dreamhost.

Some of the new services like Dropbox/Syncplicity/etc sort of do this, but would be happier managing our own encryption. Plus we already use Dreamhost.

jrs

This is a great step forward for multiplatform users.

Now, does anyone know of a way to read/write encrypted files to a remote hosted system (e.g. via WebDAV on Dreamhost) without having to create a 20-50GB 'container?

We also want the files and folder structure to be transparently accessible when viewed from the owner's Mac/PC, without having to manually encrypt/decrypt every file (e.g zip files), while being encrypted garbage for anyone else looking at the hosted files.

Some of the new sync platforms (e.g. Dropbox, Syncplicity) seem to be doing most of this, but we already have Dreamhost accounts with extra space. And would be happier managing our own encryption rather than relying on 3rd parties.

Something simple may be out there... I just haven't been able to dig it up yet.

jrs

I've never used encryption software and I want to give this application a try. The only thing that concerns me is that when I was installing it, it asked me to disable windows paging file. Is that safe? Is this only for installation or permanently disables it? And if I don't disable the paging file will the software be as effective? I guess I better post this in their forums right? Ok.

rony_o

I had no idea I was still using V4.3a with no issues.

SpecialEdge

wow. I had no idea I was still using V4.3a without any issues. :)

SpecialEdge