TrueCrypt problem

[Dod101]

Some years back somebody (IAAG?) helped me with detailed instructions about how to set up TrueCrypt to hide confidential stuff on my PC. Now I cannot access it despite the fact that I am confident that I am using the correct password (I use it quite often) How can I find the volume that they ask me for? I seem to have several partitions on my hard disc but cannot get any one to respond or it tells me that it is already in use. Help please!

Dod

[Stompa]

Some years back somebody (IAAG?) helped me with detailed instructions about how to set up TrueCrypt to hide confidential stuff on my PC. Now I cannot access it despite the fact that I am confident that I am using the correct password (I use it quite often) How can I find the volume that they ask me for? I seem to have several partitions on my hard disc but cannot get any one to respond or it tells me that it is already in use. Help please!

Might you have originally created the volume in a file rather than a partition? If so, you need to find the file.....

[Dod101]

Thanks. Anything is possible sadly. When I go to the most likely looking partition it tells me 'hostfile/device already in use!' That I assume suggests that something has got stuck or whatever. My PC is playing up anyway because I have just spent a coupe of hours restoring MS365. Other partitions seem to draw a blank.

I have no idea how to find the file (if it exists)

Dod

[Midsmartin]

There is no particular way to tell which file you used, except perhaps by its size, and perhaps creation/modification dates if that might jog your memory.
You could have given the file any name you like: maybe you helpfully called it "mytruecryptdata" or maybe you were stealthy and called it "cv.doc". Only you can know.

But if you know/think it was quite big, say a few GB , you could search for all large files, and try mounting them each in turn. If you are certain of the password, it's feasible to test quite a few files manually.

[Dod101]

There is no particular way to tell which file you used, except perhaps by its size, and perhaps creation/modification dates if that might jog your memory.
You could have given the file any name you like: maybe you helpfully called it "mytruecryptdata" or maybe you were stealthy and called it "cv.doc". Only you can know.

But if you know/think it was quite big, say a few GB , you could search for all large files, and try mounting them. If you are certain of the password, it's feasible to test quite a few files manually.

That was in fact my logic but it does not seem to be working except that it tells me that the host file/device is already in use. I am fairly sure that it was a partition that I used not a file. I have tried restarting hoping that that might clear something but it has not worked alas!

Dod

[Dod101]

My dear friends. I carefully went through the files without an obvious clue on the title and have found what I was looking for! Bouncing ideas around has as usual produced the solution. Thank you. I am very grateful because of course such files are important.

Dod

[Redmires]

My dear friends. I carefully went through the files without an obvious clue on the title and have found what I was looking for! Bouncing ideas around has as usual produced the solution. Thank you. I am very grateful because of course such files are important.

Dod

That's good news. If it is an encrypted file (and not a partition) it is likely to have a 'TC' extension (eg, mydrive.tc). It might be worth making a copy of the TC file to a USB stick etc so that you have a backup. The good thing being that if the USB stick is lost/stolen, the data is safely encrypted.

[Dod101]

My dear friends. I carefully went through the files without an obvious clue on the title and have found what I was looking for! Bouncing ideas around has as usual produced the solution. Thank you. I am very grateful because of course such files are important.

Dod

That's good news. If it is an encrypted file (and not a partition) it is likely to have a 'TC' extension (eg, mydrive.tc). It might be worth making a copy of the TC file to a USB stick etc so that you have a backup. The good thing being that if the USB stick is lost/stolen, the data is safely encrypted.

Very interesting thank you but my file title has no extension (shown anyway) I am not likely to forget it after my slight panic today although I might note it somewhere fairly discreet.

Dod

[Itsallaguess]

My dear friends. I carefully went through the files without an obvious clue on the title and have found what I was looking for! Bouncing ideas around has as usual produced the solution.

Thank you. I am very grateful because of course such files are important.

Apologies Dod - I'm a bit late to this one, but I'm glad to see that you've now managed to get your TrueCrypt hidden drive mounted and visible again.

I suppose the good news from going through this particular problem is that you've clearly proved to yourself how good a solution the TrueCrypt 'hidden partition' process is, for those of us wanting to hide some of our most important files from others!

I still use mine today, and have things like my password-manager installed inside it, along with many of my most important files and spreadsheets, and it's a process I really wouldn't want to be without, but yes - that underlying file really is a very important one, as you've now been reminded!

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Howard]

My dear friends. I carefully went through the files without an obvious clue on the title and have found what I was looking for! Bouncing ideas around has as usual produced the solution. Thank you. I am very grateful because of course such files are important.

Dod

That's good news. If it is an encrypted file (and not a partition) it is likely to have a 'TC' extension (eg, mydrive.tc). It might be worth making a copy of the TC file to a USB stick etc so that you have a backup. The good thing being that if the USB stick is lost/stolen, the data is safely encrypted.

Very interesting thank you but my file title has no extension (shown anyway) I am not likely to forget it after my slight panic today although I might note it somewhere fairly discreet.

Dod

Having used this product for a while, do you think it's better than using a notebook and pencil?

As a notebook user, having a few important passwords recorded in simple code in paper files and all the rest (like my Wickes DIY password) left to Google to remember, accessing important sites is very easy and quick. A travel version is on a small bit of paper in my wallet. If someone found the paper or notebook, they'd have to know my initial four digit password to gain access to one of my computers/phone to then try and use the conundrums I've written down.

The most critical password for me, given the problems it would cause if compromised, is the sixteen digit one that gives access to my main email account. I'd be concerned if I'd locked that away in a product which I subsequently couldn't find on my computer.

For paper filers like me it would be most helpful to have an idea of the advantage of the TrueCrypt product, given your experience.

- Is it much faster to use than looking up a password on paper?

- Financial accounts I use are all protected by two or three factor processes. Can you store all stages of these in TrueCrypt?

- You found your TrueCrypt file in the end, despite your acknowledged limited computer skills. Would a computer expert be able to find it as well?

- If you suffered a partial hard disk failure and wanted to recover files by giving your computer to an expert to fix would he/she be able to access the TrueCrypt file?


regards

Howard

[Dod101]

All I keep in TrueCrypt are some financial records that I would prefer any casual user of my PC not to see. I do not keep records of any passwords there. The important passwords that I need are in my head and they are for access to my online banking and my investments. Other sites are relatively unimportant.

I had forgotten what my encrypted file name was because TrueCrypt apparently held it until yesterday but now for some reason I need to identify the file so that it can 'mount' it in order that I can access it. If anyone correctly identified it they would not be able to open it without access to my TrueCrypt password.

I am not saying using TrueCrypt is essential but I find it useful. I do not know what would happen if I suffer a disc failure of some sort. I do have a backup plan in place but am not very conscientious about using it.

Dod

[Stompa]

For paper filers like me it would be most helpful to have an idea of the advantage of the TrueCrypt product, given your experience.

- Is it much faster to use than looking up a password on paper?

- Financial accounts I use are all protected by two or three factor processes. Can you store all stages of these in TrueCrypt?

- You found your TrueCrypt file in the end, despite your acknowledged limited computer skills. Would a computer expert be able to find it as well?

- If you suffered a partial hard disk failure and wanted to recover files by giving your computer to an expert to fix would he/she be able to access the TrueCrypt file?

My apologies if I'm wrong, but I suspect you may have misunderstood the purpose of TrueCrypt. It is not simply for storing passwords, but essentially gives you an entire folder in which you can store files of any sort. That folder cannot be accessed without knowing the master password. Of course you could store passwords in it (and I do), but also anything else that you want to keep secure. In my case I currently have around 700Mb of stuff accumulated over many years. It's very convenient to have everything stored in a single encrypted file, which can be backed up as and when required.

I suspect what you are thinking of is a password safe, such as KeePass:

https://keepass.info/

which is intended specifically for passwords. And to answer your questions I'd say it is faster than using paper, can handle various sorts of login processes (though almost certainly not all), and if found by an expert they'd need the master password in order to access it.

[kiloran]

I suspect what you are thinking of is a password safe, such as KeePass:

https://keepass.info/

which is intended specifically for passwords. And to answer your questions I'd say it is faster than using paper, can handle various sorts of login processes (though almost certainly not all), and if found by an expert they'd need the master password in order to access it.

It's intended mainly for passwords, but it can also store files, which are also protected by the master password. I find this is a useful feature.

--kiloran

[Stompa]

It's intended mainly for passwords, but it can also store files, which are also protected by the master password. I find this is a useful feature.

Thanks, I wasn't aware of that, but useful to know.

[AWOL]

If I remember right there were some security concerns around Truecrypt, then development ceased, and it's probably best to move onto another solution such as Bitlocker encryption or using the Personal Vault on Onedrive if one is happy to use cloud storage.

[ReformedCharacter]

If I remember right there were some security concerns around Truecrypt, then development ceased, and it's probably best to move onto another solution such as Bitlocker encryption or using the Personal Vault on Onedrive if one is happy to use cloud storage.

On 28 May 2014, the TrueCrypt website announced that the project was no longer maintained and recommended users find alternative solutions. Though development of TrueCrypt has ceased, an independent audit of TrueCrypt (published in March 2015) has concluded that no significant flaws are present. Development continues on two forks, VeraCrypt and CipherShed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrueCrypt

RC

[BobbyD]

On 28 May 2014, the TrueCrypt website announced that the project was no longer maintained and recommended users find alternative solutions. Though development of TrueCrypt has ceased, an independent audit of TrueCrypt (published in March 2015) has concluded that no significant flaws are present. Development continues on two forks, VeraCrypt and CipherShed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrueCrypt

RC

This is what spooked many:

Discontinued on-the-fly disk encryption utility TrueCrypt was unable to keep out the FBI in the case of a US government techie who stole copies of classified military documents. How the Feds broke into the IT bod's encrypted TrueCrypt partition isn't clear.

- https://www.theregister.com/2015/08/04/ ... ed_by_fbi/