How to Use TrueCrypt Encryption Software

Everyone has something on their computer that they would prefer to keep secret. Even it's nothing more than a record of an important password, you can make sure it remains secret by encrypting it. There are plenty of programs around that will do this, but TrueCrypt has the benefit of being both particularly good and completely free of charge.

TrueCrypt is straightforward to use, but the instructions on the TrueCrypt website are not as clear as they might be, mainly because of their strange choice of words. The instructions you are reading are an attempt to make the process easier by using standard English.

The process is the same for Windows, Mac and Linux. The images here are from Windows Vista.

Getting Started

Go to www.truecrypt.org. Download and install the latest version of the software.

How to Create an Encrypted Area, known as a ‘Volume’, on a Hard Drive or External Device

Open the TrueCrypt software. You will see the TrueCrypt introductory screen:

In TrueCrypt terminology, an encrypted area is called a 'volume'. So click 'Create Volume'.

You will see the 'TrueCrypt Volume Creation Wizard' screen:

This gives you the option of encrypting different types of areas:

• a portion of a drive,
• an entire drive,
• or a partition on a drive.

The option 'Create a file container' should already be selected. This is the basic option: it allows you to encrypt a portion of your computer's hard drive or a portion of a device such as a USB stick or a recordable DVD. Don't run before you can walk; stay with the default setting for now. Click 'Next'.

You will see the 'Volume Type' screen:

This gives you the option of creating either a normal encrypted area or one that is enclosed within another encrypted area. The option 'Standard TrueCrypt volume' should already be selected. Click 'Next'.

You will see the 'Volume Location' screen:

You now need to choose a location and a name for the encrypted area. Click 'Select File'.

Your computer's normal file selection screen (this is the Windows Vista version) should appear on top of the TrueCrypt 'Volume Location' screen:

1. Select a location for the new encrypted area.
2. Choose a name for the encrypted area. Do not choose the name of an existing file; if you do, that file will be overwritten and its original contents will be deleted.
3. Click 'Save' (or whatever term your operating system uses).
4. The name and location of the encrypted area, which does not yet exist, will appear in the 'Volume Location' screen. If you are happy with these settings, click 'Next'.

You will see the 'Encryption Options' screen:

The default settings are perfectly OK for normal use. Unless you are an expert in cryptography, just click 'Next'.

You will see the 'Volume Size' screen:

1. Choose a suitable size for the encrypted area. It can be as large or as small as you like, but bear in mind that you won't be able to change the size once the encrypted area has been created.
2. Click 'Next'.

You will now see the 'Volume Password' screen:

1. Read the information on the screen about choosing a suitably complex password. You may want to tick the 'Display password' box so that you can see what you are typing. TrueCrypt helpfully prevents the 'Next' button from working until you have correctly typed your password twice.
2. When you and the software are both happy with your password, click 'Next'.

You will see the 'Volume Format' screen:

1. Do exactly what the instructions on the screen tell you: move your mouse over the window, randomly and for at least half a minute.
2. Click 'Format'.

Truecrypt will now encrypt the area you specified. When the process is finished, you will be asked whether you want to create another 'volume'.

Getting Access to an Encrypted Area, Known as a 'Volume', on a Hard Drive or External Device.

Open the TrueCrypt software. You will see the standard TrueCrypt introductory screen:

On this screen you will see a list of letters of the alphabet. These refer to non-existent virtual drives. TrueCrypt must use one of these virtual drives each time you open one of your encrypted areas (each time you 'mount' a 'volume', in TrueCrypt terminology). Select one of these letters. It doesn't matter which one (in this example, it's 'J').

Now you need to select the encrypted area that you want to open.

1. Click 'Select File...'.
2. Your computer's normal file selection screen will appear. Select the encrypted area.
3. Click 'Open' (or whatever term your operating system uses).

You will see the TrueCrypt introductory screen showing the location of the encrypted area to the left of the 'Select File' button:

To get access to this encrypted area, you need to enter the appropriate password.

This is where secrecy comes in. There is no mention on the TrueCrypt screen that a password is required.

To be able to enter a password, you first need to display the screen in which you can enter a password, and to do this you need to click the button labelled, for some reason, 'Mount'.

Enter the password and click 'OK'.

The TrueCrypt introductory screen will now show the location of the encrypted area next to the drive letter:

To get access to the encrypted area, simply double-click it.

Further Information

• The drive containing the encrypted area is a virtual drive: it does not physically exist, but it behaves as though it exists, and you will see a reference to it in your computer's navigation system:
  
• You can have any number of encrypted areas open at any one time.
• To return the encrypted area to its password-protected state, go to the TrueCrypt screen, highlight the virtual drive, and click 'Dismount'.
• TrueCrypt allows you to create hidden 'volumes', encrypt entire drives, and more. You can find out about non-default options at various stages of the process at http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/.