Encrypting Windows with TrueCrypt

Transcription

1 Encrypting Windows with TrueCrypt Author: David Gullett Published: April 3, 2010 Version: 1.0 Copyright 2010, Symmetrix Technologies Table of Contents A. Introduction B. Installation Prerequisites Download TrueCrypt Install TrueCrypt Uninstallation of TrueCrypt C. Performance Testing Test Systems Test Software Metrics Before and After Encryption Analysis D. Conclusion A. Introduction It is well documented in most major media sources that thousands of laptops are lost or stolen each year. In many cases these machines contain very sensitive data. The obvious solution is to encrypt the hard drive so the information cannot be accessed by unauthorized persons. In this article we will document a method for encrypting Windows systems and provide benchmarks before and after the encryption in determine the performance impact. B. Installation 1. Prerequisites All you need is a Windows machine with XP, Vista, 7, Server 2003 or Server 2008 installed. This document assumes that Windows is the sole operating system on the hard drive. Naturally it is absolutely essential to have

2 a backup of all your data before you begin this process. 2. Download TrueCrypt To download TrueCrypt, visit in your browser and download the Windows version. We're using release 6.3a for this document. 3. Install TrueCrypt Run the setup file that you downloaded in the previous step. This installation is a very straightforward process just like all the other Windows applications you've installed over the years. Once the setup is complete, run TrueCrypt and encrypt the Windows system partition as depicted in the screenshot below:

3 Select Normal on the following screen and click Next. Encrypt the entire drive as illustrated below:

4 We recommend not encrypting the Host Protected Area. This can include a lot of things that are important like Dell or HP diagnostic utilities. There is no personal information contained in this section of your drive. Select No and click Next: Again, this document assumes that you only have one operating system on your hard drive. If this is not the case, you'll need to check the full TrueCrypt documentation. Select Single-boot and click Next.

5 There are quite a few encryption options. Choose the one you prefer and click Next. We used AES in this example and the benchmarks are based on that selection. The next step is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. You have to enter a password with which to encrypt your drive. Do NOT forget this password. Enter it twice and click Next.

6 Move your mouse around a bit to generate some random data and click Next. Click Next.

7 You now need to burn a rescue CD. Put a blank CD into your CD-R and click Next. If you don't have a CD-R you can go back to the beginning of this entire process, then click on Start/Run and then type C:\Program Files\TrueCrypt\TrueCrypt Format.exe /n to avoid burning the CD.

8 Once the CD has completed burning it's time to encrypt the drive. Unless you want to erase out the whole drive, we recommend choosing None in the next step. TrueCrypt now will run a test to help make sure you don't lose any data. Click Next on the following screen:

9 The machine will then reboot and you'll have to enter your chosen password before Windows will start back up. If the test succeeds you'll then need to agree to TrueCrypt's terms and conditions. Click on Encrypt to secure your drive.

10 The encryption process will then begin. This can take a few hours depending on your hardware. While it is certainly not recommended, all is not lost if your machine loses power during this step. TrueCrypt will continue the encryption process upon the next boot in most cases. We tested this accidentally by neglecting to plug in the test laptop!

11 The process will eventually hit 100% and you'll see the following screens:

12 4. Uninstallation of TrueCrypt If you're unhappy with TrueCrypt for any reason it's pretty simple to uninstall the software. Open the TrueCrypt application and select Permanently Decrypt System Partition/Drive as illustrated below: Agree to the next few prompts and decryption will begin:

13 The decryption process will display a progress update in a very similar manner to the screens during encryption. While it is certainly not recommended, all is not lost if your machine loses power during this step. TrueCrypt will continue the encryption process upon the next boot in most cases. We tested this accidentally by neglecting to plug in the test laptop! It's also important to note that you can decrypt your drive and go back to your original setup if you're not pleased with the performance after encrypting your system. C. Performance Testing 1. Test Systems We used three different test systems in order to bring a variety of benchmarks to this article: Laptop 1: Model: Dell Inspiron 6400 Processor: Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.0 GHz), 64 bit Hard Drive: Seagate ST AS (320 GB, 7200 RPM) Memory: 2048 MB Video: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate ( )

14 Desktop 1: Model: Dell Dimension 4700 Processor: Intel Pentium (3.0 GHz), 32 bit Hard Drive: Western Digital WD800JD-75MSA3 (80 GB, 7200 RPM) Memory: 1536 MB Video: Radeon X300/X550/X1050 Series OS: Windows 7 Professional ( ) Desktop 2: Model: Homebrew Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 (2.66 GHz), 64 bit Hard Drive: Seagate ST AS (1.5 TB, 7200 RPM) Memory: 4096 MB Video: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX OS: Windows 7 Professional ( ) 2. Test Software We used PCMark Vantage ( to test the hard drives. We only ran the hard drive test suite to provide benchmarking. 3. Metrics Before and After Encryption Let's look at the numbers on our three test systems. Laptop 1 Before Encryption: HDD Test Suite HDD - Windows Defender HDD - gaming HDD - importing pictures to Windows Photo Gallery HDD - Windows Vista startup HDD - video editing using Windows Movie Maker HDD - Windows Media Center HDD - adding music to Windows Media Player HDD - application loading MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s Laptop 1 After Encryption: HDD Test Suite HDD - Windows Defender HDD - gaming HDD - importing pictures to Windows Photo Gallery HDD - Windows Vista startup HDD - video editing using Windows Movie Maker HDD - Windows Media Center HDD - adding music to Windows Media Player HDD - application loading MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s Desktop 1 Before Encryption: HDD Test Suite HDD - Windows Defender HDD - gaming HDD - importing pictures to Windows Photo Gallery HDD - Windows Vista startup MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s

15 HDD - video editing using Windows Movie Maker HDD - Windows Media Center HDD - adding music to Windows Media Player HDD - application loading MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s Desktop 1 After Encryption: HDD Test Suite HDD - Windows Defender HDD - gaming HDD - importing pictures to Windows Photo Gallery HDD - Windows Vista startup HDD - video editing using Windows Movie Maker HDD - Windows Media Center HDD - adding music to Windows Media Player HDD - application loading MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s Desktop 2 Before Encryption: HDD Test Suite HDD - Windows Defender HDD - gaming 1 HDD - importing pictures to Windows Photo Gallery HDD - Windows Vista startup HDD - video editing using Windows Movie Maker HDD - Windows Media Center HDD - adding music to Windows Media Player HDD - application loading MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s Desktop 2 After Encryption: HDD Test Suite HDD - Windows Defender HDD - gaming HDD - importing pictures to Windows Photo Gallery HDD - Windows Vista startup HDD - video editing using Windows Movie Maker HDD - Windows Media Center HDD - adding music to Windows Media Player HDD - application loading MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s MB/s 4. Analysis We're just going to concentrate on the aggregate number in each case (the figure after HDD Test Suite ) for the sake of simplicity. Laptop 1: HDD Test Suite (Before Encryption) HDD Test Suite (After Encryption) Percentage Change: % Desktop 1: HDD Test Suite (Before Encryption) HDD Test Suite (After Encryption) Percentage Change: %

16 Desktop 2: HDD Test Suite (Before Encryption) HDD Test Suite (After Encryption) Percentage Change: % Average performance impact among all three systems: % D. Conclusion While it is clear that there is a performance impact, the gains certainly outweigh the losses. The prospect of proprietary data loss is incalculable in many cases. It's important to note that the biggest performance decrease was on the laptop even with a 7200 RPM drive. This laptop is about 3.5 years old at the time of this writing so more modern machines will likely be impacted to a lesser degree. Averaged across all the PCs, we believe a 23.41% decrease in hard drive access will be unnoticed in most real world applications. Encrypt your hard drive now to save yourself from professional embarrassment and financial loss. Comments, feedback and contributions are welcome and encouraged at articles@symmetrixtech.com. Visit us on the web at for more information. Revision History: Initial release