Two Questions:
1. I'm looking for a good, economical external hard drive with 20+
gigs. I don't need anything fancy schmancy, just something that'll use
USB 2.

2. If I encrypt and maintain the files on my new hard drive using the
Windows encryption tool (file>properties>encrypt), can I ever open
those files on another computer, or are they inextricably linked to my
present computer?

Hi,

Thank you for your question.

1. These two drives are among the cheapest you can find:

LaCie External 80GB Hard Drive ($81)
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=1063041

Maxtor Personal Storage 3100 External 80GB Hard Drive ($70)
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=5433051

The following one has a good review on Tomshardware but is more expensive:

Seagate Portable ST9100801U2 External 100GB ($166)
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=5510065

External drive review: Storage and Security On the Go
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/01/14/storage_and_security_on_the_go/page5.html


I believe all these drives fit your requirements. 20gb drives aren't
really around anymore, or will be the same price but fancier
(smaller/lighter).



2. To open files encrypted in that way on another computer you need
the certificate and the key pair. However carrying those around on the
drive isn't secure in itself.

You might want to have a read here on how Windows encryption works:

Best practices for the Encrypting File System
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/223316/en-us


To encrypt your files on the external drive you have several options,
which I've listed below, they were listed from the Windows Marketplace
and are all free of charge.

Windows Market Place
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/results.aspx?bcatid=333&page=6

EncryptOnClick
http://www.download.com/EncryptOnClick/3000-2092-10449082.html

FineCrypt
http://www.download.com/FineCrypt/3000-2092-10473436.html

Crypto Tools
http://www.download.com/Crypto-Tools/3000-2092-10436342.html


If you have any problems, please let me know and I'll do my best to help.

Thanks.
endo



Search strategy:

External drive
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=11/popup2%5B%5D=2:394/sortby=priceA

encryption tool
http://support.microsoft.com/search/default.aspx?query=encryption+tool

encryption windows xp external drive
://www.google.com/search?q=encryption+windows+xp+external+drive