If You Encrypt a Usb With Veracrypt, Can You Read It on Another Device

VeraCrypt is a free and open up source disk encryption utility that can create a virtual encrypted disk within a file or encrypt a division. In Windows, it tin can too encrypt the entire storage device with pre-kick authentication.

The awarding was forked from the TrueCrypt project, and since then it got security improvements along with optimized implementations of cryptographic hash functions and ciphers which boost functioning on modern CPUs.

This article explains how to encrypt a USB bulldoze with VeraCrypt with pace-by-step screenshots, including what sectionalisation type to cull if yous want it to exist uniform with multiple operating systems (Linux, Windows, macOS), likewise as how to mount / access the encrypted USB drive.

It should be noted that you tin create an encrypted USB flash drive on Linux, Windows and macOS using VeraCrypt in a similar style, but the VeraCrypt user interface may expect slightly different. Y'all may also run across different options depending on the operating system you're using (for example the filesystem types), but the important steps should be the aforementioned. VeraCrypt 1.23 for Linux was used in the screenshots below (in Ubuntu 18.10).

VeraCrypt installation

Yous tin download the VeraCrypt setup binary or source from this page.

On Linux, you can download packages for some Linux distributions, like DEB for Debian (including Raspberry Pi Os) / Ubuntu and Linux distributions based on these, and RPM for CentOS and openSUSE. Or y'all can download a generic binary that runs on any Linux distribution.

To install this generic Linux installer, download the VeraCrypt setup.tar.bz2 archive and extract it in your home folder. Then enter the extracted VeraCrypt folder using a final, make the script catastrophe in setup-gui-x64 (for Linux 64bit) executable, so run it:

            cd veracrypt*setup chmod +x veracrypt*setup-gui-x64 ./veracrypt*setup-gui-x64          

Ubuntu / Linux Mint / Pop!_OS users may too apply a tertiary-political party PPA to install VeraCrypt, like this 1. Just using a PPA for an encryption tool like VeraCrypt is not exactly a good idea. Nevertheless, I'll add Ubuntu and Linux Mint PPA installation instructions below:

            sudo add-apt-repository ppa:unit193/encryption sudo apt-get update sudo apt install veracrypt          

Encryption-related articles yous might find interesting:

• EncryptPad: Encrypted Text Editor For Your Secrets
• How To Encrypt The Home Folder In Ubuntu 18.04
• Cryptomator Secures Your Cloud Storage Data (Open Source, Multi-Platform Customer-Side Encryption Tool)

How to encrypt an USB bulldoze with VeraCrypt

ane. Select a slot in VeraCrypt (from the listing in the eye of the application), then click Select Device and click on your USB device:

From the Select a Partition or Device dialog that pops up, select your USB stick:

ii. Click the Create Volume button and in the window that pops up, select Create a volume within a partition/drive , and then click Side by side :

This option formats and encrypts the sectionalisation and then whatever data on the USB will exist lost! If you prefer to create a virtual encrypted deejay within a file (which tin can exist placed on the USB drive along with unencrypted files), cull the Create an encrypted file container option instead. This article is about creating an encrypted USB drive though.

On the next screen select Standard VeraCrypt volume and click Adjacent :

Yous may likewise use a hidden volume here, simply this how-to assumes you lot're going to use a standard volume. A hidden volume is useful in case y'all are forced to reveal the password of an encrypted book and you can't refuse this - in such cases a VeraCrypt volume is created within another VeraCrypt volume, and it should exist incommunicable to prove whether there is a hidden volume within it or non. More data here.

3. On the next screen you'll demand to enter the book location. Click on Select Device and select the USB device (the screen is similar to the one used to select the USB stick in step 1):

Subsequently yous've selected the USB device, click Next in the VeraCrypt Volume Cosmos Wizard window.

Make sure you've selected the USB bulldoze that y'all want to encrypt and not some other device. The device will be formatted and the information on information technology will exist lost! Read the alert displayed by VeraCrypt carefully, and so click Yes :

VeraCrypt will prompt you to enter your user or ambassador password - enter it and click OK :

A warning that formatting the device volition destroy all data on it is now displayed. Click Yes to continue.

four. On the next screen you'll see the VeraCrypt encryption options:

If you're unsure on what to cull hither, leave the Encryption Algorithm and Hash Algorithm to their default values (AES / SHA-512) and click Next .

5. VeraCrypt will at present ask yous to enter a volume password:

Choose a strong countersign as this will be used to encrypt/decrypt the book. You lot can also use a keyfile, which is combined with the password for meliorate protection of the encrypted volume. Make certain you don't forget the password or lose the keyfile considering without them it volition exist impossible to mount the volume.

6. The side by side VeraCrypt Volume Creation Wizard screen asks if you plan on storing files larger than four GB on the volume or non:

This determines the type of filesystem that will exist displayed as an option on the side by side screen. For example, if you select the I will store files larger than 4 GB on the volume option, the side by side screen won't display the Fatty filesystem pick because it doesn't support files larger than 4 GB.

7. Now you lot will need to choose the filesystem type:

If you desire your encrypted USB stick to be uniform with Linux, Windows and macOS, choose between exFAT, Fatty and NTFS.

I'd like to make some notes here. FAT doesn't back up files larger than 4 GB, and so go along this in mind. NTFS is supported on both macOS and Linux (and Windows obviously) but its read/write support tin be poor on these two operating systems. As for exFAT, it'due south well supported on Windows, macOS and Linux, but it may crave installing some packages on some older Linux systems (for example, on older Ubuntu versions you'll need to install exfat-fuse and exfat-utils ). My recommendation is to get with the exFAT filesystem.

For full compatibility between operating systems (merely without back up for files larger than four GB), even older Linux distributions (without having to install anything else) go with a FAT filesystem blazon.

In instance you lot plan on using the USB stick on Linux machines only, you can choose the Ext4 filesystem type.

8. In the adjacent pace, cull if you want to mount the volumes on other platforms and click Next :

After clicking Side by side , a warning is displayed if you selected that you plan to mount information technology on other platforms and yous choose any filesystem type other than FAT. Click OK since we've already covered this role in the previous step, and and so you know what this is about.

9. The adjacent screen is titled Volume Format and here, you need to movement your mouse randomly within the VeraCrypt window, to generate a pool of entropy which increases the cryptographic strength of the encryption keys.

Once the Randomness Collected From Mouse Movements bar is filled, y'all tin can click the Format button, then click Aye when prompted:

VeraCrypt will at present brainstorm creating the volume, displaying the percentage done, speed and fourth dimension left. Once it's washed, click Exit .

How to access the VeraCrypt-encrypted USB bulldoze

When you want to access an VeraCrypt-encrypted USB bulldoze, launch VeraCrypt, select a"slot" (from the list in the middle of the application; this is called "drive" in Windows), then click Select Device , and select your USB device just similar in pace 1 from the encryption instructions above.

Next, click the Mount push and enter the password yous set in step 5:

You may also be prompted to enter your user or administrator countersign in order to mount the book.

You should at present see the USB drive mounted in your file manager. In recent Nautilus (default Gnome file manager) versions you lot may demand to click on Other Locations to access the mounted VeraCrypt-encrypted USB bulldoze:

You can also double click the mounted entry in VeraCrypt to launch your default file director with the location of mounted volume, or enable the VeraCrypt selection ( Settings -> Preferences -> Organisation Integration ) to automatically open a file browser window when a volume is successfully mounted.

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Source: https://www.linuxuprising.com/2018/10/how-to-encrypt-usb-drive-with-veracrypt.html

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