Hi,
I have installed Thunderbird and other apps on my thumbdrive, all seems fine. One question however: Is there a way that I can secure my data on the USB drive either in software or hardware?
If I loose the thumb drive then it seems anyone can access my information, also important if I was to use the GNUCash app for any financial info. If is there any passowrd protect feature available in the platform that would be good.
Alternatively, if there is a hardware solution that i could use, eg USB drives with fingerprint readers or codes for security, that are fast and secure, I would also be interested to hear from eople who had first hand experience with these.
Thanks,
Tom
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I think I have a solution for you. You may wish to learn about TrueCrypt http://www.truecrypt.org.
It runs as a portable app* on any device (i.e., USB) and allows you to generate and open an encrypted container, which can then contain any files you want, including Thunderbird, GNUCash, etc.
I've had great success with it. Give it a shot.
* - You must have admin privileges in order to run it as portable. Otherwise, check out TCexplorer http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=1311 in order to access a container without admin privileges.
Much as I hate suggesting it... Sandisk's Cruzer drives have such a feature built into them via U3. I'd much rather run PortableApps than U3, but if you need security, U3 is probably the better deal.
"Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do." -- Selenia, Dark Angel
I use it and it works for me
And it works perfectly well with my portableapps.
But of course I'm just worried about someone finding my drive and poking around, not someone on a Mission to get MY drive and MY data.
If the Homeland Security or an UberGeek wants your data, they can get it.
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
I looked at truecrypt and appeared to be very in depth. Would you have any suggestions for a more user friendly program for those of us who aren't so technically inclined? I don't know, but maybe something like this might be coming out in future updates of the PA program.
Thanks,
G
I can understand that it looks intimidating. I would encourage you to try to get past that though - it really is a terrific tool and, actually, it only looks intimidating.
Just sit on down and read the online documentation ( http://www.truecrypt.org/docs ) - it's really not complex writing and it's broken down into bite-size pieces.
Give it a shot - you'll be happy, and proud of yourself. ...besides, TrueCrypt fits the request perfectly. ...in the famous words of Rob Schneider, "YOU CAN DO IT!"
When i tried TrueCrypt Portable it put all of the filles on the drive a unknown file type, so i dont know why it does that. it even sabotages the autorun
Did you read the manual ? No ?