External HDD and Security

[DW]

Hi,

Need help.

Basically, I have CCTV settup on Windows XP. It's connected to a "WD My
Book External Hard Drive 500GB." I plan on putting the External HDD in a
safe, which will be connected to the computer via a USB cable.

The issue is , I am trying to protect the External HDD by "locking it down."
This is to protect the External HDD, from potentially, a person
disconnecting the usb cable and connecting it to his/her laptop. Thereby
having complete access to the external HDD.

Is there anyway to AUTOMATICALLY protect the external hdd after it's been
unplugged from the CCTV computer?

I have searched high/low on the internet and cannot find anything. Thanks a
bunch in advance!

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hi,

Need help.

Basically, I have CCTV settup on Windows XP. It's connected to a "WD My
Book External Hard Drive 500GB." I plan on putting the External HDD in a
safe, which will be connected to the computer via a USB cable.

You will want to consider thermal issues with this scheme.

It probably won't help if you put the drive in an unventilated and uncooled
situation where it cooks itself.

The issue is , I am trying to protect the External HDD by "locking it
down."
This is to protect the External HDD, from potentially, a person
disconnecting the usb cable and connecting it to his/her laptop. Thereby
having complete access to the external HDD.

Is there anyway to AUTOMATICALLY protect the external hdd after it's been
unplugged from the CCTV computer?

I have searched high/low on the internet and cannot find anything. Thanks
a
bunch in advance!

You might consider encrypting it, using a 3rd party utility.

You could possibly use the XP encryption, because this is really a local
drive; however, any person able to get into the PC account would also gain
access. You would of course need to use XP Pro for this, and finish the
job by backing up the account certificates, verifying them, and storing
copies offsite. Then, when the PC itself is stolen, you can regain access
to the encrypted files.

HTH
-pk

 

[DW]

Patrick,

Thanks for the response!

- I'm not sure, can an external HDD produce a lot of heat? The safe does
have a drop hole which can provide some sort of ventilation. Hopefully, the
thermal issue won't be so bad...

- I've tried a few 3rd party software. They all require manual intervention
to encrypt, lock, etc... the external HDD. Two problems with that. One, if
someone plugs the USB cable into their laptop they most likely won't tell me
they are doing so. Or I probably wouldn't be around to see it. Second
problem, the CCTV is continously writing the data onto the external HDD. I
haven't seen any software out there that is doing this on the fly...

- I was wondering if you have any other ideas? Thanks....

I don't have XP pro.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Patrick,

Thanks for the response!

- I'm not sure, can an external HDD produce a lot of heat?

Yes. You need to check this with the manufacturer. It's not just the
drive, it's the power supply.

The safe does
have a drop hole which can provide some sort of ventilation. Hopefully,
the
thermal issue won't be so bad...

You need to be sure, not hopeful. If you bake the drive the system is
useless.

- I've tried a few 3rd party software. They all require manual
intervention
to encrypt, lock, etc... the external HDD. Two problems with that. One,
if
someone plugs the USB cable into their laptop they most likely won't tell
me
they are doing so.

And if the drive is encrypted, they can't read it without the key. As
that's what you seemed to want to prevent, I don't see the problem.

Or I probably wouldn't be around to see it. Second
problem, the CCTV is continously writing the data onto the external HDD.
I
haven't seen any software out there that is doing this on the fly...

That would qualify as activity, and the encryption utility should keep the
"tunnel" alive.

I used to record audio to a drive encrypted with PGP. Worked fine.

However, should the cable be moved to another system without the key, the
data is not available. Putting the cable back might or might not reconnect
the encryption utility.

If this is a problem, you need to reconsider your scheme.

- I was wondering if you have any other ideas? Thanks....

Check what real security companies do for storage.

I don't have XP pro.

You might want to consider it, as it would allow the running account to use
EFS encryption. But you absolutely must learn all you can about EFS and
your responsibilities, including backing up and securely storing the
certificates. If you lose those AND the PC, or if anything happens to the
account, the data is permanently irretrievable.

HTH
-pk

 

[VanguardLH]

in message

The issue is , I am trying to protect the External HDD by "locking
it down."
This is to protect the External HDD, from potentially, a person
disconnecting the usb cable and connecting it to his/her laptop.
Thereby
having complete access to the external HDD.

Is there anyway to AUTOMATICALLY protect the external hdd after it's
been
unplugged from the CCTV computer?

TrueCrypt.
Free.

You'll need the password to access it (once per Windows session or
after you have unmounted the .tc volume). If you or anyone carries it
somewhere else, they will also need the password to open the .tc
volume.

You can create a .tc container file in the partition on the hard drive
to mount it as another drive (so you can mix non-encrypted and
encrypted files within the same partition). Or you can encrypt an
entire partition.