TrueCrypt

I lost my cell phone last week. Unfortunately, I had a 2GB mini-SD card loaded with somewhere between 400 and 600 photos of my infant daughter and other less important, but nevertheless private, experiences. In addition, I had a few notes that were for my eyes only. I was unable to recover my lost phone, and was forced to file an insurance claim to have it replaced.

I bring this whole thing up because I also carry around portable storage devices that tend to also store sensitive information. I never worried about it because they were always on my person. The reality is that you will probably lose a portable storage device. And Murphy states that you will lose it at the worst possible time. With this truth in mind, I went searching for a method to protect my crap in the event I lose a portable hard drive or flash drive.

As you may have guessed I did, in fact, find something worth while. TrueCrypt. What I like about TrueCrypt is that it will encrypt partitions, entire devices, or even create encrypted files that mount as partitions. I’ve put these features tot he test and I must admit that I’m happy with this utility. At present, I have a portable device storing my mp3’s, documents, project files and photos. I encrypted the device and back its data up to an truecrypt file so that If I lose it, I can copy the file over to a replacement, or encrypt the device itself and copy the data from my mounted backup file. The possibilities for protecting your privacy are endless.