Use Encryption Software to Protect Confidential Data

What could someone learn about you by reading the files on your laptop? They would mostly find seemingly innocuous information such as junk emails or family photos, but what revealing personal or business details are you keeping on your laptop- tax forms? Business strategies? Financial data? Anything on your laptop, however “secure,” could put you at risk for identity theft and more if your laptop falls into the wrong hands.

“But, I have a Windows password. No one can log into my computer but me. Not even my wife.”

Windows passwords and other similar operating system security measures can provide a false sense of security. Your data is still somewhere on your computer-with or without a login password. Unfortunately, a malicious and ambitious hacker can and will access that data. And, widely used Windows software is often the most susceptible.

Encryption software can help protect personal data and identities from being stolen and abused.

You’ve likely already seen references to the most widely used encryption protocol called Secure Socket Layers or SSLs. It’s used on banking, e-commerce and donation websites. A website using SSL will start with https: (instead of http) and will encrypt and protect any data you type, such as your password or credit card number, before it travels the Internet.

Encrypt and Protect

You can bring that same level of encryption security to your laptop by installing specialized software that works by scrambling (or `encrypting’) your data and even your BIOS (basic input output system). The same software unscrambles (or `decrypts’) data so authorized users get proper access. The magic happens behind the scenes where encryption software uses complex mathematical processes, or algorithms, to scramble and unscramble data. Passwords let authorized users decrypt and access their data.

TrueCrypt.org is free, open-source disk encryption software for Windows 7, Vista, XP, Mac OS X and Linux operating systems. Open-source means that the foundational coding is available for anyone to review and enhance. This is an added bonus in the world of encryption software since it means that non-TrueCrypt.org programmers have had the access they need to verify its effectiveness.

Getting started

Getting started is easy. Visit TrueCrypt.org for additional information about how it works and for a helpful beginner’s guide/tutorial.

Once you download TrueCrypt, it uses a Windows-esque “wizard” to walk you through installation. Noo-er noobies will be best off using TrueCrypt’s recommended, default settings. More experienced noobies may have personal preferences and can dive deeper into the ramifications of custom choices by reading through TrueCrypt’s extensive software documentation-another benefit of open source software.

The best option for protecting sensitive data is to mount TrueCrypt to a specific drive and get in the habit of saving all your files to that drive. So, if you normally save files to your “D:” drive, you would need to choose another unused drive or volume “letter” for TrueCrypt, and that will be your safe place. If you’re only worried about selected sets of information, you may choose to save only those files to the TrueCrypt drive. But, remember, information that seems innocent to you could be a hacker’s key to success.

When you access encrypted data, TrueCrypt seamlessly decrypts it. You can keep working on your computer uninterrupted, and TrueCrypt won’t take up too much memory. In fact, TrueCrypt only temporarily makes files available in RAM (random access memory), and it never saves any decrypted data to a disk. Even when the TrueCrypt volume is mounted, data stored in it remains encrypted until you access it using your credentials.

Restarting your operating system or turning off your computer will automatically dismount the volume and make its files inaccessible and encrypted. Even during unexpected power-supply interruptions, files stored on your TrueCrypt volume stay inaccessible and encrypted until you remount the drive and provide your credentials.

Good to Know

• Have a backup plan. TrueCrypt.org recommends creating a rescue disk on CD/DVD. The rescue disk will help you recover data if your original volume is corrupted or your laptop is stolen.
  
  
• Don’t forget your password. Without it, you can’t access your original volume or the rescue disk.
  
  
• Performance may slow down. Noobies might notice their laptop running a bit slower than normal. The difference is noticeable but negligible, especially considering the added protection.

Expanded Features and Benefits

There are several other feature and benefits you can get form TrueCrypt, depending on your installation choices:

• Encrypt every component that makes your computer work, not just data. This means that in addition to files you’ve created or downloaded using software on your computer, TrueCrypt.org also protects temporary files, swap files, and hibernation files from intruders.
  
  
• Get pre-boot authentication. With TrueCrypt installed, you must enter a correct password before Windows ever starts. This ensures additional security each time a user accesses your system.
  
  
• Always get automatic, transparent, and real-time encryption that requires little or no user-intervention.