Didn't find a straight forward answer to this question anywhere.
How do I encrypt the USB drive on which I've installed PortableApps.com platform with FreeOTFE? Do I just do a regular drive encryption using FreeOTFE?
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I believe you're supposed to encrypt the drive first because the drive will have to be formatted, then mount it with FreeOTFE and use it like you would a normal drive. The FreeOTFE wizard should guide you through the process of encrypting the entire drive. You should note though that using the Flash drive in this way will require that you have admin rights for every computer on which you wish to use the flash drive. You might want to consider just allocating a portion of your USB drive and creating an encrypted volume. Think of it as a big folder that holds all your sensitive, personal files that need to be encrypted. Again, the wizard will guide you through the process and it's best just to stick with the defaults.
FreeOTFE Explorer allows you to do it without requiring admin rights. (or so I'm told elswhere on this forum)
I've never used FreeOTFE before, but I know that TrueCrypt doesn't require formatting the drive. I just looked back at FreeOTFE's documentation and it appears that you're right - whole drive encryption requires reformatting. So that would mean I have to reinstall all of my apps. I'm not sure if it's worth it, considering I could just encrypt a volume. But it sure would be nice to have a totally encrypted drive using FreeOTFE Explorer (which doesn't require admin access).
Final thoughts?
Explorer doesn't let you mount the encrypted volume as a drive (so you can't use it like any drive in Windows). I haven't used it myself but it could be an option if you're stuck on a computer without admin rights. Judging by how it works (like a self contained Windows Explorer) I'd say that it's not ideal for day-to-day use. I do use FreeOTFE, and so I probably should have FreeOTFE Explorer on my USB drive for those just-in-case(tm) moments.
It really all depends on what you want to use it for and just how significantly you are going to travel (from PC to PC). As for TrueCrypt versus FreeOTFE, I think most people say TrueCrypt is more polished, but I've used FreeOTFE from the get go and it does everything I need it to. I think I'm correct in saying that TrueCrypt wasn't originally open source but don't quote me on that.
It's all down to person choice and what works for you.
I have a 4GB USB drive encrypted with TrueCrypt. Can I just install PortableApps.com Platform on there without a problem? I should be able to do that, right?
You still run into the issue of needing admin rights to run TrueCrypt, but yes, it should be perfectly fine to the best of my knowledge.
read the Manual for the program?
Seems like it should tell you?
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Dr. Seuss
@vf2nsr No, the manual doesn't discuss encyrpting USB drive running portableapps.com platform.
was more relevant to encrypting a usb stick in general but darkbee was more informative
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Dr. Seuss
Keep in mind that FreeOTFE won't work on 64-bit Windows 7 installs (which is the majority of installs) due to the drivers not being signed.
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