There is yet another (final step) in creating a custom ‘personal backup’ on a flashdrive…security, and If you haven’t gone through any of the previous steps you may be able to save some time… To start, I would either download TrueCrypt, or if you have already installed it on your (windows) PC, just go to C:\program files and find TrueCrypt. You will need to copy all of these files onto a blank (just reformatted flashdrive).
These files only take up a few megabytes, and the intent is to use this as a local encryption tool for the flashdrive. The following video will show you how to create an encrypted volume encompassing the rest of the flashdrive. With this taken care of, you can install your Portable Apps suite along with all of the ‘important files’ you have… inside this encrypted volume.
The reasons for encrypting these files and apps is that it then makes the flashdrive you carry reasonably immune to the consequences of someone else getting control over these files. You could even lose the flashdrive, secure in the fact that there is a pretty reasonable chance that nobody would be able to crack open the files you have…
This also creates a more complex situation wherein using a syncing utility (I suggest GoodSync). You would need to open TrueCrypt, and mount the encrypted volume (i.e. unencrypt it…)…that is, unless you want to sync a several gigabyte file every time you create synced backup of this encrypted file…
TrueCrypt
http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=199
Portable Mode
http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=truecrypt-portable
