How to encrypt data on an external hard drive?

How to encrypt data on an external hard drive? I want to secure my external (1 TB) hard drive that I use as a physical back-up for my home computer so that if the drive is stolen (eg burglary) then the data is not easily accessible by a common or garden thief.
Asked by: Guest \| Views: 429

Total answers/comments: 2

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bert [Entry]

"Have you looked into TrueCrypt? From the website:

Main Features:

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

Encrypts an entire partition or storage device such as USB flash drive or hard drive.

Encrypts a partition or drive where Windows is installed (pre-boot authentication).

Encryption is automatic, real-time (on-the-fly) and transparent.

Parallelization and pipelining allow data to be read and written as fast as if the drive was not encrypted.

Provides plausible deniability, in case an adversary forces you to reveal the password:

Hidden volume (steganography) and hidden operating system.

Encryption algorithms: AES-256, Serpent, and Twofish. Mode of operation: XTS."

bert [Entry]

"TrueCrypt doesn't work if you're planing to use backup programs such as Windows Vista/7 backup, as it does not see the drive mounted.
I tried both options with no success.
The solution is to look for backup drives that come with encrypting option."