What are the best file encryption tools?

14

Options
Considered

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Here’s the Deal

The Best 1 of 14 OptionsWhy?

14 Options Considered	Price	Open Source	Last Updated
The Best GNU Privacy Guard		Yes	Apr 19, 2018
VeraCrypt		Yes	Apr 19, 2018
7-zip		–	Nov 6, 2017
EncFS		–	Jan 22, 2018
AxCrypt		–	Apr 17, 2018

GNU Privacy Guard

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Top Pro

Cross-platform

GPG works on OS X, Linux, and Windows with extensive selection of wrappers.

Top 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.

Top Pro

Volume and individual file encryption

With GPG you can encrypt you whole volume or files individually.

Top Pro

Supports paired keys

Allows for encrypted communication.

Top Pro

Multiple types of encryption algorithms

GPG supports public key cryptography (RSA EIGamal, DSA), symmetrical key algorithms (Blowfish, AES, IDEA, etc), cryptographic hash functions (RIPEMD, SHA), and compression (ZIP, ZLIB, BZIP2).

Top Pro

Both CLI and GUI versions available

GPG can be installed as a command line tool, or you can choose between several different GUI frontends available for it.

Top 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.

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13 Other Options Considered

VeraCrypt

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Top Pro

On-the-fly encryption

Veracrypt is an on-the-fly encryption tool. Meaning that it decrypts files only when they are needed and that the files are otherwise kept encrypted the rest of the time.

Top Pro

Free

This project is free and users are encouraged to donate something to keep the project going.

Top Pro

Several encryption cyphers supported

Supports AES, TwoFish and Serpent encryption cyphers.

Top Pro

Support for AES code in CPU

Most Intel and AMD (and possibly other) CPUs have AES specific instruction sets, so you needn't task the CPU during the en/de/crypt process when using AES, VC throughput is as if the code were in 'firmware'; you can see the effect if you choose anything but AES as your cipher.

Top Pro

Regular updates

Veracrypt is in active development with constant and regular updates and several external audits in the planning stages.

Top Pro

Multiplatform

Veracrypt is supported on MacOS, Linux and Windows.

Top Pro

Built on top of TrueCrypt

Top Pro

Open source code

The source code is open to review. It has already had a security audit and it did well, with small problems fixed by authors within days of being reported. Its predecessor source, Truecrypt, had a detailed audit that found its capabilities sound, completed (ironically) shortly before the TC folks...

Top Pro

Easy to use

It's easy to understand and use.

Top Con

Not plug and play

Requires some tech savvy, so some skill is required, particularly if things go wrong. In the Windows world different UEFI implementations can cause problems in one, not in others, and the solutions are not uniform between issues. For Bitlocker, Microsoft worked out issues with vendors before han...

Top Con

The UI is not compliant with the Mac

This program does not use Mac UI standards. Nevertheless, it is acceptable.

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See 9 more Pros & Cons

7-zip

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Top Pro

Cross-platform

A GUI version of 7-zip is available for Windows and a command line port for Linux/Unix.

Top 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.

Top 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.

Top Pro

Free and open source

7-Zip is free software. You can use it on any computer. You don't need to register or pay for 7-Zip (including for commercial use). 7-Zip is licensed under GNU LGPL, and the *.7z format has support across all major operating systems. There should be no trouble opening the archives under any ope...

Top Pro

Explorer right-click menu integration

Makes it easy to open any archive file, or create new archives, without having to go open another program first.

Top Pro

Unobtrusive

Top Pro

Lightweight

Starts quickly.

Top 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.

Top Con

The standard encyption method ZipCrypto is unsecure

Be sure to select AES encryption instead of the standard and much less secure ZipCrypto encryption.

Top 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.

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See 8 more Pros & Cons

EncFS

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Top Pro

Encrypts on per-file basis

This makes it suitable for using with Dropbox or similar cloud storage platforms.

Top Pro

Cross-platform

Works on Linux, OS X and experimentally on Windows.

Top 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.

Top 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.

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See 2 more Pros

AxCrypt

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Top Pro

Easy to use

Integrates with right-click menu for easy access.

Top 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.

Top Con

Windows only

AxCrypt is only available for the Windows operating system.

ecryptfs

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Top Pro

Encrypt your home directory

The entire user home directory or folder inside can be encrypted and unlocked during login.

Top Con

No single file encryption

Can't request a single file be encrypted.

Disk Utility

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Top Pro

Native OS X support

It offers the best integration, ease of use and support with OS X.

Top 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.

Top Con

Mac only

Disk Utility is available for OSX only.

dm-crypt via LUKS

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Top Pro

Flexible

Encrypt whole disks, removable media, software RAID, partitions, files and logical volumes.

Top Pro

Native Linux support

It offers the best integration and ease of use on Linux.

Top Pro

Support for multiple keys/passwords

If several people should be able to decrypt a volume, each one can have their own password/key.

Top Pro

Free and open-source

Open-source for cryptography is a requirement, not just a bonus.

Top 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.

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Hider 2

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Top Pro

Hides your data directly from a Finder window

Top Pro

Easy to use

Top Con

Only works on Mac

S.S.E. File Encryptor

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Top Pro

Cross-platform file-encryption

Top Pro

Choice of strong encryption algorithms

Know any negative aspects of this option?

BitLocker

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Top 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.

Top 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.

Top Pro

Volume-based encryption

BitLocker allows encrypting an entire volume including the OS.

Top Con

Proprietary

No public audits possible. Microsoft could want or be legally required to puts backdoors without users knowledge.

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Data Vault

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CipherShed

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Top Pro

Cross-platform

Available on Windows, OS X and Linux

Top Pro

Completely free

CipherShed is completely free and open source.

Top 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.

Top 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.

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TrueCrypt

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Top Pro

Can encrypt entire disks

Other than volumes and folders, TrueCrypt can encrypt whole disks too, including the system disk.

Top 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.

Knox

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134 Community Recommendations

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GNU Privacy Guard

Recommended 4 months ago

Works everywhere, even on android

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3 months ago

Tried v2.1.1547.0 in January 2018. You now must register with the company who creates the software and options have been removed in the free version, e.g. create .exe file.

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Recommended 3 months ago

Very good disk encryption.

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Recommended 4 months ago

The best for multiplatform users and easy to use to transfer encrypted volumes to other people without software costs.

EncouragingBellona

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GNU Privacy Guard

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GNU Privacy Guard

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GNU Privacy Guard

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GNU Privacy Guard

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GNU Privacy Guard

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