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Whats best software to encrypt folders or entire hard drives ?


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#16 djshoxxx

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Posted 23 September 2018 - 02:05 PM

 

 

 

 

 

I am unsure about many but I am using Veracrypt but there are some more suggested over the web. But do your research before using one of them as some might contain malwares or even mining cookies which could run over your PC. 

 

  1. Veracrypt
  2. AxCrypt
  3. Folder Lock 
  4. CryptoExpert 8

Have you noticed Cryptomining software bundled in with VeraCrypt? 

 

 

No not really, why would you say it ? have you .?

 

I have been using veracrypt since it was called truecrypt, and well before crypto mining was ever a thing. There never was cryptominning software bundled with veracrypt. Veracrypt is open source and has recently gone through a code audit https://ostif.org/the-veracrypt-audit-results/

 

Oh well since crypto mining is a thing now, we really cannot trust anything. I wonder how marketing of a single app can push users to download and atleast use once which would leave cookies and hence long term crypto mining. Well thanks for informing me with that. 

 

I wouldn't say that cryptomining has made software less trustworthy; any type of malicious code can pose as legitimate software, and it has going back to the earliest days of Trojans.

crypto mining is just one way malicious software can utilize your computer. It has only become popular in the last few years because it can bring a quick and direct route to money. Using your computer for spamming, or renting your computer out as part of a botnet are other ways that the bad guys can use your computer to make money. Just because a program doesnt have a hidden miner in it doesnt mean that it can be any less malicious. 

As a general rule, download well known, vetted programs and download them from the program creators website, or from a trusted website. Open source programs are generally safer to download, but nothing is 100%. 

If in doubt, ask someone who is knowledgeable whom you know in person for advice on what programs they would suggest and where to download them from. 


Im not sure what you mean by leaving cookies. A cookie is like a note in your web browser that can tell websites things about your browsing history. Not all cookies are harmful. veracrypt would not have any cookies in it



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#17 Wilsondrake

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Posted 24 September 2018 - 07:21 AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am unsure about many but I am using Veracrypt but there are some more suggested over the web. But do your research before using one of them as some might contain malwares or even mining cookies which could run over your PC. 

 

  1. Veracrypt
  2. AxCrypt
  3. Folder Lock 
  4. CryptoExpert 8

Have you noticed Cryptomining software bundled in with VeraCrypt? 

 

 

No not really, why would you say it ? have you .?

 

I have been using veracrypt since it was called truecrypt, and well before crypto mining was ever a thing. There never was cryptominning software bundled with veracrypt. Veracrypt is open source and has recently gone through a code audit https://ostif.org/the-veracrypt-audit-results/

 

Oh well since crypto mining is a thing now, we really cannot trust anything. I wonder how marketing of a single app can push users to download and atleast use once which would leave cookies and hence long term crypto mining. Well thanks for informing me with that. 

 

I wouldn't say that cryptomining has made software less trustworthy; any type of malicious code can pose as legitimate software, and it has going back to the earliest days of Trojans.

crypto mining is just one way malicious software can utilize your computer. It has only become popular in the last few years because it can bring a quick and direct route to money. Using your computer for spamming, or renting your computer out as part of a botnet are other ways that the bad guys can use your computer to make money. Just because a program doesnt have a hidden miner in it doesnt mean that it can be any less malicious. 

As a general rule, download well known, vetted programs and download them from the program creators website, or from a trusted website. Open source programs are generally safer to download, but nothing is 100%. 

If in doubt, ask someone who is knowledgeable whom you know in person for advice on what programs they would suggest and where to download them from. 


Im not sure what you mean by leaving cookies. A cookie is like a note in your web browser that can tell websites things about your browsing history. Not all cookies are harmful. veracrypt would not have any cookies in it

 

Yes I do agree there with all the points you made out there. But Open source programs are more prone to these activities as they provide a room for anyone to put up whatever they want, and may be promote it. I am not against open source programs but there are hazards associated with it too. 



#18 djshoxxx

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Posted 24 September 2018 - 06:23 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am unsure about many but I am using Veracrypt but there are some more suggested over the web. But do your research before using one of them as some might contain malwares or even mining cookies which could run over your PC. 

 

  1. Veracrypt
  2. AxCrypt
  3. Folder Lock 
  4. CryptoExpert 8

Have you noticed Cryptomining software bundled in with VeraCrypt? 

 

 

No not really, why would you say it ? have you .?

 

I have been using veracrypt since it was called truecrypt, and well before crypto mining was ever a thing. There never was cryptominning software bundled with veracrypt. Veracrypt is open source and has recently gone through a code audit https://ostif.org/the-veracrypt-audit-results/

 

Oh well since crypto mining is a thing now, we really cannot trust anything. I wonder how marketing of a single app can push users to download and atleast use once which would leave cookies and hence long term crypto mining. Well thanks for informing me with that. 

 

I wouldn't say that cryptomining has made software less trustworthy; any type of malicious code can pose as legitimate software, and it has going back to the earliest days of Trojans.

crypto mining is just one way malicious software can utilize your computer. It has only become popular in the last few years because it can bring a quick and direct route to money. Using your computer for spamming, or renting your computer out as part of a botnet are other ways that the bad guys can use your computer to make money. Just because a program doesnt have a hidden miner in it doesnt mean that it can be any less malicious. 

As a general rule, download well known, vetted programs and download them from the program creators website, or from a trusted website. Open source programs are generally safer to download, but nothing is 100%. 

If in doubt, ask someone who is knowledgeable whom you know in person for advice on what programs they would suggest and where to download them from. 


Im not sure what you mean by leaving cookies. A cookie is like a note in your web browser that can tell websites things about your browsing history. Not all cookies are harmful. veracrypt would not have any cookies in it

 

Yes I do agree there with all the points you made out there. But Open source programs are more prone to these activities as they provide a room for anyone to put up whatever they want, and may be promote it. I am not against open source programs but there are hazards associated with it too. 

 

 

I dont know if I would agree with saying open source is more prone to having malicious software in it because open source allows anyone to put whatever they want in it. The same can be said about closed source programs. Modification of legit executables by using 'joiner' programs I would think is more trivial to accomplish VS modifying source code with malicious code and then compiling it successfully... not to say that a joiner program couldnt join an already compiled exe of a open source program to a malicious exe either.. but I think it really comes down to being smart with where you are getting your files from. 
 

An open source program downloaded from source forge is relatively safe
A closed source program (that does the same thing as the open source program) downloaded from bleepingcomputer is going to be relatively safe as well.
 

Both have the possibility that they may have been tampered with, but  the likely hood of this is pretty low, given that they both are reputable websites. The advantage that the open source one has is that the community has access to the source and if there is any doubt about its functionality it can be checked with much greater ease than the closed source one. The closed source program - we need to trust  the creator that it does what they say it does and nothing more. Without access to the source static analysis needs to be done and it will have to be picked apart by debuggers and someone skilled at RE. 
 

 

There is no doubt that there are risks with both, no argument there, but if i had to choose trust between an open source program and a closed source program if they each do the same thing MOST of the time I am going to trust the open source one as long as I am getting it from a trusted source.
 

The question that sprung this conversation was cryptocoin mining as a type of malware. Cryptominer spiked programs are actually quite easy to detect without needing to view the source code or reverse engineer the program. A coin miner can be detected in a program if it attempts to connect to a web address associated with a mining pool. If the program does not need network access at all then it connecting to anything is highly suspicious already. This can be detected various ways.. you can sniff your network and watch for packets or you can watch the program with something like process hacker and see if it attempts to make a connection on the network.
 

Also, if the program is constantly using up all your CPU when it shouldn't be then thats another bad sign.  
 

For the paranoid, checking the hash values of the program after you downloaded it with the value that the trusted website says it should be is another way to check to see if it had been modified at some point without the creators knowledge 



#19 Imacelebrity

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Posted 03 July 2019 - 07:21 PM

thanks everyone for your advice, it seems Veracrypt is what i will try, i read all the posts. Im on windows 10

 

i use media players to play tv and movies on my tv by plugging external hard drives into a media player eg an Asus o play , if i have dragged a folder full of movies into an encrypted container if i then plug this hard drive into the media player i assume then that my media player will not see these movies anymore, is that correct ? 

 

if i wanted to watch those movies how easy is it to get them out of the encrypted container and back into a visable part of the hard drive ? 

thanks for any replies : ) 



#20 blwul62

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Posted 14 December 2019 - 05:19 AM

Please allow me to step in here - it is a somewhat older thread, I know, but I had and still have more or less the same question.
 
It also involves using encrypted containers.
 
Maybe the use of Microsoft's Bitlocker VHD/VHDX encrypted containers doesn't really get the attention it deserves?
In fact, even Microsoft themselves are hardly paying attention to this type of encryption.
Except then for a boatload of technical papers.
 
An interesting somewhat older thread titled "Windows Encryption Showdown: VeraCrypt vs Bitlocker"  can be found on Lifehacker 
 
Backdoors? Wouldn't Microsoft ruin their business if a backdoor would be discovered? 
That aside, how about backdoors in other proprietary 3rd party software, like AxCrypt, BestCrypt and the like.
 
One argument in favour of Bitlocker might be that chances on Bitlocker posing problems, if at all, are likely to be smaller than using 3rd party software.


#21 CoddyHill137

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Posted 14 February 2020 - 09:33 AM

I'll post in this thread because it seems relevant and no one mentioned it yet, but there is a fairly new encryption program out there for Windows and Mac. It's called NordLocker and though it does not have a lot of features yet I think it's worth trying out. I've tried it myself for a while (because you can do that for free) and it seems alright. I like the fact that I can still work on the files in the encrypted folder without any troubles. 



#22 blwul62

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Posted 17 February 2020 - 05:22 AM

Sorry for the delay, was out for a couple of days.

Thanks for your comments.

Nordlocker does look nice.

Personally, I use BestCrypt Container Encryption (not free), i.e. local storage.

 

For online / cloud encryption, actually, I have no idea - vainly searched for a in depth review comparing different products.

It is not suitable to use something like a container (VeraCrypt, BestCrypt...) : it syncs the entire container file, which is taking way, way too long.

 

Microsoft introduced Personal Vault. Big drawback, after 20 minutes one is locked out (the online version).



#23 Giants

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Posted 25 February 2020 - 02:14 AM

Nordlocker can help you do that for free,but sometimes,free software is not responsible for its failure.



#24 baskcos

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Posted 29 February 2020 - 04:13 AM

I am using TunesBro Folder Unbreaker. It is super easy to password protect a folder or file on Windows. For drive encryption, my favorite tool is BitLocker and Veracrypt.


Edited by baskcos, 29 February 2020 - 04:14 AM.


#25 MDD1963

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Posted 18 March 2020 - 03:09 AM

Lots of folks might even already have 7-Zip installed, yet might be unaware/ unfamiliar with the fact that it can (with but an entry of a password) also encrypt files/folders (AES256) with the best of them while compressing...

 

For sending encrypted files (but not folders) to others that might not have 7-Zip, Glary Utilities offers an easy (right click integration with WIndows) option where an encrypted self-executing/extracting encrypted file at the receive end can be easily created/unlocked the file with entry of password...


Asus Z270A Prime/7700K/32 GB DDR4-3200/GTX1060


#26 blwul62

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Posted 09 June 2021 - 06:18 AM

@mdd1963, I confess, I am one of those folks... I didn't know  :blush:

So, indeed many thanks for the tip!



#27 Anthonslasky

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Posted 23 August 2021 - 07:15 AM

Some of the best software to encrypt data are VeraCrypt, AxCrypt, Bitlocker, GNU Privacy Guard and 7-Zip.

Veracrypt is good



#28 CygnusX

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Posted 23 August 2021 - 01:56 PM

I have encrypted my entire (Windows) system with all disks with Bitlocker and additionally use Veracrypt containers for particularly sensitive data.

In the past it has happened to me several times that a Veracrypt container could not be decrypted anymore for some reason, although the password was definitely correct. I don't want to take that risk with my entire system, and I haven't had any problems with Bitlocker at all.

Even if Bitlocker does contain some kind of backdoor, it's not something I'm seriously worried about. I am not afraid of NSA style attacks, but rather of someone carrying my machine (or backup disks) out of my home. I should be sufficiently protected against this risk with Bitlocker.

But I agree with everyone here: Veracrypt is still the best option when it comes to encryption.

In my opinion, PeaZip is also a viable option for Windows if you only want to encrypt individual folders.

Regards,
C.

Edited by CygnusX, 23 August 2021 - 01:59 PM.

"I never made a mistake in my life. I thought I did once, but I was wrong."


#29 blwul62

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Posted 23 August 2021 - 10:38 PM

 I am not afraid of NSA style attacks, but rather of someone carrying my machine (or backup disks) out of my home. I should be sufficiently protected against this risk with Bitlocker.
 

 

Or, for one (technical) reason or the other, there is no alternative but having to turn in your pc at the computershop for repair/replacement of some component
and, sadly, you have not set a Windows login password, because you are the only user (so, why would you), hence after boot, all your files are accessible, including OneDrive...
simply because Microsoft has no 2nd layer of protection. It happened to me once, a long time ago. It was a new PC and I think there was something wrong with the hardware.

I was lucky, hardly any personal stuff was on the disk (new PC). From that moment on I started using container encryption software (BestCrypt).

It does not offer folder encryption.
It isn't cheap, has a good email support.

That said, there are no in depth reviews on such products, at least not that I know of.
A kind of side-by-side comparison of VeraCrypt vs AxCrypt vs BestCrypt vs Bitlocker VHD(X) comparing drive, container and folder encryption.
Including portable versions, USB encrypting, etc.
Bitlocker, VeraCrypt disk encryption: free

BestCrypt volume encryption: Eur.120



#30 Imacelebrity

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Posted 24 September 2023 - 12:55 PM

hi everyone, just wondering now its late 2023 has anything changed ? as in now many of are using Windows 11 and many still on Windows 10 what would you now say is the best encryption software to use ? thanks ( i would prefer free but willing to pay if i have to ) 

 

i should say i will be wanting to encrypt many external hard drives i have hoarded over the last few decades think maybe 40 or 50 ! each on average say 4tb , in future if i wanted to then watch videos on them through a media player attached to a tv ( think something like an asus o play or a sumvision micro ) i assume i would have to decrypt the folder the videos are in first yes ? or would i have to decrypt/unlock the folder to see it while plugged into my pc and then drag the video to another external harddrive that hasnt had encrption software used on it in order to then plug the unencrypted hard drive into my media player thats connected to my tv ..hope that makes sense ! 

 

i just need to be sure i will still be able to play my video collection in future without too much hassle . I want to encrypt everything incase of burglary etc ..dont want burglars getting my collection !

 

thanks 






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