Full hard drive encryption ?

[Fif23]

Hi folks !
I have two 3TB WD Reds I use for my hard data, they are fully mirroring each other (auto mirror backup) .

I now want to encrypt them with veracrypt and have questions....

1. Do I just select the NON OS Full drive encryption for each, and let each sit for what, a week until done? Is this normal that it takes several days for each ?
2. What if I was to back them up to an extrenal so I could format them both before the encryption, would it takes significantly less time ?
3. I don't really NEED all of that encrypted, a ton of it is music and movies.. There is only a 55gb folder of personal data, is there a tool that can encrypt only that folder without creating partitions and messing up my auto-backup software ?


Thanks ! appreciate the time you take to give me some tips

 

[Tom.699]

If you have Windows Pro or Ultimate you can use build-in folder encryption.
In normal use you will not notice they are encrypted but only your account has access so pick strong password and don't forget credentials.

 

[Fif23]

Ah, that's great !
Thanks Tom !

I always thought a microsoft tool is easily cracked by any hard drive lab... Myth ?

 

[Regeneration]

Windows' built-in encryption is crackable.

3rd party full disk encryption is a better choice for data security.

Take in mind it encryption has a noticeable effect on the system performance.

Don't bother if it’s just for your humble warez collection.

VeraCrypt is good for non-OS and DiskCryptor is awesome for full disk encryption.

 

[Tom.699]

I believe Windows 10 (from your spec) is using AES for encryption of files itself and RSA for encrypting key.
I would say is good enough for normal people.

Also I'm not sure if your backup method will persist encryption.
If you backing all up to external drive I would use VeraCrypt or BitLocker on it.
If data you want encrypted does not change frequently you may backup it separately to small VeraCrypt container.

Windows' built-in encryption is crackable.

What do you mean? I ask because I would like to know not challenge you.
AES is AES, are there any backdoors?

Everything is crackable in theory. You can use short simple password and then any encryption is worthless.
Does OP needs encryption that will take years for NSA to crack? Probably not (I may be wrong )

Take in mind it encryption has a noticeable effect on the system performance.

I don't agree, if you have modern hardware with hardware AES it is really fast.
Unless you encrypt Windows folder, TEMP folder, something like that or huge files it is not noticeable.

 

[Regeneration]

Government agencies like to target mainstream encryption algorithms and systems.

Microsoft is an American corporation known to cooperate with governments.

Don't be surprised if there is a backdoor in BitLocker (e.g. leaked NSA hacking tools in 2016).

The wise thing to do is to use non-familiar encryption software.

 

[Fif23]

Is there an external tool that can encrypt an area within the same partition ? I don't want to divide it like what Veracrypt is doing because it will mess up my backup schedules via Backup4All.
I could encrypt the whole thing (they are 2 WD Reds, mirroring) but it seems overkill for 55gb of sensitive data

 

[Regeneration]

What you are asking appears on VeraCrypt's website as its 1st main feature:

Creates a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mounts it as a real disk.



Just add the new file to your backup schedule and all is done.

 

[bug]

Full drive encryption is tricky. It's so secure, if something happens with the drive, you'll never recover your data from it.
You can still use it. You can even move your personal folder to the encrypted drive. Just be careful to back everything up, for when things go awry.

And if you're really running an AMD FX, encryption will hurt. That thing is missing more recent hardware instructions specifically aimed at speeding up encryption and decryption.