Quoted:
Secure it with
www.truecrypt.org
-Foxxz
+ 1,048,576.
the HUGE ADVANTAGE with using TrueCrypt over a "hardware encrypted USB drive" is that you can store, copy, transmit, duplicate, etc etc your TrueCrypt vault (= a file) as many times as you want, in as many places as you want, on as many types of media as you want.
in other words, you fell into the water, your USB key is ruined?
no problem, your TrueCrypt vault is also on your PC's hard drive at home, on your PC at work, on another USB flash drive in your BOB, on another USB flash drive in your BOV center console, on a CD at your parents house in a drawer, on a CD in a safe deposit box in a bank, on a networked server fileshare on the other side of the world, etc etc etc.
2 is 1, 1 is none.
having one HW-encrypted store of your stuff is a single point of failure.
ar-jedi
ETA, from a prior post
Quoted:
FYI is there any advantage to the thumb drive over a couple of CD's?
the USB drive is easily updatable as new info is found/old info is changed. the USB key is easier to hang around your neck, or stuff in your BOB/pack. but keep reading...
Quoted:
Can you set a password for the thumb drive?
don't encrypt the entire USB key. instead, see my link above for TrueCrypt software (open source, free, very good). use it to make an encrypted container, and that's where your docs will go into.
ETA:
the main reason you don't want to encrypt the entire key is that in order to decrypt the key on some random computer you found, you would first need to install the decryption software. which you would get from where? so there is a chicken-vs-egg problem.
hence, make a container within the USB key; encrypt that. OUTSIDE THE CONTAINER, place the truecrypt installer application AND use the "Make Traveller" function from within truecrypt. the latter will add all the necessary bits to the USB key to unencrypt the container without having to actully install truecrypt on the PC. and, having the actual installer application is just backup.
don't make the container larger than about 600-650MB. why not? keep reading...
Quoted:
Is it EMP proof?
no one knows. so, in true ARFCOM fashion, "get both". make a CD copy once every 6 months or so, and perhaps keep a second USB key in an RF proof box somewhere with the rest of your electronic SHTF stuff. nevertheless, if there is an EMP strong enough to take out your USB key, it probably means you have huge problems forthcoming!
as noted way way way above, i periodically make a copy of my USB key onto a CD, and send it off to my parents in another state (aka cheap offsite storage). this is why you should not make the encrypted container larger than 600-650MB –– otherwise it will not fit onto a CD.