An encrypted disk image is a very practical solution, but I doubt an image created with Disk Utility would be cross-platform. Are PGP disk images cross-platform-mountable? If so, you'd probably want to initialize the USB drive, and create the disk image on a PC, as it's easier for Macs to deal with Windows, than the other way 'round. Also, mounting an image requires a 'driver', how big a PITA is that on a PC? On a Mac (if using Disk Copy/Utility) that capability is built-in, not so on a Wintel box. dan k ................................. http://macdan.n3.net/ carracho://dankephoto.dhs.org:9700 hotline://dankephoto.dhs.org:9500 .................................