Flash drives or pen drives are perhaps the most popular form of storing digital data. Now, did it ever cross your mind that if your pen drive, that is holding data of huge personal importance…IF IT GETS LOST…then what will ensure the safety of the data inside? This article precisely aims at telling that!
Encryption through password is the simple answer to this problem. A particular freeware called CRYPTAINER LE is what we require.
Follow the following instructions
1. Go to the following web address-http://www.scanwith.com/download/Cryptainer_LE.htm
2. You will encounter a page where the DOWNLOAD option for the cryptainer software is available. Click on DOWNLOAD.
3. You then see a page which again displays the DOWNLOAD option and with that a few guidelines regarding the download. Click on the DOWNLOAD option. The download should start now.
4. The file size is around 7.2 MB. Once your download is complete, click on the downloaded item (if you are using Google Chrome). You will see a familiar box that asks you to either SAVE or RUN the file. Click on RUN. Your anti-virus may also ask you whether to allow the execution of the program. Respond positively to such query.
5. Now the installation of cryptainer software starts. You must be familiar with the installation process. Just click NEXT for each query, agree to the license terms and click finish. This completes the installation and creates a shortcut icon of cryptainer on the desktop.
6. Now comes the important part. Once the installation completes, a new box pop up with a heading SPECIFY CRYPTAINER VOLUME DETAILS. Here, cryptainer will create an encrypted partition within a drive that you specify particularly. Any data within that partition remains encrypted.
Follow the given instructions carefully –
(i) The first empty rectangular box requires to ENTER THE FILE NAME TO USE FOR THE CRYPTAINER VOLUME. Here you click the BROWSE option and select your PEN DRIVE (usually specified as J: or K:) and click OPEN. Now your pen drive has been selected to create the encrypted partition.
(ii) The next box requires you to enter the VOLUME of the encrypted space to be created. This could be anywhere between 1 to 100 MB. Cryptainer allows a maximum of 100 MB data to be encrypted within your pen drive.
(iii) The third box requires you to enter the password to this encrypted partition. The character strength should be within 8-100. Make sure your password is long, strong, and DIFFICULT TO GUESS. The box below asks you to verify the password again.
(iv) Don’t make any changes in the algorithm box. Make sure you tick the statement below which specifies DO NOT FORMAT CRYPTAINER VOLUME. ALLOW ME TO FORMAT IT MYSELF.
This ensures that even if your pen drive is formatted the encrypted partition remains safe. It can only be formatted by you yourself.
(v) Finally, click on PROCEED TO CREATE VOLUME. Cryptainer creates a particular file on your pen drive which is the encrypted partition.
7. Now a box appears asking you whether to format the removable media, i.e, the pen drive. Click OK and then a separate box appears with the heading FORMAT REMOVABLE DISK. Here you need to change the option FILE SYSTEM to NTFS. Once done, click START.
8. Lastly, a caution statement appears where you are asked to remember the file name of the encrypted partition on your pen drive so that you can recognize it when needed.
Thus, your pen drive now has a secure space within itself where you can save your sensitive data if it is required to be transferred, without worrying about its safety or ease of access.