WARNING!!: Before installing Truecrypt encryption software on your

Transcription

1 Truecrypt installation and usage guide for Windows XP, 7, Vista and 8 WARNING!!: Before installing Truecrypt encryption software on your computer, you should create an Acronis image back up of your computer system to an external hard drive just in case Truecrypt encryption fails for any reason. If Truecrypt encryption fails, the data on your hard drive may become corrupted and you would need to restore your computer system from your Acronis image back up. I recommend connecting your computer to an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) because if your computer loses power for any reason during encryption, your computer s hard drive will become corrupted. In the event of a power failure, it is possible for you to Pause or Defer the encryption process and shut down the computer. You would be able to resume encryption process after power is restored by logging back into your computer and starting Truecrypt program again. Windows 8 is not officially supported but will work when using the Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000 installation referenced below. Download Truecrypt installation software from: Download the TrueCrypt Setup 7.1a.exe (3.3 MB) Run the setup program. Continue down to the next page of this guide for screenshot.

2 Check the box to accept the license terms and then click Next button.

3 Select the Install option and then click Next button.

4 Click Install button.

5 Wait around 30 seconds to 1 minute for the installation to complete. When installation is complete, a window similar to the above window will appear on your monitor. Click OK button.

6 Click the Finish button. If you want to read the Beginner s Tutorial, click Yes. Otherwise, click No. *** Click the Truecrypt icon on your desktop to start Truecrypt

7 How to guide to set up pre-boot authentication encryption Click the System menu and then select Encrypt System Partition/Drive

8 For pre-boot authentication encryption, select Encrypt the system partition or entire system drive. Then click Next button.

9 Select Normal option and then click Next button

10 If you only have 1 partition on your hard drive, select Encrypt the whole drive option. Then click Next button. If you have more than 1 partition on your hard drive, but only want to encrypt the partition that the Windows operating system is stored on, select Encrypt the Windows system partition. All other partitions will NOT be encrypted.

11 You may receive the message above if you have more than one partition on your hard drive or if you are using a laptop computer, you may have a special recovery partition. If you had already created an Acronis image back up (refer to Warning on page 1 of this guide) of your computer system, select No and proceed to the next step.

12 If you are not sure what to select, it is safer to select No. Then click Next button.

13 Select Single-boot if there is only one operating system installed on your computer. Then click Next button.

14 Select AES as the Encryption Algorithm (that is the default option). Select RIPEMD-160 as the Hash Algorithm (that is the default option). Then click Next button.

15 Select a password that you can remember with password complexity (combination of Capital and lower case letters, numbers and special characters such Password should also be different than your Windows log on password. Then click Next button. You will receive the message above if your password is less than 20 characters in length. I think it is fine to have a password less than 20 characters in length if it has password complexity (combination of Capital and lower case letters, numbers and special characters such Click Yes button to the prompt.

16 Move your mouse pointer as randomly as possible for around 10 to 15 seconds within the area circled above. Then click Next button.

17 Click Next button.

18 You should create a Truecrypt Rescue CD and save in a safe place. Do NOT lose the Truecrypt Rescue CD. Choose a location to save the iso file to and give the Rescue disk a name. Then Click the Next button. I recommend saving the iso file to an external hard drive and also yourself a copy and save it in your archive (the iso file size is around 1.75 Megabytes).

19 If your computer does not have CD/DVD recording software, download CD/DVD recording software from the link circled in the window that appears. Then click Next button to proceed. If your computer does not have a CD/DVD recording drive, copy the iso file to an external hard drive and then find a computer that does have a CD/DVD recording drive to burn your iso file to a CD.

20 The window above is a warning that tells you that each computer is unique and you will need to create a new Truecrypt Rescue CD for each computer you encrypt even if you use the same encryption password. Click OK button to proceed. Click Launch Microsoft Windows Disc Image Burner button to proceed.

21 You should check box to Verify disc after burning. Put CD to be burned in your computer s CD/DVD Recordable drive. Click Burn button. The window above applies if you have Windows Disc Image Burner installed

22 After burning the Truecrypt Rescue CD, click the Next button to verify the CD was correctly burned. Click Next button to proceed.

23 Select None for Wipe Mode. Then click Next button.

24 Click the Test button.

25 Final warning: You should have created Acronis image back up of your computer system and created a Truecrypt Rescue Disk CD. Click Yes button to restart your computer.

26 After computer has restarted, you will be prompted to enter your pre-boot authentication password. Then Windows loads normally and you will need to enter your Windows log on password as usual. Confirm that Automatic Updates are temporarily turned off and that your computer is not set to go to Sleep or Hibernate. You do not want the Encryption process to be interrupted because that may cause problems. I recommend connecting your computer to an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) because if your computer loses power for any reason during encryption, your computer s hard drive may become corrupted. Click Encrypt button to start the encryption process or click Defer button if you want to start encryption process later.

27 The three screenshots that follow below give instructions to boot from Truecrypt Rescue CD and how to use the Truecrypt Rescue CD after your computer has completed the encryption process.

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29 The amount of time required for the Truecrypt encryption process to be completed will vary based on the size of your hard drive. For an Intel core 2 duo processor with 2 Gigabytes of RAM, it takes around 4 hours to encrypt a 250 Gigabyte hard drive. It is possible for you to Pause or Defer the encryption process but that is not recommended except if your computer is connected to a UPS. If there is a power failure, you would be able to Pause or Defer the encryption process and then Shut Down your computer. The window above will appear after the encryption process has completed. Click the OK button. I recommend restarting your computer.