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Thread ID: 110092 2010-06-03 02:37:00 password protect external hard drive petemit (1134) Press F1
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1106344 2010-06-03 02:37:00 Hi what software package can i use to password protect a new verbatum external harddrive i have just purchased or the folders on the hard drive

I am useing win xp profesional on a laptop

thanks
Peter
petemit (1134)
1106345 2010-06-03 02:41:00 http://www.truecrypt.org/
Is a free open source one, compatible
with Windows 7/Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux.
KarameaDave (15222)
1106346 2010-06-03 02:42:00 Hi Peter,

You can't by default, even if you're using NTFS. Somebody else can plug it in to their machine and "take over" the permissions on the drive quite easily.

What you probably want is something like TrueCrypt:
http://www.truecrypt.org/

Have a play around, but don't forget to backup the data that's on the external drive (If there's any yet).

Edit: Haha, snap ;)
Chilling_Silence (9)
1106347 2010-06-03 02:46:00 I would second TrueCrypt.

Apart from the fact it is a freebie, it is a good freebie, easy to use.

You could in effect password the complete external drive or create passworded partitions so that only some of the drive is password protected while the rest was public so to speak.

Create a good password though, waste of time having password protected files if someone else can guess your password in 5 seconds.

And the big no no of password protecting your files.......DON'T forget your password.
PinoyKiw (9675)
1106348 2010-06-03 02:57:00 Thanks i will give it a try petemit (1134)
1106349 2010-06-03 04:54:00 BitLocker comes with Windows 7 SolMiester (139)
1106350 2010-06-08 06:57:00 Truecrypt is the most popular encryption software, but i think it is a little complicated. If you want a simple one, try the following [edit: spam removed] Daisyfighting (15481)
1106351 2010-06-08 09:49:00 You might want to have seperate partitions, one with truecrypt portable and some files that don't need to be protected, so that if you plug it into someone elses computer you can use the portable version to decrypt it. Blam (54)
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