How to protect your information in Linux with Truecrypt

Truecrypt allow encrypt a virtual disk, a partition, or the entire disk of a storage device. The most interesting thing about Truecrypt is the encryption snapshot of the data and the possibility of configure it easilyYou are probably wondering:why do I need something like Truecrypt? Well, without conspiracy, the issue of security is very sensitive and sometimes it is necessary to take some additional security measures so as not to compromise our information.

Truecrypt works as follows: you mount the virtual device through Truecrypt and then you can access it like any other folder on your system. Obviously, in order to mount the device it is necessary to enter a password. Once you finish working, you disassemble the device and you're done.

Let's see how to configure Truecrypt in case we want to encrypt a folder on our hard drive.

Step 1:

Download Truecrypt from www.truecrypt.org. Unzip it and run it with the following command:

./truecrypt-7.0a-setup-x64

This is in the case of a 64bit machine and for version 7.0a. If you are using Linux 32bit, install it accordingly.

Step 2:

When running Truecrypt, you will see the following window.

Step 3:

Once the new window opens, choose the first option and click Next. In case you want to encrypt the ENTIRE disk, choose the second option and click Next.

Step 4:

In this window the options are well explained. Generally, the first option is usually the best. Click on Next.

Step 5:

Here, you have to choose the path where the Truecrypt file will be saved. Give it a name and press the button Save. Be careful, this is not the path of the folder to be encrypted.

Click on Next.

Step 6:

Ideally, leave the default settings and have Truecrypt use the encryption algorithm BEA. For more information about the different encryption algorithms, you can access the Truecrypt page. Click on Next.

Step 7:

In this step you have to tell Truecrypt how big the encrypted folder is going to be. This, obviously, depends on the needs of each one. Click on Next.

Step 8:

I wrote the password you want to use. It is best to write one that contains both digits and letters. The longer the better. An important fact: do not forget the password because there is no way to recover it.

Step 9:

Here we tell TrueCrypt with which file system the encrypted virtual disk should be created. The options are FAT, Ext2, Ext3, and Ext4. In case you want to be able to use this folder in Windows, you will have to choose FAT.

Step 10:

As bizarre as it may seem, the thing to do in this step is to move the mouse cursor like crazy. This will help improve the quality of the encryption. This step is extremely important so spend as much time as necessary. Click the button Format.

It will ask for your administrator password. Enter it so that the virtual disk can be created.

Step 11:

Once finished, click Select File and find the file created in step 5. Truecrypt will ask you for your password. Enter it and the virtual disk will automatically be added.

Right click on the newly created disk and select the option Open. The rest is known: start copying all the information you want to protect on that virtual disk. Truecrypt will take care of encrypting it in real time and super fast.

Source: Ubuntu Manual