How To Encrypt A USB Flash Drive For Free! (Using TrueCrypt)

[GaryLesperance]

So in other words, as I have found out, it DOES NOT WORK for Windows 7?

[TheMelonColony]

Do you have to have truecrypt on your computer to open the drive after truecrypting it?

[computergeek123ism]

can u mount it on a computer without truecrypt?

[mattxhand]

Will it work for Linux?

[magicman1995]

@mattxhand There is a Linux version of TrueCrypt. So yes, you should be able to mount the volume from Linux.

[holapoalo]

So how do u open it on a different computer without truecrypt on it?

[emandharok]

@holapoalo all the truecrypt folders are on the usb.

[ThePhoenixRider]

there is no auto run so.. dont "hide" the file.. keep it visible and open it manually.. a bit more work but it's worth it you want to encrypt it.. alternatively you could store truecrypt on your computer and run it from there... if auto run still existed we would be stuck with around ??? more viruses..

[MrErickpj]

is my first time for me doing this! so what happens when you want to use it in other computer it just ask for the password?

[magicman1995]

@MrErickpj Double click, or right click and select "mount". Then it will ask for the password (only on Windows < XP. Vista and 7 disable autorun).

[vinnie15R]

so for windows 7 what are you supposed to do instead of the autorun step for it to work????

[ThePhoenixRider]

.. THERE IS NO AUTORUN FILE FOR WINDOWS 7.. END OF LINE.. now please dont keep asking.. thumbs up so nobdy gets lost... again.. >_>

[leinad580]

@ThePhoenixRider Then what do we do instead? Just click it?

[dietabsolut]

It doesn't seem to be working out for me. I've followed all the steps...the autorun.inf i created by starting a new text document file and changing the name. Everything else I copied from the video. But, when I re-insert the flash drive and right click..it offers the same open/explore/search etc options as before - nothing about mounting or dismounting. The hidden files are still pretty visible - albeit the shade of the icons may be a bit lighter. Dunno what i'm doing wrong/different. Help?

[devilcorvo]

were do we do the autorun and how to save it?

[MrJeansy95]

wow pedo voice

[DANIELH23]

Can't get this to work for some reason. Instead of it asking me for my password it goes directly into my files.

[Avensadora]

@DANIELH23 You need to un-mount it using truecrypt. It only asks for the password when you go to mount it if it isn't mounted already

[dillinger9999]

i ran this and created a file on my usb drive and nothing worked. when I rite click on my usb drive there is no option to mount the flash drive. So does this mean i have to encrypt the whole flash drive for this to work?

[magicman1995]

@dillinger9999 This doesn't work on Vista or 7.

[IKillerPieI]

@magicman1995 Why not? Is there a way round that using this method?

[ThePhoenixRider]

@magicman1995 now they have a vista and win 7 version out =]

[magicman1995]

@ThePhoenixRider Thanks.

[kenny1431]

@ThePhoenixRider hey! where at? does it have the autro run thini also?

[ThePhoenixRider]

@kenny1431 so you can get the encryption program for vista and win 7 in the same link, the auto run files have been removed because people kept getting malware through bad USB's... if you know how to cod ea little you could make your own application to run it.. but keep it hidden.. it also works for mac's... hope this helps..

[MrDJKaram]

@ThePhoenixRider so where is the truecrypt autorun for windows 7?

[ThePhoenixRider]

@MrDJKaram autorun files compromised system security as files could be instantly copied and could infect a computer and send it down the drain.. so they removed them.. except for the label and icon tag which are pointless for the most part.. if you save the same autorun from this vid it'll work in xp without SP3, and vista without SP1.. and older versions..

[Juan14xp]

is there a autorun file we can use on windows vista/7???

[magicman1995]

@Juan14xp Vista/7 doesn't have autorun as a security measure. Sorry :(

[dillinger9999]

@magicman1995 great video just one question though where do i save the autorun.inf file at? on the C drive and copy it to my usb drive? or can i just save that autorun.inf file on my desktop and copy N past it to my USB drive?

[magicman1995]

@dillinger9999 You can save the autorun.inf anywhere. Then copy it to your flash drive. Note that this doesn't work on windows vista or 7.

[dillinger9999]

@Juan14xp yeah this is XP im running. & i never got as far as hiding the volume. I did reformat the drive and re-did the whole proses and I want to be able to take this flash drive to public places &be able to use it. now i think its working ok, i have to first open truecrypt and then "select file" in order to prompt me for the password and add more data and this way all the music i have stored on the none encrypted volume will still play on my car stereo. thanks for quick reply

[test123ok]

thanks for the video !

 can i install truecrypt onto the USB so that I can use it on a public machine that doesn't have truecrypt installed ? i.e. does it make registry entries etc?

[magicman1995]

@test123ok I'm not sure if it makes registry entries or not, but if you install it on your computer and copy the installation folder onto the flash drive, you should be able to run it on a public machine.

[LokiV]

Good vid btw ;)

[dechass77]

-click on the device, it does not have the mount volume and other truecrypt options available, any advice would be appreciated. Thanks..

[magicman1995]

@dechass77 The autorun doesn't work on windows vista/7, so you'll have to run truecrypt and mount the virtual partition from there.

[dillinger9999]

@magicman1995 one more thing i am running XP so this should work like you are showing it. the thing is i have to mount file is all what a drag but i want it to work like yours is all.

[dillinger9999]

oh wow now my flash drive wont even open "access denied" the only thing i can do now is mount the encrypted 250 MB file i created but the whole 4 gig USB drive is access denied and rite click and mount volume is there now but when i click that option it says " access denied" i cant even reformat this drive shit!!

[magicman1995]

@dillinger9999 Relax. Just un-hide the files, and run truecrypt to mount the volume.

[dechass77]

ok here's my question....

I set this up as described, but the pc used is dead, so I plugged my usb device into another pc with truecrypt installed, and it works as it did before, excellent.

However, when I plug it into a different pc, (the one i need it to work on) it doesnt automatically ask for a password. I can manually mount the drive by running truecrypt.exe and mounting the file on a spare drive.

However I would like it to work automatically as it did before, I notice that when I right

[JRD88JRD]

is it possible to encrypt all of the free space on your usb

[magicman1995]

@JRD88JRD Yes but you would need every computer you use it on to have truecrypt. If you want to be able to access the files from any PC, you have to leave a little bit of free space for truecrypt.

[walruscoocoocachu26]

Hey! thanks, but i did all the way up to where you hide the files w/ cmd, disconnect, and reconnect it, but now it says k:/ access denied? what do?

[magicman1995]

@walruscoocoocachu26 Try right clicking on truecrypt.exe and run as administrator. Then click on a free drive letter and type the file path in the text box. Click mount and you should be fine.

[dechass77]

@magicman1995

Hi, the original pc i used is dead. I installed truecrypt on another pc but it will not mount the encrypted disk, or ask for a password.

I've unhidden the files, and i've tried running truecrypt as admin and selecting free drive letter. It asks for a password but says either password ie wrong (which it isnt) or the drive is not there. Any ideas?

[dechass77]

@dechass77 @magicman1995

ignore me!

[matteobn]

Hello there! first of all, great tutorial! But I'm running the truecrypt on windows 7 and it is not working when it comes to Mounting the truecryptvolume. I only allows me to read, and not to write on it. I tried to change the security in properties, but I only get an error message with that. I also tried to run it as an administrator, but it doesn't give me the option, any suggestion?

thanks again, and excellent tutorial!

[magicman1995]

@matteobn I assume the autorun doesn't work. So I think you should just un-hide the truecrypt folder. Then when you want to mount the volume, right click on truecrypt.exe and run as administrator. Then click on a free drive letter and type the file path in the text box. Click mount and you should be fine.

[benbored]

is installation and code same for Windows 7? Please reply.

[magicman1995]

@benbored The installation will be the same (make sure you run the program as admin). I doubt the autorun will work on windows 7 though. I made this video a while ago before I had 7.

[NathanielBlack12]

I cannot open the file which you named truecryptvolume using the autorun or TrueCrypt.exe application

[NathanielBlack12]

@NathanielBlack12

could you help me please as it is a 931GB drive and took me 10+ hours to encrypt

[magicman1995]

@NathanielBlack12 That's a big drive. It makes sense that it would take longer.

[goddaytodie]

the autorun.inf . i cannot hide it and the icon picture is an ordinary notepad. it doesnt change. :( pls help i realy realy need this.. :'( thnx

[goddaytodie]

@goddaytodie it says cannot read. and the other one is not rekognized as an internal operable program or bath file.. pls help any one..

[magicman1995]

@goddaytodie In notepad click save as, then type autorun.inf

make sure that "save file type" is set to all files

then you should be able to hide it and it won't be a notepad icon.

[llfrater19]

dude, i did everything u did but when i double click it doesnt prompt me to enter a password, it says access denied

[magicman1995]

@llfrater19 Are you using Windows Vista or 7? I think it's only on XP. I will make an updated version soon. Sorry.

[llfrater19]

@magicman1995 i'm using xp.

[magicman1995]

@llfrater19 are you running as administrator?

[llfrater19]

@magicman1995 yup, there are no other profiles on the system either

[magicman1995]

@ImpureDisciple Yes

[McBeefsupreme]

can i use the same process to encrypt an external hard-drive?

[magicman1995]

@McBeefsupreme That should work, or you could try encrypting the whole partition, but then you would need to have truecrypt on the computer to decrypt the partition. The way in the video is best if you would be using it on other computers.

[THEANTvids4u]

Hi, Very nice tutorial, but there are a few things I would like to ask about.

1. How do you unhide the files with cmd???

2. Will this work if i were to open up my USB drive on a limited account?

Thanks a lot, keep it up!

[magicman1995]

@THEANTvids4u 1. To unhide the files just do the opposite parameters. So:

attrib file -h -s

2. This may not work on a limited account

[donofthekuwait]

Awesome !!!!!! Subscribed to you man !

[magicman1995]

@donofthekuwait Thanks. Glad I can help people.

[doolesavic]

Just to provide feedback on Windows 7 run I just did. Results are that anyone who knows about attrib CAN un-hide the files and then delete them do whatever needed - access is intact though and your files are safe. In Windows 7 there is no option Mount or Dismount when right click on USB drive. Windows XP may be different in that segment but after following everything, no mounting was completed due to hidden file.

Also, Total Commander does see all files even though they are "hidden" via CMD...

[magicman1995]

@doolesavic The attrib part of the tutorial is in no way meant to add extra protection, it's just to fool the average user. If the autorun doesn't work, I suggest just leaving the files visible and just decrypting it manually. The files will still be protected, but people will be able to see that you are hiding something.

[Izaguirreg2]

When i plugged it once again and clicked to open it it didn't show the window to introduce the password, it directly went in. Help!

[magicman1995]

@Izaguirreg2 You probably have autorun disabled or some registry errors. Look up how to enable autorun for your version of windows. Also try CCleaner to clean your registry.

[CRY206]

@magicman1995 Yeah I'm confused as well. I'm going to try it again sometime later today, maybe we could teamviewer or something and you could help me. Who knows.

[magicman1995]

@typebhero Most of my computer knowledge is self-taught. I started with batch because it's not that hard once you know. Now I know VBS, HTML, PHP, Java, ext.. I don't want to list them all. Just keep making new little programs to help yourself learn. Trial and error can be a big help. As for websites and books, it all depends what you want to do. What programming language are you interested in?

[CRY206]

@magicman1995 Yeah... I did this... Nearly lost my usb D: it told me that access to the drive was denied or something... any ideas what i did wrong?

[magicman1995]

@CRY206 That sounds odd. Well maybe you weren't running as administrator. TrueCrypt has to be run as admin to work. Maybe you repartitioned your flash drive by accident? I'm glad you can still access your flash drive but I have done this tons of times and that has never happened to me.

[magicman1995]

@typebhero ya, no biggie. I don't really care.

[titan7xz]

how does this encryption work when pluging your flashdrive into windows, linux and mac operating systems??? thanks and awesome tutorial man!

[magicman1995]

@titan7xz The encryption is on a virtual partition. The only way to open it is with Truecrypt. For mac, you need the mac version, for windows, the windows version, and for linux, the linux version. Although the windows version might work in wine on other operating systems.

[titan7xz]

@magicman1995 oh ok, thanks again for the reply, im looking for something a little more portable and didn't realize that truecrypt only works admin accounts, ive switch to usb safeguard and hope that i can find something that works for operating systems since i switch a lot between os.

[magicman1995]

@titan7xz No problem and good luck with future projects.

[magicman1995]

@typebhero Also, any requests?

[magicman1995]

@typebhero ya you could do it another way where you encrypt the whole drive partition, but then TrueCrypt has to be installed on the computer(s). This way, you can view the encrypted contents on any PC!

More tech tutorials to come soon!

[magicman1995]

@typebhero Lol. I never really thought I had an accent but whatever. Glad to help you! :)

[magicman1995]

@typebhero Lmao! Yes I am Canadian. But I was told by an American that I don't have an accent. How did you know lol? :P

[magicman1995]

@typebhero Yes. After you do attrib on one computer, the files will be hidden on all other ones automatically.

[bastard3b]

complicated :(

Want to use with Portable Apps.....

[gedeo]

The autorun file works just fine on my xp computer. on vista it still useful, but needs some changes...any ideas? great tutorial magicman

[magicman1995]

@gedeo It would help if I knew what the exact problem was. If it was like the other person where it looks for the truecryptvolume in the "System 32" directory, then I suggest than in the autorun file you specify "%~dp0TrueCryptVolume"

Note the %~dp0 that tells the computer to look for the file in the current drive/directory.

Please let me know if it works and what your problem is so that I can help other people with the same problem. Thanks for watching.

[gedeo]

@magicman1995 In vista I tried %~dp0 but it didnt work. it still looking in the "system 32". It works on XP (w/o %~dp0)

[magicman1995]

@gedeo That's really strange. Maybe try ".\truecryptvolume"

other than that there's not much more I can think of. I'm sorry but it looks like this may not work on vista. I'll look into it a bit more when I have some more free time. I have heard of other people having this problem with autorun file on vista.

I'll see what I can do.

[gedeo]

@magicman1995

I'll try ".\truecryptvolume" thnx a lot man.

[magicman1995]

@gedeo let me know how it goes.

[1000abhyudaya]

cool thanks dude

[godfree2canada]

truecrypt is great but TC on linux is better

[magicman1995]

@godfree2canada lol ya. Linux is awesome

[Animaonline]

The script and file names are correct. It may also be worth noting that I'm running Vista. When I open it it brings up the "Enter Password" box as seen in 5:27. However, it seems to be searching for the file in C:\Windows\system32\ rather than H:\. I've had the same problem with other truecrypt autorun files.

[magicman1995]

@Animaonline i think I know the problem. In the autorun script, instead of just specifiying "truecryptvolume" try typing "%~dp0TrueCryptVolume"

that will tell it to look in the current drive, whereas it was trying to to look in your main drive.

[Animaonline]

autorun script doesn't seem to work.

I get "the system cannot find the path specified" after entering the password.

File name is correct. Entered password is also correct.

[magicman1995]

@Animaonline the password shouldn't be in the file path. Also, try renaming your truecrypt folder to have no spaces. And make sure the truecryptvolume has no spaces. Did you copy the path exactly?

If you are still having problems, try to see if it works without hiding the folders.

to unhide, go to cmd, navigate to the memory stick and type

attrib filename -h -s

[magicman1995]

@Animaonline also, make sure that you typed the name of your truecryptvolume the same for the file name and the exact same for the autorun script.

[snig01]

what would i do to make the files come back m8

[magicman1995]

@snig01

attrib filename -h -s