Reply #3: Another thought ...

[RoyGBiv]

Not sure why this didn't occur to me before since I have had systems set up this way.

Disclaimer: It's been awhile since I've used TrueCrypt, so I'm going on memory of the way it works.

Use TrueCrypt to secure the entire drive at the operating system level, meaning you will be required to enter a passphrase before the system will boot. Pick a passphrase you *will* remember. Once you've encrypted the drive, if you forget this, you're pretty much screwed. Since the drive is encrypted as a whole, even if it is stolen, thieves will have an incredibly difficult time trying to get anything off it.

Also using TrueCrypt you could create various secured folders for each of your clients on the drive itself, what is called within TrueCrypt as a file-hosted volume. This volume exists on your hard drive as a single file, but it works as a folder into which you can copy the files you use and then copy them back out again when needed.

If you then have need of transferring these file electronically, use GnuPG for this. I recommend this method of e-mail communication about anything but general conversation anyway. Why more companies and organizations don't use it is beyond me ... well, I know why. It's the convenience thing, which is the downfall of every security system.

Further, you can use GnuPG to encrypt all your files for archival purposes. That is, encrypt the files and then save them to a CD/DVD. Alternatively, you could use TrueCrypt on an external hard drive for archiving.