Way to encrypt paging file on 2nd disk with TrueCrypt?

Discussion in 'privacy technology' started by nmaynan, Oct 20, 2009.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. nmaynan

    nmaynan Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2008
    Posts:
    98
    I wanted to post this at the TrueCrypt forum but they won't let me post because I have a Yahoo email address. Anyways:

    I want to set up a system that has OS (Windows 7) and apps on HDD-1 (drive 1) and the paging file on HDD-2 (drive 2). If I do a system partition encryption on HDD-1, is there any way to encrypt HDD-2 (drive two) as well (whether as an extension of the system partition or as an external drive partition) so that it automatically "activates" when I login to the system partition on HDD-1?

    I do not want to disable the paging file. But I want to learn if there are any ways that I can put the paging file on a second hard disk (for performance reasons) and still be able to encrypt it. Are there any options available to me or is it impossible to encrypt a paging file on a second hard disk as I've described?

    Thanks
     
  2. dantz

    dantz Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 19, 2007
    Posts:
    1,034
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Version 6.3 has just been released. It has a new "System Favorites" feature that sounds like it might work for you, although I don't know the details yet. See the change log:

    http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=version-history

    Why don't you try it out and let us know?
     
  3. SafetyFirst

    SafetyFirst Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2007
    Posts:
    462
    I was hoping they would add some MBR protection in the new version (Stoned bootkit attack).
     
  4. Pleonasm

    Pleonasm Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2007
    Posts:
    1,201
    FYI -- The BCWipe utility states that it has the capability to encrypt the paging file, although I have not tested this myself.
     
  5. nmaynan

    nmaynan Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2008
    Posts:
    98
    I have been at the library looking into this.

    It appears that I can accomplish it by installing two hard discs and formatting the discs for dynamic spanning. then Windows will treat 2 Hard discs as if they are 1 disc. True crypt will system encrypt both discs as if they are both part of the "singular" system partition. Then I just move the paging file onto the second disc.
     
  6. dantz

    dantz Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 19, 2007
    Posts:
    1,034
    Location:
    Hawaii
    That will probably degrade your disk performance. I think you're going backwards.
     
  7. JokersWild

    JokersWild Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2008
    Posts:
    23
    I have a second hard disk used as a dedicated paging file on my Windows XP SP2 box. I've used Crypto Swap Guerrilla on that drive for several years with excellent results.

    You can grab it here:

    http://www.geocities.com/phosphor2013/list.htm

    From the documentation:
    "====================
    HOW CRYPTOSWAP WORKS
    ====================

    (The foregoing is adapted from the official documentation.)

    CryptoSwap loads a low-level driver at Windows startup, before
    Windows runs its virtual memory support mechanism and initializes the
    swap file.

    Upon initialization, the driver generates a random encryption key
    that is unique to the current Windows session. The encryption key is
    never written to disk, but held in RAM until the computer is shut
    down or rebooted.

    The CryptoSwap driver intercepts all filesystem operations, such as
    open/close, read/write file, etc., detects requests to the swap file,
    and encrypts data buffers when Windows writes something to the swap
    file. When Windows reads data from or writes data to the swap file,
    CryptoSwap encrypts and decrypts it on the fly, so that each
    operation is performed automatically and transparently.


    ============
    Final Notes:
    ============

    Information on the algorithms implemented in CryptoSwap can be found
    here:


    http://www.ssh.fi/support/cryptography/algorithms/symmetric.html
    (AES, Twofish, Blowfish)

    http://vipul.net/gost/ (GOST)

    Caveat:

    After all that, I've never tested it on Vista and haven't a clue as to whether or not it would run on Windows7.

    JW
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.