Truecrypt newbie question

HighlandeR · 10 Sep 2010 at 00:06

Hi im a new user to Truecrypt, I have a few hdds which id like to encrypt so Ive chosen just one of the drives as a test drive.

It works fine but when I do the encrypt system partition/drive or a file container however Ive noticed I still see the drive letter of the hdd after wards when dismounting my encrypted drive.

When double clicking on it I can easily format it destroying the data on it...

I must have missed something :confused:

does this not make it easy for someone to delete the data or better still format the drive and run a recovery software to get back the files?

PS: Also tried the hidden truecrypt mode....with same issue.

If there's another option please let me know thank-you

tntcoder · 10 Sep 2010 at 00:25

The data is encrypted. It can be deleted sure. But it will never be in a human readable form without the encryption keys (passwords). If you format + recover, you will only recover the encrypted data.

Im not sure what your pointing out is an issue? Someone with physical access will always be able to format/delete data, it's still secure though.

RavenLunatic · 10 Sep 2010 at 13:13

HighlandeR said:
Hi im a new user to Truecrypt, I have a few hdds which id like to encrypt so Ive chosen just one of the drives as a test drive.

It works fine but when I do the encrypt system partition/drive or a file container however Ive noticed I still see the drive letter of the hdd after wards when dismounting my encrypted drive.

When double clicking on it I can easily format it destroying the data on it...

I must have missed something does this not make it easy for someone to delete the data or better still format the drive and run a recovery software to get back the files?

PS: Also tried the hidden truecrypt mode....with same issue.

If there's another option please let me know thank-you

Go into disk manager and remove the drive letter. Disk will no longer show up with the other drives until you access it via truecrypt.

eXor · 10 Sep 2010 at 17:19

HighlandeR said:
When double clicking on it I can easily format it destroying the data on it...

This is a non-issue* when operating under a Standard User account.

* Of course, as has been mentioned, someone with physical access could do some damage. They could boot up with a LiveCD and format from there, or pull the drive and insert it into another machine, on which they have Admin powers.

Impy77 · 10 Sep 2010 at 20:00

eXor said:
This is a non-issue* when operating under a Standard User account.

* Of course, as has been mentioned, someone with physical access could do some damage. They could boot up with a LiveCD and format from there, or pull the drive and insert it into another machine, on which they have Admin powers.

or just smash it to bits with a hammer

RavenLunatic · 10 Sep 2010 at 22:20

Don't think the issue is if someone can delete or re-format the drive rather than after a previously formatted disk which is then encrypted with Truecrypt retains its original drive letter in Windows. Windows thinks it an unformatted disk and offers to format it for you if you accidentally double click on the drive. One more click and the encrypted disk is toast. As I said in my previous post go into disk management right click on the encrypted drive and select change drive letter and paths. Finally select the drive letter currently assigned and press remove. The old drive letter will no longer show up and the drive is still fully accessible from Truecrypt encrypted data intact. Windows will ignore the encrypted drive and will no longer prompt you to format the drive.

Or at least that's how I am reading the OP.

HighlandeR · 11 Sep 2010 at 09:26

Hi yeah I already done that as a temporary fix of unassigning the drive letter, just thought there was a better way of doing it.

It would have been nice if Truecrypt gave the option too make the entire drive letter not even appear since anyone could access that drive and simply click yes to format it.... making it even worser tbh !

Thats also very good to know that the actual data will never been recoverable, I did try a few programs getdataback/recovery my files
and it was only recovering random files.

Either way ill keep doing it this way for now cheers

theheyes · 11 Sep 2010 at 18:24

HighlandeR said:
When double clicking on it I can easily format it destroying the data on it...

I must have missed something does this not make it easy for someone to delete the data...

HighlandeR said:
It would have been nice if Truecrypt gave the option too make the entire drive letter not even appear since anyone could access that drive and simply click yes to format it.... making it even worser tbh !

You seem to be confusing backups and encryption. Disk encryption has never been about availability - it's about access control. If someone manages to format or steal or destroy the disk it is not a measure of how good the encryption is/was as long as they didn't get at the data.

deus3x · 10 Oct 2010 at 06:20

sorry to jump thread,

If you truecrypt primary partion 'ie windows 7'

When the system boots it asks for password, will it slow down the system at all after the password has been entered. I plan to use my laptop for gaming but it also gas sensitive data on it.

CaptainCrash · 10 Oct 2010 at 10:31

deus3x said:
When the system boots it asks for password, will it slow down the system at all after the password has been entered. I plan to use my laptop for gaming but it also gas sensitive data on it.

There is a performance hit, but on any halfway decent system it will be negligible.