password protect documents? and memory usb sticks....

postingalwaysposting

i have my msn conversations saved in my documents and i need to keep them :rolleyes: i cant print them as it will cost to much in ink... i was wondering if i should buy a usb memory stick to save them to that (but i dont know how i can do that)... in the mean time can i put a password onto those documents this com is secure but my sister comes and uses it and my brother 'fixes/checks' it regularry (because i seem to have a habit of breaking it) and i dont want them coming across and then reading very personal conversations :rolleyes: any ideas? thanks

wolfman

http://www.truecrypt.org/

It can be used portably too (ie on a usb key), which is what I currently use it for.

You basically created an encrypted file. TrueCrypt mounts this file as a drive in Windows and you can access the files within it. When you're finished just unmount the drive.

It's completely free. Great app.

postingalwaysposting

wolfman wrote:

http://www.truecrypt.org/

It can be used portably too (ie on a usb key), which is what I currently use it for.

You basically created an encrypted file. TrueCrypt mounts this file as a drive in Windows and you can access the files within it. When you're finished just unmount the drive.

It's completely free. Great app.

hiya wolfman, if it encryptes it how can i see it though :rolleyes: confussed not very techie minded

and the bold but flew over my head :rotfl: you should have left this one alone :rotfl:

espresso

postingalwaysposting wrote:

hiya wolfman, if it encryptes it how can i see it though :rolleyes: confussed not very techie minded

and the bold but flew over my head :rotfl: you should have left this one alone :rotfl:

You asked how you could password protect (encrypt) your files and this program will do that for you! Why don't you simply experiment with an unimportant test file?

:rolleyes:

postingalwaysposting

espresso wrote:

You asked how you could password protect (encrypt) your files and this program will do that for you! Why don't you simply experiment with an unimportant test file?

:rolleyes:

password protect to me, is having to enter a password (like you do for emails) to read them, i know nothing of encrypting...

wolfman

postingalwaysposting wrote:

hiya wolfman, if it encryptes it how can i see it though :rolleyes: confussed not very techie minded

and the bold but flew over my head :rotfl: you should have left this one alone :rotfl:

TrueCrypt encrypts the file to protect it, then when you want to view it, it decrypts the file. You have to enter in the correct password for this to happen though.

TrueCrypt creates an encrypted file on your computer. All of your conversations will sit inside this file which is encrypted. When you want to view them, you open up TrueCrypt, show it where the encrytped file is, enter the password. TrueCrypt will then "mount" this encrypted file as if it were another hard drive.

So you could for example mount it as G:\ . You then just need to go into My Computer, onto the G:\ drive and you'll be able to see all of your files. When you're finished, you just tell TrueCrpyt to "unmount" the encrypted file, and the G:\ drive will disappear.

espresso

postingalwaysposting wrote:

password protect to me, is having to enter a password (like you do for emails) to read them, i know nothing of encrypting...

You don't need to know anything about encrypting! The file will remain unreadable (encrypted) until the correct password is entered.

postingalwaysposting

wolfman wrote:

TrueCrypt encrypts the file to protect it, then when you want to view it, it decrypts the file. You have to enter in the correct password for this to happen though.

TrueCrypt creates an encrypted file on your computer. All of your conversations will sit inside this file which is encrypted. When you want to view them, you open up TrueCrypt, show it where the encrytped file is, enter the password. TrueCrypt will then "mount" this encrypted file as if it were another hard drive.

So you could for example mount it as G:\ . You then just need to go into My Computer, onto the G:\ drive and you'll be able to see all of your files. When you're finished, you just tell TrueCrpyt to "unmount" the encrypted file, and the G:\ drive will disappear.

right i have done it chose g:\ but now its asking for a encryption algorithm this is a test one btw

wolfman

Have a look here. A good guide with screenshots:
http://freeandsafe.blogspot.com/

AES or Blowfish should be fine for you.

postingalwaysposting

wolfman wrote:

Have a look here. A good guide with screenshots:
http://freeandsafe.blogspot.com/

AES or Blowfish should be fine for you.

wolf i have done that and had a play and i have 'encrypted' a word document but i cant get it back and when i click the document in 'my documents' nothing happens

also when i get my usb stick can i just transfer them onto it without encrypting it?

wolfman

Did you follow the steps in the blog I posted?

To get it back, go to the TrueCrypt install directory and run "TrueCrypt.exe". It'll open up. You need to firstly click the "Select File" button. Browse to the encrypted container file you created.

You then need to make sure you have a drive letter selected.

Then click "Mount" and enter your password.

Go to My Computer, you should now have another hard drive showing up.



The encrypted file you create with TrueCrypt (using the steps in the blog link) is merely a container. It will contain all the documents etc... you want to keep safe.

And yeah, you can copy the encrypted container file anywhere you want. I for example have copied mine onto my usb key. I then just point TrueCrypt to where it is when doing the "Select File" step as mentioned above.