Question about swap file

[blackangst1]

Hi folks. I have plenty of memory, but I know stuff still leaks onto the swap file (Im using Vista). I use Truecrypt and PGP extensively, and often have sensitive crap Im working with.

Ive seen different utilities to wipe the swap, although I can easily use PGP wipe (it uses Department of Defense 5220.22-M format). Is it safe? How would I specifically target the swap file? I have it on the same disk as my OS.

Thanks for the advise!

 

[mechBgon]

As a starting point, you can have Windows clear the page file at shutdown. In Control Panel, open Administrative Tools and run Local Security Policy with Admin privileges, then go down to Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options and you'll find this item listed. Maybe you already did that, though

 

[Atheus]

Just to clear this up - you cannot delete the information in the swap file while the operating system is running... this would be extraordinarily bad...

Is this a security issue? Maybe it would be best to encrypt it, or not to use a swap file at all?

 

[blackangst1]

I could probably just make a truecrypt volume to use since TC does it all on the fly. I dont want to get rid of it altogether because although I have plenty of memory I hit it every once in while while encoding.

Thanks for the reply and no I didnt realize I could have windows wipe it on shutdown Thanks for the tip!