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Creating Protected Disk

A protected disk cannot be created on another protected disk.

To create a new protected disk (a new protected disk image file):

• Switch to the Mount tab in the StrongDisk main window.
• Click Create.
• In the "Creating a protected disk – file name" dialog box
  
  • Enter the full path to the file where the created protected disk is to be stored in the "Disk image file name" box
  • Click Next >

You can choose the folder where to store the file from the list that can be found in the dialog box that opens if you press the Browse button.

When creating a disk image file StrongDisk places a shortcut to it into the Windows\StrongDisk Disks folder.

In each of the Creating a protected disk… dialog boxes you can

• proceed to the next stage of creating a protected disk by clicking Next >;
• return to the previous stage by clicking < Back
• terminate the creation process by clicking Cancel.

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• In the "Creating a protected disk – disk size" dialog box
  
  • The amount of free space on the disk is indicated in the Free (MB) box.
  • Enter the capacity of the newly created disk in the Disk size (MB) box. Disk capacity is approximately the same as disk image file size, since the latter consists of the header and the very data, and data size does not neither increase nor decrease with encryption. For floating size disks the number in the Disk size (MB) box is treated as maximum disk image file size.
    Protected disk capacity cannot be greater than the amount of free space on the logical disk where the disk image file is created.
  • When creating a protected disk on logical disk with FAT32 file system, it is possible that the message will appear reporting about insufficient disk space, though Windows and StrongDisk Pro itself can show that there is enough free space. This is because the information reported by Windows is not always up-to-date. Try to create protected disk on another logical disk, empty Recycle Bin or delete unnecessary data.
  • Check the "Floating size disk" checkbox if you want to create a floating size disk. A floating size disk is a disk whose size grows when it starts getting filled with data. Initial size of a floating size disk is small - it does not contain anything except its header. Maximum floating disk size is entered in the Disk size (MB) box.
  • A floating size disk cannot be pre-filled with random data.
  • If you do not know what will be the amount of data that will be stored on a protected disk, it is reasonable to create a floating size disk of maximum possible size.
  • You should work with floating-size disks very carefully if there is little free space available on the disk where protected disk image file is stored. Insufficient disk space may lead to loss of the data written to protected disk.
  • If you want to fill the new disk with random data, check the "Fill disk with random data" checkbox. Filling a disk with random data adds to the difficulty of unauthorized decryption.
• Choose a file system to be used on the created protected disk from the "File system" list. You can choose FAT or NTFS when working under Windows NT. Only FAT is available for Windows 95/98.
  • NTFS protected disks cannot be used with Windows 95/98. If you work under Windows NT and do not have a single NTFS partition than you have to configure Windows NT so that NTFS driver is automatically launched on system reboot. This configuration adjustment can be made from the Devices part of Windows NT Control Panel. If you do not think you have enough experience in setting up and configuring Windows NT, it is better to leave the system configuration unchanged and use only FAT.
  • NTFS file system cannot be used on floating size disks. Nor can NTFS disks be mounted in write-protected mode.
  • Disk image file can be located on a partition with any file system regardless of what file system is used on the protected disk.
  • Click Next >
• In the Create a protected disk - encryption parameters dialog box
  • Choose the algorithm for encrypting the protected disk file header from the "Key encryption algorithm" list. As a key for encrypting the file header a hash function of the password (and/or a key) that you provide for access to the disk (in the next dialog box) will be used. A key for encrypting the data on the protected disk is stored in the header along with other information. This key is generated by the program using a special cryptographically strong algorithm.
  • Choose a method for encrypting the data on the protected disk from the "Data encryption method" list.
  • Choose a hash algorithm from the "Hash algorithm" list. A hash algorithm is a function that converts a password of arbitrary length to a 20 byte sequence of numbers from 1 to 255. This sequence is used as a key for encrypting the key to the data on the protected disk. It is impossible to deduce the password from this sequence, and the probability is negligibly small that two different passwords will be converted to the same string.
  • You can read the characteristics of hash and encryption algorithms that are supported in current StrongDisk Pro version.
  • Click Next >
• In the "Creating a protected disk – password" dialog box
  • Set "Text password", "Electronic key" and "File-key" checkboxes according to what you are going to protect the disk with.
    Before external key can be used it should be initialized.
  • The password for access to the protected disk is not stored anywhere, not even in the protected disk file itself. The content of external keys also is not stored anywhere except the very key. If you forget the password or lose the external key without making its copy), no one (including the StrongDisk Pro team) will be able to recover the data from the protected disk.
  • If you have checked "Text password" checkbox, enter the password for access to the protected disk in the corresponding field.
    A password should be at least eight characters long. You should keep in mind that a bad password might negate all the advantages of intricate encryption methods (if external key is not used). More suggestions on choosing the password you can find in the "Good passwords and bad passwords" paragraph.
  • Enter the chosen password once again in the "Confirmation" field.
  • If you have checked "File-key" checkbox, enter the name (with full path) of the file containing a key in the corresponding field.
  • Click Next >
• In the "Creating a protected disk - new disk properties" dialog box
  • Check all the parameters of the disk to be created.
  • If everything is correct, insert if required electronic key or diskette with a file-key and click Create. The new protected disk will be created.

If the disk size is large, creation process will take some time. It may stop some time after the formatting progress bar reaches 100% since encryption is done when disk cash is written to disk, and it may take several minutes.