Ubuntu – Running truecrypt on ubuntu without root privileges

encryptioninstallationpermissionstartruecrypt

I have an encrypted trucrypt volume that I would like to mount from my university labs running Ubuntu 12.10. I do not have root permissions. I download the file
truecrypt-7.1a-linux-x86.tar.gz from the download page. I extract it and gettruecrypt-7.1a-setup-x86 which I run. I cannot install anything here, so from the dialog that pops out I choose "Extract .tar Package File". Then I get the message:

Installation package 'truecrypt_7.1a_i386.tar.gz' extracted and placed
in '/tmp'

I copy that file to my current folder and I extract it:

acomputer:/media/myname/Transcend> tar -xvzf truecrypt_7.1a_i386.tar.gz 
usr/bin/truecrypt
usr/bin/truecrypt-uninstall.sh
usr/share/applications/truecrypt.desktop
usr/share/pixmaps/truecrypt.xpm
usr/share/truecrypt/doc/License.txt
usr/share/truecrypt/doc/TrueCrypt User Guide.pdf

If I browse in that folder:

acomputer:/media/myname/Transcend/usr/bin> ls -lh
total 4.6M
-rw-r--r-- 1 myname student 4.5M Feb  7  2012 truecrypt
-rw-r--r-- 1 myname student  453 Feb  7  2012 truecrypt-uninstall.sh
acomputer:/media/myname/Transcend/usr/bin> ./truecrypt
./truecrypt: Permission denied.

I could not change my permissions to make that executable. So, I cannot run a portable truecrypt like this. Any hints about this situation? How can I run truecrypt without root privileges?

Best Answer

You can change permissions with chmod

chmod a+x truecrypt

However, to my knowledge, you can not use truecrypt without root access.

Seee : http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/truecrypt-portable

TrueCrypt can run in so-called portable mode, which means that it does not have to be installed on the operating system under which it is run. However, there are two things to keep in mind: You need administrator privileges in order to be able to run TrueCrypt in portable mode (for the reasons, see the chapter Using TrueCrypt Without Administrator Privileges).

And also, on the same page:

Note: No matter what kind of software you use, as regards personal privacy in most cases, it is not secure to work with sensitive data under systems where you do not have administrator privileges, as the administrator can easily capture and copy your sensitive data, including passwords and keys.

Edit: I guess it can be run, but with limitations, see: http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/non-admin-users

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