Using TrueCrypt to do security

[daytona235]

As a stop gap because I just cant wait to get my unraid box up - I set up a test box to try the following concept.

Basically just mount True Crypt folders that fill up each drive in Unraid. This would then enable some level of security and also if the drive fails and you have to send it in for a warranty swap your personal data is not exposed. (not to mention someone breaking in and stealing your machine) - yes I am also (in addition to being impatient) paranoid.

 

As I sit here waiting for my true crypt drive to format while my unraid does a parity synch - looks like this will take 10hrs per True Crypt - I was wondering:

 

1. what everyone thought of this idea?

 

2. and if anyone has done this with success?

 

3. run into any problems?

 

Again - UNRAID IS ONE COOL PRODUCT!!!!!!

[daytona235]

AND THEN could I share the true crypt drives via my windows server? True Crypt drives look like local drives right? Hmmmm 9 hours to go says the True Crypt client on my format....

 

BTW does NTFS / FAT selection as file system for the True Crypt drive make a difference?

[daytona235]

IT WORKS!!!!!

 

I now have a truecrypt drive shared from one of my windows servers made available to the whole network with authentication + encryption!!!!!

 

 

[limetech]

That's awesome!  Thank you for investigating this. 

[mola]

IT WORKS!!!!!

 

I now have a truecrypt drive shared from one of my windows servers made available to the whole network with authentication + encryption!!!!!

 

 

 

Hey Daytona,

 

I read about the product info and it seems to be an win app, so you could only see your encrypted disks using a windows os that's running truecrypt, correct?

 

Regards,

M

 

[cmhardwick]

so the truecrypt drives are on your unRaid box. Will unRaid be able to rebuild a drive, with encryption intact, from a failure? If it's a sector by sector rebuild, my guess would be yes. Interesting test for you, Daytona 

[Tybio]

 

 

Hey Daytona,

 

I read about the product info and it seems to be an win app, so you could only see your encrypted disks using a windows os that's running truecrypt, correct?

 

Regards,

M

 

 

Truecrypt is not linked to any one OS.  It is an open source project, so you can compile it anywhere if you want.  It is mainly released for Linux and Windows however. 

[bubbaQ]

TC will either encrypt an entire HD partition, or you can create a large file, that acts as a container for the TC volume, and store it on a regular drive, and it will just look like a large file to the operating system.  The latter is what you have to do (currently) with unRAID.  This would be transparent to unRAID and unRAID will protect it and rebuild it just like any other file, and with the encryption intact.

 

TC runs on Linux and Windows, and you can access the encrypted volume both from the Linux box itself, and via a Windows box.

[cmhardwick]

Got it, since it's a large file, not the partition, unRaid doesn't care.

 

Sounds like a good option for security currently.

[hypyke]

Ideally though the TrueCrypt client would run on the unraid box.  I am already doing the same thing as the thread starter.  I have a TC file on one of my unraid drives.  I mount that over the network with the TC client on my windows box.  It shows up as a share on windows, not the unraid.

 

When I get home (I'm overseas at the moment) I am going to try setting up TrueCrypt on the unraid server itself.  That way the encryption/decryption would be done locally and not on my windows machine.

[bubbaQ]

That's also on my to-do list.  Enter the passwords to mount the volumes when unRAID boots, and then it is transparent.  If someone tries to walk off with the unRAID box, they will be in for a shock when they try to boot it back up.

[cmhardwick]

You'll need to make it do that after it's up far enough to telnet in or something for those of us that run a headless unraid server. I'm not hooking up a monitor and keyboard full time to that box.

[bubbaQ]

Naturally... mine is headless too.

[cmhardwick]

figured most everybody's was, but you never know and if you don't run it that way, it would be something easy to overlook

[daytona235]

IT WORKS!!!!!

 

I now have a truecrypt drive shared from one of my windows servers made available to the whole network with authentication + encryption!!!!!

 

 

 

Hey Daytona,

 

I read about the product info and it seems to be an win app, so you could only see your encrypted disks using a windows os that's running truecrypt, correct?

 

Regards,

M

 

 

Right now I only have windows machines that I can test with - so I really dont know if this will work on anything else.