Hello What is the best encryption software available today, Paid and Free??? I have two 1TB Hard Drives Mirrored together and would like to Encrypt all the data, and maybe have a password to access the drive??? Ideas please Cheers
The best? Microsoft Bit-Drive encryption. Where you won't be able to decrypt your HDD outside of your computer, as it uses special chip on your motherboard called TPM (not all motherboards have it). You also need Windows Ultimate edition to use it. Another possibility is use Windows built-in encryption feature. (Be sure to backup the decrypt certification, which you'll need if you ever re-install Windows. Windows Vista/7 will pop-up a message and panel on doing this as you use this feature for the first time). All you need is a strong computer account password. Be sure to have that certification file OUTSIDE your computer. Windows XP Pro, Vista Business, or Win7 Pro or higher edition to have this feature. Right-click on a file, go properties, and then you'll see the encrypt file option. The name of the file will turn green once encrypted. You can also use (free), TrueCrypt for another encryption system. TrueCrypt, if configured correctly, should be able to provide a better encryption than Windows, as it offers more options and flexibility for the encryption. All 3 solutions are good to excellent (although I am not security expert. Consult one if you are encrypting really sensitive information, especially if million or billions of dollars are involved). In other, I would place Bit-drive encryption as first, than TrueCrypt, than Windows encryption feature.
TrueCrypt is an open source program and thoroughly tested and vetted for no back doors. It is not tied to any financial backer or hardware vendor. The only key is the one in your head. If you are really serious, give it a really good, long password (Password Haystack), nest it inside of another mundane encrypted filespace and you will be just fine. If you don't think it's that good, read this.
cheers thank you very much i have been reading up about TrueCrypt and i think i might go along and set that up Cheers again
Huh, I just noticed I typed "mother" instead "motherboard" at one place. Oops. Fixed now. Glad we could help.
Yea not a fan of the TPM because if your motherboard or the TPM module take a dump on you, you are screwed. Or if you are upgrading to a new motherboard, I suspect the process would be lengthy and a pain in the butt.
How do i go about setting up to encrypt my two 1TB Hard Drives (mirrored).. they already have data on them so i don't want to loose any of that?? Cheers
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/bitlocker http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Set-up-your-hard-disk-for-BitLocker-Drive-Encryption
Well I don't know, you quoted my whole post. So I figured you wanted to try Microsoft thing. Here is how to setup TrueCrypt: http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=tutorial I suggest reading the full documentation to see all the possible setup, and encryption type to pick one that best fit your needs.
is there any encryption software i could buy? as i look at it buying something you have a better chance of it being 100% bullet proof, if you get what i mean.. Read a few chapters on TrueCrypt and i have to say it goes on and on lol endless reading cheers
Actually when it comes to security, it is counter intuitive. The more open and freely accessible the software and source code are, the more likely it is to be secure. The reason being that with a completely open source code, everyone is able to look at it, pick at it, decipher it, and attack it with full knowledge of what it is doing and how it works. This makes for a more secure end product. With proprietary software, there can be known bugs in the software that the company knows about but does not disclose because they can't fix them yet or don't want to fix them or what have you. TrueCrypt all the way. Give it a try with something small and see how you like it. It really is pretty easy to get up and running.
yeah totally agree with you, i suppose and like you said the more freely accessible the software and source code are, the more likely it is to be secure. I have tried TrueCrypt with a USB memory stick and i have managed to encrypt it, and i gather the only way to access the drive is though TrueCrypt software? as when i connect the the USB Drive my pc it asks me to do a full format as it cannot read it... i think the only thing i am scared of is loosing all my data that i have on my mirrored Hard drive.. Cheers
I read good things about Toucan, AxCrypt, Truecrypt and FolderLock. You can’t go wrong if you choose one of these.
