Incoterms

A PGP Virtual Disk looks and acts like an additional hard disk, although it is actually a single file that can reside on any of your computer disks. It provides storage space for your files—you can even install applications, or save files to a PGP Virtual Disk — but it can also be locked at any time without affecting other parts of your computer. When you need to use the applications or files that are stored on a PGP Virtual Disk, you can unlock the disk and make the files accessible again.

PGP Virtual Disk is unlocked and locked by mounting and unmounting it from your computer. Symantec Encryption Desktop helps manage this operation for you. Although you specify a size for your PGP Virtual Disk, you can also create a

dynamically-sizing disk, one that grows larger as needs require it. The size you specify when you are creating the disk is the maximum size the disk can become.

When a PGP Virtual Disk is mounted, you can:

ƒ Move/copy files into or out of the mounted PGP Virtual Disk.

ƒ Save files to the mounted PGP Virtual Disk.

ƒ Install applications within the mounted PGP Virtual Disk.

Files and applications on a PGP Virtual Disk are stored encrypted. If your computer crashes while a PGP Virtual Disk is unmounted, the contents remain safely encrypted. When a PGP Virtual Disk is unmounted, it does not appear within Windows Explorer or the Mac OS X Finder, and it is inaccessible to anyone without proper authentication. It is important to remember that all your data remains secure in the encrypted file and is only deciphered when you access one of the files. Having the data for a volume stored in this manner makes it easy to manipulate and exchange PGP Virtual Disk with others but it also makes it easier to lose data if the file is somehow deleted. It is wise to keep a back up copy of these encrypted files so that the data can be recovered if something happens to the original.

For information about the PGP Options that affect PGP Virtual Disk volumes, see Disk Options (on page 259).

Caution: If you are using Symantec Encryption Desktop in a Symantec Encryption Server-managed environment, you may be required to create a PGP Virtual Disk after installing Symantec Encryption Desktop. If so, the size, file system, and algorithm may have been specified. For more information, see Using Symantec Encryption Desktop with Symantec Encryption Server (on page 269).

Creating a New PGP Virtual Disk

To create a new PGP Virtual Disk

1 Open Symantec Encryption Desktop.

2 Click the PGP Disk control box on the left pane of the Symantec Encryption

Desktop main screen, then click New Virtual Disk. Alternatively, select File > New > PGP Virtual Disk. The New Virtual Disk screen is displayed in the right pane of the screen.

3 In the Name field, type the name that you would like for the new PGP Virtual Disk.

4 In the Disk File Location field, accept the default location for the PGP Virtual Disk

167 Using PGP Virtual Disk Creating a New PGP Virtual Disk

5 From the Mount as menu, select the drive letter that you would like for the new

PGP Virtual Disk. You can:

ƒ Accept the drive letter that Symantec Encryption Desktop suggests for you.

ƒ From the Mount as menu, select an available drive from the list.

ƒ From the Mount as menu, select Folder, if you would like to mount the new PGP Virtual Disk to a folder instead of a drive letter. If you do this, a field is displayed next to the Mount as menu, so you can specify a location for the folder.

6 Select Mount at Startup to have your new PGP Virtual Disk volume mount at

startup automatically. When selected, you are prompted for your PGP Virtual Disk passphrase when you start your computer.

7 Select Unmount when inactive for n mins [where n is a number of minutes] to have the PGP Virtual Disk unmount if you have not used your computer for a specific time interval that you specify (in minutes). This is helpful if you often leave your computer unattended—it is an additional safeguard that locks your PGP Virtual Disk if you forget to.

8 From the Capacity menu, select the desired type of PGP Virtual Disk. Your choices

are:

ƒ Dynamic (resizable). This type of disk grows in capacity as files are added to it, yet it stays small until the additional space is needed. Symantec

Encryption Desktop manages this process, you only need to set the

maximum size that you would like the disk to be. You can also compress this disk later, if you choose. This type of PGP Virtual Disk is available for FAT- or FAT32-formatted disks only.

ƒ Expandable. This type of disk grows in capacity as files are added to it, yet it stays small until the additional space is needed. Symantec Encryption Desktop manages this process, you only need to set the maximum size that you would like the disk to be. You can also compress this disk later, if you choose. This type of PGP Virtual Disk is available for NTFS-formatted disks only.

ƒ Fixed size. This type of disk remains the same size, regardless of how many files are added to it. This type of PGP Virtual Disk is available for any type of formatted disk.

9 From the Capacity menu, set the size (in the case of Dynamic disks, the maximum

size) for your new PGP Virtual Disk. Use whole numbers; no decimal places. Choose KB (kilobytes), MB (megabytes), or GB (gigabytes) from the menu. The maximum allowable size for a PGP Virtual Disk depends on the size and format of your hard disk.

10 Specify a file system format for the volume:

ƒ FAT. Volume must be 100 KB or larger.

ƒ FAT32. Volume must be 260 MB or larger.

ƒ NTFS. Volume must be 5 MB or larger (12 MB for Windows Vista).

11 Specify the encryption algorithm you want to use to protect your data:

ƒ AES (256 bits). AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is a block cipher that can be used at 128, 192, or 256 bits. The more secure 256-bit version is used for creating PGP Virtual Disk volumes by default.

168 Using PGP Virtual Disk