When you wish you had it, its too late

TrueCrypt - Free Open-Source Disk Encryption Software

http://www.truecrypt.org/


You might ask me what do I have that is so important. Sometimes its a matter of security and sometimes its a matter of privacy. Let's forget for a minute that anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. I'm sure most of you think you can't be that guy. So how many of you have been divorced? So how about those Hollywood stars home video. I'm sure none of you have ever done that. Maybe you have a MP3 collection you want to safeguard on one of these free backup services but they don't allow you to store copyright content. Maybe you would like to be able to share your PC with your nosy brother-in-law but are concerned about your financial records.

Maybe the nerd herd needs to restore data from that lost hard drive that you can no longer access. In my case I was horrified to know I lost my USB key with my rampart-ssh source code and 4 other future products.

Life is simple until it gets complicated. Like data backup, securing you data can be just as important.



I don't recommend using Microsoft's encryption for 2 reason.

1.) Its not truly secure. If you think Microsoft doesn't have a back door then you likely think Paris Hilton is a virgin.

2.) When things go bad they go real bad. Your data is tied to your user. When your user account gets attacked your data goes bye bye. This can be restored by having a disk sitting around that is like leaving your house key in the door when you lock it.

So how do you get started.

1.) Download the program
2.) Start encrypting what you don't want prying eyes to see.

In a future post I will talk about these password storage applications and why they don't work and how they can do more harm than good. I will then recommend applications that are secure.

I will also post a few methods to generate strong passwords that you will never forget.

















Main Features:

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.