TrueCrypt is a software system for establishing and maintaining an on-the-fly-encrypted drive. On-the-fly encryption means that data are automatically encrypted or decrypted right before they are loaded or saved, without any user intervention. No data stored on an encrypted volume can be read (decrypted) without using the correct password or correct…

Link to TrueCrypt 4.3

I have been using TrueCrypt for over a year on my laptop. I keep my QuickBooks and other sensitive files in it. My assumption has always been that if my laptop is stolen that my XP login password would be cracked pretty easily. Ophcrack showed me how easy it can be done. My other assumption is that breaking into TrueCrypt would be way too hard for most thieves. I highly recommend TrueCrypt.

Gpg4win – EMail-Security using GnuPG for Windows

Today I upgraded from 1.0.1 to 1.0.3 and experienced problems verifying files. I could not verify a file with GPGee or WinPT. The files had been verified under 1.0.1. GPGee said I had an invalid key and WinPT did not show any results. GPA did verify the file. I re-installed a second time with an uninstall, reboot, and install to see if was an installation error by me. I got the same errors. I have reinstalled 1.0.1 and it verifies the files again.

TrueCrypt v4.2a
TrueCrypt is a software system for establishing and maintaining an on-the-fly-encrypted drive. On-the-fly encryption means that data are automatically encrypted or decrypted right before they are loaded or saved, without any user intervention. No data stored on an encrypted volume can be read (decrypted) without using the correct password or correc…

This is an open source programs I use everyday. I think it is essential for your sensitive data if you still run your laptop with XP Home.

NewsForge | Portable open source software

Since I use several of the open source packages on this list, I have to say that I approve of the selections and will take a look at the ones I do not presently use. For the ultimate in portability I have Firefox and Open Office installed on a USB stick. Most of the packages I use lean toward enhancing security via encryption. Some of the packages on the list I use are:

• KeePass – password manager
• TrueCrypt – encrypted file system

Some of the other open source packages listed at the bottom that I use are XAMPP and Notepad++. Although it is not open source, VMplayer/VMServer, really help in this area by allowing you to run Linux on a virtual machine and reach the rest of open source universe.

SourceForge.net: KeePass 1.04 released

Version 1.04 is mainly a feature release. The auto-type features have been enhanced (most notably there’s now an entry selection dialog displayed when multiple entries match), improved TAN handling (new display, support of indexed TANs, …) and the user interface has been improved.

I have been using this program for about a year since I have so many passwords to keep track of. This entry selection dialog is an improvement I can really use and appreciate. I have several entries for EFTPS and Ohio Business Gateway for which I previously could not use the auto-type feature. This feature saves me from a couple of copy and paste key strokes. It is not a big deal but it was annoying/inconvenient.

I have been using Password Safe the last couple of months to help manage my passwords. It has done a fine job. Yesterday I saw another open source password manager was released so I decided to check it out. It is called KeePass and you can find it here. It does everything Password Safe does and a couple of things more. KeePass appears to have better encryption although I am no expert and really don’t care. The feature that caught my interest was the ability to open urls in the web browser and fill the normal username and password fields. It worked for several of the urls I tried. It did not work on all of them. Still it could be minor timesaving feature that may encourage me to use more difficult passwords(i.e. random). I was very pleased that my exported passwords from Password Safe imported into KeePass without a problem.