Encrypting a Pen Drive Using TrueCrypt

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Last modified 07/02/2012

Encrypting a Pen Drive Using TrueCrypt This document details the steps to encrypt a USB Pen drive using TrueCrypt. TrueCrypt is free and open-source

security software allowing encryption of documents and data files using various secure industry standard encryption

algorithms combined with a user-chosen password.

Prerequisites A USB drive:-

Whilst it is possible to make use of a USB Drive containing existing data we recommend that you start with a freshly

formatted Drive containing no data. Formatting with the ‘FAT32’ file system will allow an encrypted folder of up to 4 GB

in size.

Please refer to ISD Helpdesk if you require any help formatting the Pen Drive or require an encrypted folder > 4GB

A computer running Windows 2000, XP, Vista or Windows 7

TrueCrypt 6.3a installed on your PC – if not already installed, please contact the ISD Helpdesk to request an install.

Setting up your USB Pen Drive for the

first time

1. Initial setup of TrueCrypt will require you to create

a TrueCrypt Volume on your Pen Drive.

2. Open TrueCrypt from the Programs Menu.

3.

Click [Create Volume]

4. The Volume Creation Wizard will start. Select

Create an encrypted file container and click [Next]

5. Select Standard TrueCrypt volume and click [Next]

6. Click [Select File] and browse to your USB Drive





7. Enter the name (do not call it TrueCrypt) you want

to use for the Volume (encrypted file container)

and click [Save]. The example below creates a

container called ‘Encrypted’

8. Ensure the Never save history checkbox is ticked

and click [Next]

9. Select the Encryption Algorithm (the default of

AES is fine) and click [Next]

10. Specify the size of the encrypted Volume you want

to create in MB and click [Next]. When setting the

size bear in mind the total number and anticipated

size of the documents you’ll want it to store in it as

it cannot be increased later. Also, consider leaving

free space on the pen drive to allow setup of

Traveler Mode (if required) and for any

requirement to store unencrypted data.

11. At this point you need to enter a password for the

Volume. You’ll need to enter it twice and if it is

less than 20 characters, you’ll get a message

advising that you are using a weak password.

We recommend use of a strong password with a

minimum length of 8 characters that utilises a

mixture of upper and lowercase letters, numbers

and symbols.

Remember that despite the encryption, the

security of the encrypted container relies upon the

strength of the password you set at this point.

Warning: There is NO password recovery for

TrueCrypt. If your password is forgotten/lost it will

NOT be possible to access the encrypted file

container!

Set the password for the encrypted volume and

click [Next].





12. Move your mouse randomly for several seconds

to increase the cryptographic strength of the

encryption keys and then click [Format]. Note that

at this point the Volume will be created and time

taken will depend upon the container size you set.

13. The following screen appears during the

formatting process:

14. Once formatting is completed, click [OK]

15. Once creation of the Volume completes, click

[Exit]

16. Your TrueCrypt Volume (encrypted file container)is ready for use.

Using a TrueCrypt Volume

17. Start TrueCrypt, and click [Select File]

18. Browse to your USB drive, select the Volume and

then click [Open]

19. You’ll now need to click once on a drive letter to

allow the Volume to be mounted. Note that only

available driver letters are displayed so just select

a letter and remember which one you’ve chosen

as that’s how you’ll access your files from

Windows Explorer and your Applications.

20. Once you’ve selected a letter click [Mount]





21. You will be prompted for your password for the

Volume. Enter the password and click [OK]

22. You can now access and use the TrueCrypt

Volume from Windows Explorer and from within

your Applications to open, copy, paste and save

documents as you would with any of your other

drives (e.g. such as your H: drive).

The screen shot below, shows a windows explorer

view of the drive letters available on the PC used

to create this guide.

Note that in this case, the Volume was mounted to

drive I:

23. Once you’ve finished working with your encrypted

files you need to dismount the Volume. To do

this:-

a. Right-click on the TrueCrypt icon next to

the clock in the bottom right of the

Desktop. In Windows XP it should be

accessible via the System Tray. In

Windows 7 it should be accessible via the

Notification Area and then select

Dismount All Mounted Volumes.

b. Before physically removing the USB Pen

Drive you should follow the processes

detailed below for both Windows XP and

Windows 7 to ensure you safely remove

the USB Pen Drive:-

i. In Windows 7, look for the

‘Safely Remove Hardware and

Eject Media’ icon in the

Notification Area

Click the icon and you'll see a list

of devices. Click the entry for

your USB Pen Drive. Windows

will display a notification telling

you when it's safe to remove the

device and you can then

physically unplug it.





ii. In Windows XP look for the

‘Safely Remove hardware’ icon in

the System Tray

Right-Click the icon and select ‘Safely Remove Hardware’.

The ‘Safely Remove Hardware’ window should appear.

Tick ‘Display Device Components’ and then select the USB

Pen Drive entry and click [Stop]. A confirmation box

appears; check that it shows the correct device and if so

click [OK]

Windows will display a notification telling you when it's

safe to remove the device and you can then physically

unplug it.

TrueCrypt Traveller (Portable Mode)

Configuring your USB Pen Drive in Traveler/Portable mode

will allow you to access a TrueCrypt Volume on PCs that do

not have TrueCrypt locally installed. What this means is

that a copy of the TrueCrypt executable is placed in an

unencrypted section of the USB Pen Drive and run directly

from there.

Note that Traveler mode functionality requires‘administrator rights’ on the PC as the TrueCrypt

application needs to install driver files to the PC. It is not

standard ISD policy to grant ‘administrative rights’ to

CardiffMet PCs as this raises security issues related to the

integrity of the Operating System and concerns regarding

potential attack windows, spread and impact of security

threats, viruses and general malware.

As a result whilst Traveler mode can be setup on the USB

Pen Drive using a CardiffMet PC, it is not possible to run the

TrueCrypt application in Traveler mode. This is easily

addressed with CardiffMet PCs by requesting thatTrueCrypt be installed to the PC if it is not already available.

The steps for setting up and running TrueCrypt in Traveler

mode are detailed below.

24. Within TrueCrypt select Tools Menu > Traveler

Disk Setup

25. Click [Browse] and select the drive letter

corresponding to your USB Pen Drive, then click

[OK]. In the example, the Pen Drive being used is a

Kingston Drive mounted at F:





26. Click [Create] and the required files are copied to

the USB Pen Drive

27. Once completed and acknowledgement message

appears which also points out the ‘administrator

rights’ issue. Click [OK]

28. Click [Close]

29. Traveler Mode is now complete and if you check

the Pen Drive in Windows Explorer you will find a

folder named TrueCrypt containing the files

required to run Traveler Mode.

Running TrueCrypt in Traveller Mode

30. To run in Traveler Mode, plug-in your USB Pen

Drive and use Windows Explorer to browse to the

folder on it named TrueCrypt

31. Open the TrueCrypt folder and then double-click

the file named TrueCrypt.exe

32. The TrueCrypt Application will open as normal and

you then use it as per the instructions contained in

the ‘Using a TrueCrypt Volume’ section of this

guide.

Further Information

For further information, please see the ‘User

Guide’ accessible from the Help Menu in the

TrueCrypt application. You can also visit the

TrueCrypt Website at http://www.truecrypt.org

http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/




Documents

Encrypting a Pen Drive Using TrueCrypt