Encrypting a USB/thumb drive
with TrueCrypt

Step 1:

Begin by downloading & installing (below) our recommended file encryption software TrueCrypt.

INSTALLATION FILES:

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Step 2:

The main TrueCrypt window should appear. Click Create Volume (marked with red rectangle for clarity).

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Step 3:

Read the options displayed in the Wizard window and click Next.

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Step 4:

In this step you have to specify where you wish the TrueCrypt volume to be created. A TrueCrypt volume can reside either in a file, which is also called container, or in a partition (device). In this tutorial, we will choose the latter option and encrypt a device.

A dialog box will appear with a considerable amount of text. It basically warns that encrypting an entire device will make the device impossible to access if you forget the password.

Click "Yes" then "Next".

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Step 5:

In this tutorial, we will create our TrueCrypt volume on our USB/thumb drive F:\ and the filename of the volume (container) will be My Volume (as can be seen in the screenshot above). You may, of course, choose any other filename and location you like. Note that the file My Volume does not exist yet – TrueCrypt will create it.

Select the desired path (where you wish the container to be created) in the file selector.

Type the desired container filename in the File name box.

Click Save. The file selector window should disappear.

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Step 6:

In the Volume Creation Wizard window, click Next.

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Step 7:

Here you can choose an encryption algorithm and a hash algorithm for the volume. If you are not sure what to select here, you can use the default settings and click Next.

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Step 8:

Here we specify that we wish the size of our TrueCrypt container to be 1 megabyte. You may, of course, specify a different size. After you type the desired size in the input field (marked with a red rectangle), click Next.

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Step 9:

This is one of the most important steps. Here you have to choose a volume password.

Carefully read the information displayed in the Wizard window about what is considered a strong password.

** Be sure to remember this password, you will not be able to access your device without it.

After you choose a password, type it in the first input field. Then re-type it in the input field below the first one and click Next.

Note: The button Next will be disabled until passwords in both input fields are the same.

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Step 10:

The program bases it's encryption key on mouse movement. Move your mouse as randomly as possible within the Volume Creation Wizard window for at least 30 seconds. The longer you move the mouse, the better the quality of the encryption key.

Click Format.

Volume creation should begin. TrueCrypt will now create a file called My Volume in the folder F:\ (as we specified in Step 5). This file will be a TrueCrypt container (it will contain the encrypted TrueCrypt volume). Depending on the size of the volume, the volume creation may take a long time. After it finishes, the following dialog box will appear:

Click OK to close the dialog box.

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Step 11:

We have just successfully created a TrueCrypt volume (file container).

In the TrueCrypt Volume Creation Wizard window, click Exit.

The Wizard window should disappear.

In the remaining steps, we will mount the volume we just created. We will return to the main TrueCrypt window. (It should still be open, but if it is not, open TrueCrypt and then continue to Step 12.)

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Step 12:

Select a drive letter from the list (marked with a red rectangle). This will be the drive letter to which the TrueCrypt container will be mounted.

Note: In this tutorial, we chose the "M" drive, but you may of course choose any other available drive letter.

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Step 13:

Click Select File.

The standard file selector window should appear.

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Step 14:

In the file selector, browse to the container file (which we created in Steps 5-10) and select it.

Click Open (in the file selector window).

The file selector window should disappear.

In the following steps, we will return to the main TrueCrypt window.

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Step 15:

In the main TrueCrypt window, click Mount.

Password prompt dialog window should appear.

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Step 16:

Type the password (which you specified in Step 9) in the password input field (marked with a red rectangle).

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Step 17:

Click OK.

TrueCrypt will now attempt to mount the volume. If the password is incorrect (for example, if you typed it incorrectly), TrueCrypt will notify you and you will need to repeat the previous step (type the password again and click OK). If the password is correct, the volume will be mounted.

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Final Step:

We have just successfully mounted the container as a virtual disk M:

The virtual disk is entirely encrypted (including file names, allocation tables, free space, etc.) and behaves like a real disk. You can save (or copy, move, etc.) files to this virtual disk and they will be encrypted on-the-fly as they are being written.

If you open a file stored on a TrueCrypt volume, for example, in media player, the file will be automatically decrypted to RAM (memory) on-the-fly while it is being read.

Important: Note that when you open a file stored on a TrueCrypt volume (or when you write/copy a file to/from the TrueCrypt volume) you will not be asked to enter the password again. You need to enter the password only when mounting the volume.

You can open the mounted volume, for example, by double-clicking the item marked with a red rectangle in the screenshot above.

You can also browse to the mounted volume the way you normally browse to any other types of volumes. For example, by opening the 'Computer' (or 'My Computer') list and double clicking the corresponding drive letter (in this case it is the letter M).

You can copy files to and from the TrueCrypt volume just as you would copy them to any normal disk (for example, by simple drag-and-drop operations). Files that are being read or copied from the encrypted TrueCrypt volume are automatically decrypted on-the-fly (in memory/RAM). Similarly, files that are being written or copied to the encrypted TrueCrypt volume are automatically encrypted on-the-fly (right before they are written to the disk) in RAM.

If you want to close the volume and make the files stored on it inaccessible, either restart your operating system or dismount the volume. To do so, follow these steps:

Select the volume from the list of mounted volumes in the main TrueCrypt window (marked with a red rectangle in the screenshot above) and then click Dismount (also marked with a red rectangle in the screenshot above). To make files stored on the volume accessible again, you will have to mount the volume. To do so, repeat Steps 15-17.

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Note: After you copy existing unencrypted files to a TrueCrypt volume, you should securely erase (wipe) the original unecrypted files. There are software tools that can be used for the purpose of secure erasure (many of them are available for download here).