Portable Apps

Portable Apps

Keep your favorite apps with you at all times and run them from any computer without the need to install them.

Portable Apps web site

How to install Portable Apps in an encrypted volume on a USB drive

Setup TrueCrypt volume

1. Download and install Truecrypt: http://www.truecrypt.org/

   Choose Extract mode

   Select the USB drive as location.

2. Start TrueCrypt.exe
3. Press Create Volume and choose (use default values when you don't know what to choose):

   Create an encrypted file container

   Standard TrueCrypt volume

   Press Select File... and browse to the USB Drive and choose a name for the volume, for example: truecrypt_volume

   Set Volume Size to wanted size. Save some space for non encrypted files. Also consider the time it will take to move the volume between disks when you do backups

   Choose Yes for Large file storage

   Format the volume

4. Create Traveler Disk Setup

   Choose Tools->Traveler Disk Setup

   Create traveler disk files in the root of the USB Drive

   Do not include TrueCrypt Volume Creation Wizard unless you need to create new volumes on the go

   In Autorun Configuration upon insertion of traveler disk "Auto-mount TrueCrype volume"

   In Mount Settings choose a suitable drive letter

5. Mount the volume and continue with the setup for Portable Apps

Setup Portable Apps

1. Download Portable Apps: http://portableapps.com/download
2. Install Portable Apps on the mounted volume
3. Start Portable Apps from the mounted volume (it should autostart)
4. Press Manage Apps and choose the apps to install
   Recommended appsDevelopment:  Database Browser,  Notepad++Graphics and pictures:  GIMP, Inkscape, BlenderInternet:  Chrome, Firefox, Filezilla,  Pidgin, Skype, uTorrent, , PuTTY, WinSCPMusic and video: VLCSecurity: KeePassUtilities: 7-Zip, TeamViewer, WinMerge

Mount encrypted volume in computer to prevent latency

A USB Drive often has a lower data rate than the hard drive so you might experience some latency running apps from the USB Drive. A way to prevent latency but still get the benefits of Portable Apps is to move the encrypted volume with Portable Apps to the computer and mount it directly from a folder.

Benefits

• Decrease latency
• Backup of your encrypted volume

Drawbacks

• When you update Portable Apps with new apps or change settings in your current apps you need to move back the changed volume and update all local copies. It is just an easy copy-paste operation, but easy to forget.