Hiding data on a hard drive

newinvestor123 said: "Kind of a strange topic, eh? I've got quite a bit of data on external hard drives that I'd like to hide from Windows, and I will not state the reason here for fear of being electronically hunted down like a rabid dog via my IP address. I know we've got a few computer majors in this forum, thought I'd get some advice before scouring the internet for a reliable freeware program that will do the trick. Any ideas?"

Corey said: "What do you mean 'hide from windows'? If you hide it from windows, you very well can't access it unless you write something at the driver level to be a middle man...which would be a pain in the ass, because it would require a program for every different type of program (because you don't want to use that Windows API!) I don't quite get why you are doing it. Gimme a bit more info to work with here, will ya?"

thezster said: "He doesn't want to tell you "why"!!! Not until [I]after[/I] you see him on Nightline.... :signs053:"

Pb3190 said: "I am not the best at all when it comes to nitty gritty with computers, and maybe I am not understanding you... But, do you have an older computer or have the resources to buy a new or used one? Do not connect to the internet, and you will not be found. Or, you mentioned it is an external drive. Unplug it."

JAP said: "Pb -Simply quit visiting porn websites at work. :laugh:"

SporeMonger said: "[QUOTE=newinvestor123]Kind of a strange topic, eh? I've got quite a bit of data on external hard drives that I'd like to hide from Windows, and I will not state the reason here for fear of being electronically hunted down like a rabid dog via my IP address. I know we've got a few computer majors in this forum, thought I'd get some advice before scouring the internet for a reliable freeware program that will do the trick. Any ideas?[/QUOTE] I'm assuming that you have Windows XP? Things to do depending on what you want to achieve: It all depends on how much effort you are willing to exert to access it yourself. First off, encrypt it, in case it gets physically stolen. 1) Don't use "Simple File Sharing" and only share drives/partitions that you want to. 2) Turn it off. 3) Unplug it from the USB. 4) Deny access to the drive through the security settings and hide it. 5) Lock it through the "My Computer" window. 6) Unmount it. All suggestions pertain to when you are not using the drive... except #1."

SporeMonger said: "Oh yeah... Get yourself a good firewall/anti-virus/anti-spyware program(s). I rather not say what I use for the same reason that you do not want to disclose what you have on your drives. Soooo, what's your IP again? :grin:"

Pb3190 said: "Hah, JAP, not only do I not currently work, I also do not have the money to buy another computer. Truth be told, since I have mostly shared a computer with the family, you can't quit what you don't start."

newinvestor123 said: "Okay, it looks like I'm going to have to put my paranoia aside for this one... I have two 500gb external hard drives full of movies, and I'm going to have to send them through customs in a few months to get them back home. I'm not sure how thorough the people here on post check things like that, and I highly doubt that they'll give them more than a passing glance, but 1TB of movies is A LOT of movies. I just made A LOT of money over here, and I'd hate to end up in a position where I'd need a lawyer - Who would certainly take A LOT of money from me. What can I say, those two DRM crazed, lawsuit happy organizations have me paranoid. I've been wanting to learn about master boot records and universal hard drive storage standards anyways, so I thought I'd use this as an excuse. Basically, if the drives were plugged into a Windows box, I want them to look empty, and of course, I want to be able to recover the data at a later date, as if nothing happened. I assumed this would be possible by manipulating the master boot record, but that's one thing that I'm hesitant to go messing around with, especially with data on the drive."

keithd said: "Install Ubuntu (linux) very easy to do. Than after install is configured set it to NOT mount the windows partition. (Also very easy to do) Than edit Grub(boot loader) to not show an entry for windows. That way when you plug in the hard drive and boot it up, it will boot ubuntu and it will not recognize your windows partition or show any data that it is there(but it is). Afterwards you can remove linux and grub and all will be ok. May have to do a format /mbr but other than that you'll be fine. HTH keithd ps. MBR's are not that intresting to learn about. Linux is much more intresting IMHO"

newinvestor123 said: "[QUOTE=keithd]Install Ubuntu (linux) very easy to do. Than after install is configured set it to NOT mount the windows partition. (Also very easy to do) Than edit Grub(boot loader) to not show an entry for windows. That way when you plug in the hard drive and boot it up, it will boot ubuntu and it will not recognize your windows partition or show any data that it is there(but it is). Afterwards you can remove linux and grub and all will be ok. May have to do a format /mbr but other than that you'll be fine. HTH keithd ps. MBR's are not that intresting to learn about. Linux is much more intresting IMHO[/QUOTE] If they check the hard drives, they're probably going to be checking them on a Windows machine, so wouldn't they still be recognized if I followed this process?"

Rbreb13 said: "[QUOTE=newinvestor123]If they check the hard drives, they're probably going to be checking them on a Windows machine, so wouldn't they still be recognized if I followed this process?[/QUOTE]Yes. Can't you ship them by UPS or something? Burn 'em to DVD's?"

newinvestor123 said: "The only way to get them out of here is through the on post mail clerks. The Army inspects the stuff, and I think the chance of them checking anything is close to nil, but who knows how far those two agencies' fingers reach. The country I am living in is a known counterfeiter, so there's the chance they will. A guy who recently demobilized from here said that they flipped through his CD book before allowing him to send it, and if I burned everything to DVD, it would take about 200 of em, so that's out. It would be much easier if I could just figure out how to modify the master boot record on the drive by a figure or two so it shows nothing in either Windows or Linux."

keithd said: "[QUOTE=newinvestor123]If they check the hard drives, they're probably going to be checking them on a Windows machine, so wouldn't they still be recognized if I followed this process?[/QUOTE] If they were gonna connect the drives externally than yes, but if they are going to be booting from them than no. Why not encrypt the entire drive than? That when looked at from another computer will look like 1 giant unreadable file."

keithd said: "[QUOTE=newinvestor123]The only way to get them out of here is through the on post mail clerks. The Army inspects the stuff, and I think the chance of them checking anything is close to nil, but who knows how far those two agencies' fingers reach. The country I am living in is a known counterfeiter, so there's the chance they will. A guy who recently demobilized from here said that they flipped through his CD book before allowing him to send it, and if I burned everything to DVD, it would take about 200 of em, so that's out. It would be much easier if I could just figure out how to modify the master boot record on the drive by a figure or two so it shows nothing in either Windows or Linux.[/QUOTE] What your implying is that they will attempt to boot from these drives. Even if you alter the MBR and you put that drive into a machine, through an IDE cable that all ready has a bootable drive you will still be able to read what's on the drive. If in fact that's what they would do than doing what i said earlier is much safer. If they plug the drive into an already bootable computer. Than your options are this 1. Mark all the files as hidden and setting the show hidden files option to off. (if it isn't already) Not really the best method, but easy and for a quick visual scan of the drive you won't see them. 2. Encrypt the entire drive OR Encrypt the folder(s) containing all of your movies. 3. ...can't really think of a third but if i do I'll let you know"

Rbreb13 said: "3. Take the drives out of the enclosures and install them in your computer. Then hide the drive with Powertoys from MS. And don't connect them to the motherboard."

newinvestor123 said: "I thought about doing that, and although I know external drives are simple and I am mechanically inclined, I don't really want to take them apart unless I have to... And I want to learn about the master boot record. Guess I'll google/wikipedia it."

j4wz said: "[QUOTE=newinvestor123]Okay, it looks like I'm going to have to put my paranoia aside for this one... I have two 500gb external hard drives full of movies, and I'm going to have to send them through customs in a few months to get them back home. I'm not sure how thorough the people here on post check things like that, and I highly doubt that they'll give them more than a passing glance, but 1TB of movies is A LOT of movies. I just made A LOT of money over here, and I'd hate to end up in a position where I'd need a lawyer - Who would certainly take A LOT of money from me. What can I say, those two DRM crazed, lawsuit happy organizations have me paranoid. I've been wanting to learn about master boot records and universal hard drive storage standards anyways, so I thought I'd use this as an excuse. Basically, if the drives were plugged into a Windows box, I want them to look empty, and of course, I want to be able to recover the data at a later date, as if nothing happened. I assumed this would be possible by manipulating the master boot record, but that's one thing that I'm hesitant to go messing around with, especially with data on the drive.[/QUOTE] How the heck are you getting home? Rotator or Airforce Transport? I went through customs at Pax River MD and I managed to sneak six bottles of wine from my small stop in Rota Spain. Only alowed to declare two. Just hid them in the wall panels of the plane. If you are going to fly Airforce, I would say just find a good hiding spot. My two cents! :th_dblthumb2:"