password protect a usb drive

[Arcamax]

hi i want to know how i can password protect my usb drive rather than a folder on the usb drive on vista. With out any software
I've done this   its ok but i cant add any files in the folder afterwards and have them stay on there after i eject the drive

[Zero999]

What operating system are you using?

No you can't do this without software which is of course required to do anything with a computer.

What file system is the USB stick formatted with? The default is FAT32 which doesn't support encryption. Windows does this by saving the files in a ZIP file which can then be encrypted. A zip file can be displayed like a normal folder in the Windows shell.

For more effective encryption, you need better software. Try 7zip which is free.
http://www.medicalnerds.com/how-to-encrypt-zip-files-securely-using-7zip/

[Porch]

I have a Aegis Secure Key clipped to my car key chain.
http://www.apricorn.com/products/hardware-encrypted-drives/aegis-secure-key.html
It's not cheap, but the encryption is hardware level and does not need anything installed on the computer to function.



 

[Arcamax]

What operating system are you using?

No you can't do this without software which is of course required to do anything with a computer.

What file system is the USB stick formatted with? The default is FAT32 which doesn't support encryption. Windows does this by saving the files in a ZIP file which can then be encrypted. A zip file can be displayed like a normal folder in the Windows shell.

For more effective encryption, you need better software. Try 7zip which is free.
http://www.medicalnerds.com/how-to-encrypt-zip-files-securely-using-7zip/

vista(home premium)

[Arcamax]

i found this on youtube
    http://www.kakasoft.com/folder-encryption/
ill try it

[rdl]

I use TrueCrypt on all my external hard drives. They're formatted as FAT32. I would guess it would work with a flash drive also. TrueCrypt is no longer actively developed by the originators but it's still available and it does work.

IronKey makes hardware secured flash drives, but they're not at all cheap.

[Arcamax]

I use TrueCrypt on all my external hard drives. They're formatted as FAT32. I would guess it would work with a flash drive also. TrueCrypt is no longer actively developed by the originators but it's still available and it does work.

IronKey makes hardware secured flash drives, but they're not at all cheap.

i looked at the website and from what it says, i dont know if i want to get or not.
ill try this first  http://download.cnet.com/USB-Safeguard-Free/3000-2092_4-75115673.html

[rdl]

The situation with TrueCrypt is a bit strange. The fact is that the 7.1a version does not seem to need any fixes and for years has worked fine for probably millions of people. For anyone interested, you can read more here (and of course on it's Wikipedia page).

https://www.grc.com/misc/truecrypt/truecrypt.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrueCrypt

[Arcamax]

has anyone ever used this  http://www.cypherix.com/cryptainer_le_download_center.htm

[yakitoo]

Truecrypt has reached the end of its development life and has been unexpectedly given up by its original developers.

The replacement is Veracrypt which is Truecrypt in all but name. The latest versions will now also read Truecrypt volumes.

https://veracrypt.codeplex.com/

[rr100]

Veracrypt/truecrypt is a good choice but for normal/casual/non-NSA/CIA/etc users I strongly recommend bitlocker.

It is a default windows "thing" from Vista. You might need a "high-enough" license (like Pro for Windows 8 for example) to "bitlock" your usb drive but once is done (anywhere, your work computer, any other PC) it will work on any Windows from Vista and up.

Other than that it "just works" without anything else, it asks for password, it can remember the password on a trusted PC if that's what you want, anything is cool as long as you're only using windows and from Vista and above.

[zapta]

I have a Aegis Secure Key clipped to my car key chain.
http://www.apricorn.com/products/hardware-encrypted-drives/aegis-secure-key.html
It's not cheap, but the encryption is hardware level and does not need anything installed on the computer to function.

Very interesting. Does it allows to partition the content such that you can expose only selected parts of it?

[rr100]

I don't think it's possible but a simple workaround would be to have a second (physically) small, cheap drive. You can do much more with it, don't have to worry that you forget the expensive toy, that somebody would wipe it by mistake, etc.

But I do like the marketing ... 256 bit encryption! Do you know how many times you need to push 1 button (out of 10) to generate 256 bit entropy (assuming the pin is completely random)? 77+ times !

[calzap]

I'd be very careful about buying USB flash drives that have a built-in encryption.  A few years ago I bought a couple of Kingston DataTraveler Secure sticks.  Found out on an overseas trip that they would not work with some recent versions of Windows.  If you need portability and the ability to be used by a variety of computers and operating systems, I would suggest encrypting files or directories with commonly available programs (WinRar, WinZip, etc.) using common, but secure, algorithms.

Mike in California

[SArepairman]

I think that true crypt was issued a national security letter.

1) there is an audit performed on true crypt after thousands of dollars were fund raised to check its strength
2)it is verified to be a strong open source security measure and no backdoors/vulnerabilities were found, it got quite popular in technical news sites
3)shortly there after being verified as awesome the project shuts down and the first 3 letters of the first sentence on the reason for shut down webpage are N S A.

So after getting all this popularity and critical acclaime the developer decides to call it quits?


Its like, working in the shadows all this time. Instead of feeling the energy boost/euphroia from your new found popularity (after being told your programming is insecure crap so many times), you, fighting a one man war to keep the man from digging through your stuff, decide to close the project down??

THe excuse he gave is weak, i run a non networked computer with the russian version of alitum designer on it, it cost like 100$ to do. (complaining about windows library).

Anyone who thinks its not a NSL is like 

personally I'd just delete the webpage and link a youtube to a certain clip from the movie "the pianist".

[Porch]

I have a Aegis Secure Key clipped to my car key chain.
http://www.apricorn.com/products/hardware-encrypted-drives/aegis-secure-key.html
It's not cheap, but the encryption is hardware level and does not need anything installed on the computer to function.

Very interesting. Does it allows to partition the content such that you can expose only selected parts of it?

No. It's all encryption, and thats it. And if you fudge the password 5 times, wipes itself.
I have other USB sticks for non encryption needs.