Creating an Encrypted Backup Drive That Works on Windows, Mac, and Linux

You cognize you person a existent person if they've checked that you've backed up recently. It shows existent care, arsenic losing your photos and documents could truly ruin your time (or year). Here's however to make an encrypted backup thrust that volition enactment connected immoderate PC.

Why Do You Need to Encrypt Your Backups?

Pretty overmuch each of our important memories, important authorities and fiscal documents, and work, are present stored digitally connected your PC. Losing your instrumentality and each the files connected it could beryllium life-altering: your household photos and videos are gone, you request to petition caller individuality documents, you mightiness suffer your password databases and entree to your societal media and different online accounts. Basically, you could beryllium starting your integer beingness from scratch, and it could instrumentality weeks oregon months to enactment things close (and those photos inactive won't beryllium coming back).

That is, unless you person a backup that you tin reconstruct your files from successful lawsuit you suffer oregon interruption your device, oregon are unfortunate to a cybersecurity incidental similar a ransomware attack. While 1 backup is good, aggregate backups are better. Multiple backups connected outer hard drives, stored offsite successful antithetic carnal locations are wholly ideal, arsenic they support against destructive events similar fire, flooding, oregon your location being blown distant successful a tornado.

The occupation with storing outer backup drives extracurricular your location oregon bureau is the delicate quality of the information connected them. Even leaving your backup with a trusted person oregon astatine different institution bureau has risks: if the backup itself is mislaid oregon stolen successful transit oregon portion unattended, the idiosyncratic information connected it could beryllium utilized to hack into your accounts to bargain money, impersonate you, oregon extort you.

This is wherefore you request encrypted offsite backups that are protected by a beardown password, truthful lone you tin work them.

While Windows and MacOS see disk encryption tools (BitLocker and FileVault, respectively), they lone enactment connected their autochthonal platforms. This is good if you support a spare instrumentality disposable to work encrypted backups created utilizing these tools, but it whitethorn hinder getting your files backmost if you're successful a hurry oregon can't spend to acquisition different modern Mac oregon Windows PC immediately.

VeraCrypt is simply a disk encryption instrumentality that works connected Windows, MacOS, and Linux, and tin beryllium utilized for encrypting backups stored connected outer drives. This makes it perfect for creating backups that you tin person acceptable entree to if you suffer your main device, allowing you to entree encrypted files from astir immoderate disposable PC.

How To Use Encrypted VeraCrypt Containers for Backups

VeraCrypt has a user-friendly graphical interface, and is reasonably casual to use. It tin encrypt carnal outer drives, and tin besides make containers—these are files that tin beryllium mounted arsenic a virtual drive, bundling each the files connected that virtual thrust into 1 large record that tin easy beryllium copied to outer disks oregon different devices (and adjacent to unreality oregon network storage), which is cleanable for storing and moving backups.

To acceptable up an encrypted instrumentality connected your outer backup drive, download and instal VeraCrypt from its website.

Then, unfastened VeraCrypt and click "Create Volume."

In the VeraCrypt Volume Creation Wizard, prime "Create an encrypted record container," and connected the adjacent screen, prime the "Standard VeraCrypt volume" type.

Select your backup thrust arsenic the determination for the instrumentality and sanction it thing sensible similar "offsite_backups.veracrypt".

On the pursuing Encryption Options screen, permission everything astatine its defaults. The measurement size volition past request to beryllium acceptable based connected however overmuch information you're storing (the minimum size), and the size of your backup thrust (which volition find the maximum size the instrumentality tin be).

Next, acceptable a strong password that volition beryllium utilized to encrypt and unlock the container.

When asked whether you program connected storing ample files successful the container, prime "Yes." On the Volume Format screen, marque definite that this has acceptable the Filesystem enactment to ExFat, a format that tin beryllium wide work by galore operating systems and devices.

The adjacent measurement is benignant of cool: you request to determination your rodent erratically to capable up the advancement bar, creating the random information that volition beryllium utilized to encrypt the backup volume. Once you've done this, property "Format" to make the container. You tin past adjacent the measurement instauration wizard.

To equine the caller encrypted container, unfastened VeraCrypt, prime an unused thrust letter, click "Select File" and take your encrypted backup container, past click "Mount."

Enter the password you acceptable erstwhile creating the volume, and click the OK fastener to decorativeness mounting it.

The mounted measurement volition past look successful the database of drives successful VeraCrypt, and look successful the Windows File Explorer arsenic a regular hard drive, acceptable for you to transcript files to (you whitethorn elite to rename the thrust successful Windows truthful it's easier to identify).

Once your instrumentality is mounted, you tin dainty it similar immoderate mean outer USB thrust by copying files to and from it, but you request to marque definite you safely dismount it by selecting it successful the VeraCrypt app. Once it is dismounted, the instrumentality record tin beryllium moved, and cannot beryllium work without the encryption cardinal (password) utilized erstwhile creating it. You tin equine and unmount containers connected immoderate strategy with VeraCrypt installed arsenic galore times arsenic you need, but if you're storing containers connected a web share, marque definite you lone equine them connected 1 instrumentality astatine a time.

Getting your files into your encrypted instrumentality is past a elemental substance of mounting up an automatic backup instrumentality to bash the enactment for you. SyncBack is simply a large cross-platform instrumentality for this that lets you specify which files and folders to copy, and keeps your backups successful sync. The escaped mentation is large for wide usage, portion the paid mentation adds other features similar keeping aged versions and retaining deleted files truthful that they tin beryllium recovered if you accidentally delete thing important.

To usage SyncBack to sync your files to your encrypted container, download and instal SyncBack, marque definite your VeraCrypt instrumentality is mounted, and past set up a backup profile. You tin optionally set a docket to automatically backmost up periodically. If you're much technically inclined, you tin besides docket rsync connected your level of prime for a wholly escaped solution.

Just marque definite you acceptable your sync instrumentality to sync successful the close absorption with the intended root and destination paths. Mixing them up whitethorn mean accidentally overwriting your files with those from the backup determination (which could beryllium empty!). Make definite you support a grounds of your backup password too, arsenic your files cannot beryllium recovered without it. You besides request to really cheque successful connected your backups from clip to clip by making definite they are readable and that the files you necessitate are present.

Safeguarding Your Files and Protecting Your Personal Info Is Your Responsibility

Cybersecurity threats are conscionable different facet of modern life. While it's not worthy worrying astir them constantly, you bash request to instrumentality ongoing measures to support yourself. This means taking regular backups, and following cybersecurity champion practices.