Question:

Title: Best practices for syncing Veracrypt container with cloud storage

I am looking for some expert advice on how to securely and reliably sync a Veracrypt container with Google Drive. I use Veracrypt to encrypt some files that I need to access from different devices. I store the container in Google Drive, but I face some issues with syncing.

• Sometimes I forget to dismount the container before shutting down my device, which prevents Google Drive from syncing the latest version of the container.
• Sometimes I mount the container from another device, which causes Google Drive to overwrite the previous version of the container with the newer one.

These issues can result in data loss or corruption. Is there a way to avoid them? For example, can I set up a warning message or a confirmation prompt before shutting down or mounting the container? Or can I automate the dismounting process so that the container is always synced before shutting down?

I

would appreciate any suggestions or solutions from the community. Thank you!

Answer:

Veracrypt is a popular and powerful tool for encrypting files and creating secure containers. However, syncing Veracrypt containers with cloud storage services like Google Drive can pose some challenges, as you have experienced. In this article, I will explain why these challenges occur and how to overcome them.

Why syncing Veracrypt containers with Google Drive is tricky

The main reason why syncing Veracrypt containers with Google Drive is tricky is because of the way Veracrypt works. When you mount a Veracrypt container, it creates a virtual drive that acts like a normal disk drive. You can access, modify, and save files in this virtual drive as usual. However, the actual container file that stores the encrypted data does not change until you dismount the container. This means that the container file does not reflect the changes you made in the virtual drive until you close it.

This creates a problem when you try to sync the container file with Google Drive. Google Drive only syncs files that have changed since the last sync. If you do not dismount the container before shutting down your device, Google Drive will not sync the latest version of the container, because it does not detect any change in the container file. This can lead to data loss if you try to access the container from another device that has an older version of the container.

Another problem occurs when you mount the container from another device. Google Drive will recognize the container file as a newer version, because it has a different timestamp or size than the previous version. Google Drive will then overwrite the previous version of the container with the newer one, regardless of the actual content of the container. This can lead to data corruption if the newer version of the container has different or missing files than the previous version.

How to sync Veracrypt containers with Google Drive without data loss

To avoid these problems, you need to make sure that the container file is always in sync with the virtual drive. There are two ways to do this: manually or automatically.

The manual way is to always dismount the container before shutting down your device or switching to another device. This will ensure that the container file reflects the latest changes you made in the virtual drive. You also need to make sure that Google Drive has finished syncing the container file before mounting it from another device. This will ensure that you always access the most updated version of the container.

The automatic way is to use a script or a tool that can dismount the container and sync it with Google Drive automatically. There are several scripts and tools available online that can do this, such as [VeraCrypt Google Drive Sync](https://github.com/robertluwang/veracrypt-google-drive-sync), [VeraCrypt Auto Dismount](https://github.com/veracrypt/VeraCrypt/issues/97), or [VeraCrypt Auto Sync](https://github.com/veracrypt/VeraCrypt/issues/97#issuecomment-378971331). You can use these scripts or tools to run a command or a task that will dismount the container and sync it with Google Drive whenever you shut down your device or log off your user account. You can also use these scripts or tools to run a command or a task that will check the status of the container file and mount it if it is synced with Google Drive whenever you start your device or log on your user account.

Conclusion

Syncing Veracrypt containers with Google Drive can be tricky, but it is not impossible. By following the manual or automatic methods described above, you can ensure that your Veracrypt container is always in sync with Google Drive and avoid data loss or corruption. I hope this article has helped you to understand and solve your problem. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to comment below. Thank you for reading!