Recommend a home-use encryption system

Turbulent Bill

I'm looking for recommendations for encryption software for personal use. This would be used to secure laptops, USB storage etc. and possibly cloud-based storage. The main purpose is to prevent against data use on stolen or lost hardware, and maybe as a double lock in case the cloud service's encryption is compromised. Windows only.

TrueCrypt looked like a good option but now doesn't have any support. I want this to work for a long time before having to change, so I'm stuck. Any ideas?

Stuxnet

VeraCrypt is a supported free fork of TrueCrypt, worth a look

https://veracrypt.codeplex.com/

gerryR

Did you look at the built in Bitlocker, depends what version of Windows you're on does the job although probably not for the cloud storage case.

Turbulent Bill

gerryR wrote: »

Did you look at the built in Bitlocker, depends what version of Windows you're on does the job although probably not for the cloud storage case.

Had a look at this, but none of my PCs has the bells-and-whistles versions of Windows with Bitlocker.

Should have mentioned too that I'm not looking for absolute, government-proof security. Something that covers the most common theft/loss scenarios would be better than what I have now (nothing!).

liamo

You mention that TrueCrypt no longer has support. Well, its support was very limited to begin with. The fact that the project has ended doesn't mean that the existing product is any less effective or there aren't people to advise you if you have questions (on forums). I have it installed on dozens of laptops without problem (although not entirely without problem on all devices!).

We looked at VeraCrypt but decided against it because of the long delay in getting started. VeraCrypt is, as already mentioned, a fork of TrueCrypt. Because of some changes to the way it performs its encryption, there is a delay at startup. Once it's up and running it operates perfectly fine. If this initial delay is acceptable then this should be a good fit for you.

Because you did mention support I'm also going to throw Symantec into the mix. I've started to use Symantec Endpoint Encryption for some laptops that we set up for customers because of some problems using TrueCrypt on some devices. Endpoint Encryption costs €100 for the product with 3 years support.

Hope this helps.

Liam

hooplah

I think Truecrypt is still fine to use. There issue is that the devs abandoned it really, not that it has been proven to be unsafe.

It is still [AFAIK] due to be audited in a robust fashion which is more than can be said for most crypto. Teh audit project is here: https://opencryptoaudit.org/

The audit project have verified github repos of the source code and binaries here: https://github.com/AuditProject/truecrypt-verified-mirror

- edit to add the audit is proceeding, update from Defcon 22: https://speakerdeck.com/kwhite/def-con-22-the-open-crypto-audit-project

Turbulent Bill

I've no real concerns over TrueCrypt's security, it seems to be one of the best options out there. My concern is that I want some encrypted volumes for archive stuff, and there won't be a future TrueCrypt application to open these on Windows 11 (or whatever). I've read of Mac users already having problems, as the last full TC release won't install on the newest OSX. Starting with discontinued software for long-term storage doesn't seem like a good plan.

VeraCrypt seems like a one-man show and doesn't have TC's history. Endpoint Encryption looks OK but really for enterprise use rather than individuals.

Thanks for the suggestions. I thought this would be straightforward but it doesn't seem so. Might just go for TC and sort out tomorrow's problems tomorrow...

hooplah

fair points. I reckon the audit means it's more likey than many options to be continued into the future but that's obviously not bulletproof.