USB encrypted VM with Ubuntu

Question

New User here trying to get involved with Linux. Let me first say that I am enthralled with the Linux community, everyone is very knowledgeable and willing to offer input.

Question: I would like to install a portable version of VirtualBox + Ubuntu on a USB drive (I know how to accomplish this). However, I would also like to have the USB drive encrypted (as USBs are prone to being lost).

Problem: I've heard that encrypted USBs tend to only work for certain OS, thus reducing the "portability" of my USB+VM+Ubuntu setup. Is there any known solution/tutorial in which a USB+VM+Ubuntu can be configured?

Additional Notes: I would also be using a USB Wireless adapter so that I would not have to rely on the Host's Wifi Card. I doubt that this would cause any further complication, I would just have to configure the VM to read the USB port in which the USB-WIFI was connected.

Thanks!

Answer 1

The virtual machine lives inside a large file. So depending from your goals it might be sufficient to encrypt this file.

You can use TrueCrypt. This software is available as a portable app and can be used with all major operating systems. So first prepare Virtualbox and install Ubuntu. Now encrypt the virtualbox file with TrueCrypt.

When you insert your USB stick in another computer, you can decrypt the file with TrueCrypt. When this finishes successful, you can boot your Ubuntu.