How to Create an Encrypted Volume Using True Crypt

TrueCrypt is a software that can encrypt data on the hard drive of your computer. The software can create virtual encrypted disks. When mounted, the virtual encrypted disks will appear in Explorer as a local disk. The application is also able to encrypt an entire volume or partition. This is very useful if you carry confidential information on your USB drive, for example.

Many algorithms standards are supported by TrueCrypt, such as AES-256, Blowfish, CAST5, Serpent, Triple DES and Twofish.

Download truecrypt for free here:

http://truecrypt.sourceforge.net/

1 - Creation of an encrypted volume

Start TrueCrypt then click on "Create a volume"

Click on "Next".

You will now have to chose a location for your encrypted volume. Click on "File" to select a location.

Name your file and click "Save".

Add the ".tc" as the file extension to make things easier later.

Then click "Next".

The next screen is the cipher algorithm and hash algorithms, keep the default or otherwise consult the official website of TrueCrypt for more information on the various algorithms.

Finally, click on "Next".

Here enter the size of the volume that you want to create and click "Next".

Enter a password for your volume (do not forget to confirm), then click "Next".

You may see a warning message if your password is too short. It is important to have a good password consisting of numbers and symbols. You click "Yes" to skip this warning message if you are happy with your password choice.

Here move your mouse over the window in a random fashion, this will hrlp TrueCrypt to help generate a random number, for greater security.

You can also change the file system FAT to NTFS. (Mac Users can also encrypt to the native Mac OS file system). FAT only allows files less than 2GB. NTFS allows big files. So make sure you are aware which file system will suit you best for your situation.

Finally, click on "Format". Your volume will now be formatted.

You will get a message once the format has been completed.

Click "Exit".

You have now created an encrypted volume successfully. This volume cannot be accessed by anyone who does not have the password. If any agency is able to gain access to it, they will not be able to see what is inside. Thus, your volume is incredibly secure and your data is now as safe as possible. If someone were to ask you what the file is, you can just say it must be a corrupted file of some kind.