Introducing tCrypt2Go and vCrypt2Go – Lock-and-Unlock Utilities for TrueCrypt and VeraCrypt Portable

Are you a security-aware person? Have you got a USB thumb drive or external hard drive you wish to use that does not have any built-in encryption features? You could turn it into one that does, with the cross-platform open-source alternative to BitLocker – TrueCrypt (succeeded by VeraCrypt) – but it is not as easy or intuitive to unlock or use as a purchased encrypted external storage solution in the market, because of its feature-rich nature; unlocking is done via an advanced user interface that is more meant for the technically inclined.

Solution – tCrypt2Go & vCrypt2Go to Simply and Speed Up Drive Unlocking

Named after TrueCrypt and 'BitLocker To Go', tCrypt2Go – a set of open-source and cross-platform lock-and-unlock utilities on top of TrueCrypt enabling users to DIY their own encrypted portable storage which is simple to use as a purchased solution in the market – simplifies the user experience of TrueCrypt Portable on removable media/external hard disks by hiding the complexities of TrueCrypt and its options from users, making it easy to lock and unlock an encrypted USB thumb drive or hard disk with as few steps as possible.

Technical Overview – How tCrypt2Go and vCrypt2Go work

This is an article for enthusiasts detailing the technical design of tCrypt2Go for TrueCrypt (also applicable to vCrypt2Go for VeraCrypt unless otherwise specified).

(This is a sub-article – click here to view to the list of articles or the main article of tCrypt2Go and vCrypt2Go)

Topics Covered in this Article

1. Container for Thumb Drive (Removable Media) vs Partition for External Hard Disk (Fixed Disk)
2. Choosing a File System for the Encrypted Partition
3. Pros and Cons of Each File System (NTFS, exFAT and FAT32)
4. The Unlocking Flowchart
5. Commands for Locking and Unlocking

1. Container for Thumb Drive (Removable Media) vs Partition for External Hard Disk (Fixed Disk)

In the high level, there are two modes from which a user can choose to encrypt their portable drives:

• Encrypted Partition Mode (Entire Partition Encrypted) for a Hard Drive Setup
• Encrypted File Container Mode (a Virtual Encrypted Disk within a File) for a Thumb Drive Setup or a Hard Drive Setup

Below comparison picture illustrates the difference between them:

Installation Guide – Setting up tCrypt2Go and vCrypt2Go to Encrypt Portable Hard Disks

This is an article for users illustrating how to encrypt a portable hard disk (click here if you have a thumb drive or memory card instead) as a partition for use with tCrypt2Go lock-and-unlock utilities for TrueCrypt Portable (also applicable to vCrypt2Go for VeraCrypt unless otherwise specified).

(This is a sub-article – click here to view to the list of articles or the main article of tCrypt2Go and vCrypt2Go)

List of Steps

1. Creating 2 Partitions and Copy TrueCrypt/VeraCrypt Files to the Partition Labelled UNPROTECTED
2. Eliminating Free Space on UNPROTECTED Partition (Preventing Users from Saving Files into Unencrypted Area)
3. Encrypting Second Partition with TrueCrypt/VeraCrypt
4. Unlocking Encrypted Partition
5. Labeling Encrypted Partition as 'PROTECTED'
6. Copying TrueCrypt/VeraCrypt Files to Encrypted Partition
7. Suppressing 'Format Disk' Prompt with Diskpart

Installation Guide – Setting up tCrypt2Go and vCrypt2Go to Encrypt USB Thumb Drives

This is an article for users illustrating how to encrypt a USB thumb drive or memory card (click here if you have a portable hard disk instead) as a container (virtual disk file) for use with tCrypt2Go lock-and-unlock utilities for TrueCrypt Portable (also applicable to vCrypt2Go for VeraCrypt unless otherwise specified).

(This is a sub-article – click here to view to the list of articles or the main article of tCrypt2Go and vCrypt2Go)

List of Steps

1. Formatting Thumb Drive and Copy TrueCrypt Files
2. Creating a 10 MB Dummy File as Buffer (Optional)
3. Creating Encrypted Container with TrueCrypt
4. Unlocking Encrypted Partition and Copy TrueCrypt Files There

User Guide – How to Unlock and Lock Encrypted Drives using tCrypt2Go or vCrypt2Go

This is an article for users illustrating how to unlock and lock drives encrypted for use with tCrypt2Go for TrueCrypt Portable (also applicable to vCrypt2Go for VeraCrypt unless otherwise specified) on PC and Mac.

(This is a sub-article – click here to view to the list of articles or the main article of tCrypt2Go and vCrypt2Go)

Topics Covered in this Article

1. Unlocking and Locking Encrypted Drives with tCrypt2Go – Admin User Guide – PC
2. Unlocking and Locking Encrypted Drives with tCrypt2Go – Admin User Guide – Mac
3. Unlocking and Locking Encrypted Drives with tCrypt2Go – Standard User Guide – PC
4. Unlocking and Locking Encrypted Drives with tCrypt2Go – Standard User Guide – Mac

Enhancing and Troubleshooting Common Issues with tCrypt2Go or vCrypt2Go

This is an article illustrating how to add miscellaneous enhancements or troubleshoot common issues with tCrypt2Go for TrueCrypt Portable (also applicable to vCrypt2Go for VeraCrypt unless otherwise specified).

(This is a sub-article – click here to view to the list of articles or the main article of tCrypt2Go and vCrypt2Go) 

Topics Covered in this Article

1. Formatting Encrypted Partition as exFAT in Command Prompt for Cross-Platform Support (i.e. Write Support in Mac OS X) – exFAT and TrueCrypt Only
2. Granting Non-Admin Mac Users TrueCrypt/VeraCrypt Right (by Editing /etc/sudoer) – Mac-Only
3. Avoiding User Account Control (UAC) Prompts
4. Suppressing "Format Disk" Prompt with Diskpart

SharePoint for Project Management (2016)—Presentation Video & Slides for Download

Microsoft SharePoint, the widely leveraged document management and collaboration web application, is a stabilized product with millions of users that has been growing strong since 2001, from on-premises to cloud as part of Office 365. Using SharePoint with Microsoft Office is a seamless experience. 

I had the opportunity to present SharePoint publicly four times in 2016. Two of them were for work and two of them for school (one being in English). As posted below, you may find the slides (in PowerPoint format) on SlideShare and partial video of the English presentation on YouTube.

Academic Presentation 1 - Available on SlideShare