Slant community chat on Discord| 13 Recommended Products | Recommendations | Price | Last Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 GNU Privacy Guard· · · | 18 | 0 | – | May 18, 2017 |
| #2 VeraCrypt· · · | 7 | 0 | – | Mar 29, 2017 |
| #3 7-zip· · · | 7 | 0 | – | Mar 29, 2017 |
| #4 dm-crypt via LUKS· · · | 4 | 0 | – | Apr 14, 2017 |
| #5 Disk Utility· · · | 3 | 0 | – | Feb 17, 2016 |
| #6 ecryptfs· · · | 2 | 0 | – | Nov 16, 2016 |
Pro Supports expiring signatures
GPG keys by default expire after a set amount of time. The amount can be changed and this feature can be turned off.
Pro Volume and individual file encryption
With GPG you can encrypt you whole volume or files individually.
Pro Supports paired keys
Allows for encrypted communication.
Con It may be hard to find a GUI frontend that suits your needs
If you decide not to use the CLI version of GPG, it may be hard to find a GPG GUI version that suits your needs simply because of the sheer number of different versions available.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
Pro Archive container-based encryption
You can choose between archiving in a .zip container, that offers a choice between ZipCrypto and AES-256 encryption, or a .7z container that uses AES-256 and additionally offers the possibility of encrypting file names.
Pro Integrates with GNOME's archive manager
If you use GNOME desktop environment, you can extend the archive manager to add 7-zip functionality or depending on the distribution it can already be integrated.
Con Does not support data recovery
It's not possible with 7-zip to add data recovery records to the archive which could repair minor integrity errors.
Con The standard encyption method ZipCrypto is unsecure
Be sure to select AES encryption instead of the standard and much less secure ZipCrypto encryption.
Pro Flexible
Encrypt whole disks, removable media, software RAID, partitions, files and logical volumes.
Pro Native Linux support
It offers the best integration and ease of use on Linux.
Con Requires advanced command line knowledge
In order to use dm-crypt you need to have advanced knowledge of Linux and of the command line, as well as the Linux filesystem. However, most distros support easy creation of LUKS-encrypted drives when installing Linux transparently.
Pro Native OS X support
It offers the best integration, ease of use and support with OS X.
Pro Disk image and volume encryption
You can create a disk image that requires a password to mount. It can use a different filesystem than OS X, like exFAT, that can be used to move files between Windows and OS X. Additionally, you can encrypt file volumes by right-clicking and selecting encrypt.
Con Mac only
Disk Utility is available for OSX only.
Pro Encrypt your home directory
The entire user home directory or folder inside can be encrypted and unlocked during login.
Con No single file encryption
Can't request a single file be encrypted.
Pro Cross-platform
Works on Linux, OS X and experimentally on Windows.
Pro Configuration is stored in the working directory
The configuration for EncFS is in the form of a dotfile (.encfs6.xml) and it's stored in the working directory. This way you only have to remember the passphrase because all the other metadata is stored in the configuration file.
Con Not up to speed with modern cryptography practices
From some audits in the past, EncFS has had some issues with being up-to-date as far as cryptography practices go. For example, it uses the same key for encryption and authentication or file holes not being authenticated.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
Pro Multiple authentication methods
You can use a combination of methods consisting of Trusted Platform Module, PIN, and a passphrase on a USB thumb stick.
Pro Native Windows support
It offers the best integration, ease of use and support with Ultimate and Enterprise editions of Microsoft's Windows Vista and Windows 7, and with the Pro and Enterprise editions of Windows 8.
Con Proprietary
No public audits possible. Microsoft could want or be legally required to puts backdoors without users knowledge.
Pro Easy to use
Integrates with right-click menu for easy access.
Pro Self-extracting archives
AxCrypt can create encrypted archives that extract without requiring AxCrypt on the computer. So you can send a file to someone safely, they just need the password.
Con Windows only
AxCrypt is only available for the Windows operating system.
Pro Completely free
CipherShed is completely free and open source.
Pro Built on top of TrueCrypt
CipherShed is built on top of the famous and now abandoned TrueCrypt and it comes with a lot of things that TrueCrypt had.
Con Difficult to enhance key derivation
Since CipherShed decided to keep the TrueCrypt compatibility, and stick with that format they also have to stick with TrueCrypt's key derivation which was released in 2004 and understandably does not offer the same security that it did when first released.
Pro Can reformat external hard drives
Knox can also reformat and encrypt external hard drives and USB sticks.
Con Mac only
Available only for Mac
Pro Can encrypt entire disks
Other than volumes and folders, TrueCrypt can encrypt whole disks too, including the system disk.
Con Abandoned
As of May 28th, TrueCrypt is abandonware. The website warns that using the software might not be secure and suggests moving to BitLocker. The source code is available and there are rumors of an official fork.
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