Using TrueCrypt to encrypt your data

TrueCrypt is a free open-source disk encryption software for Windows Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux

The best feature that I found with TrueCrypt is it can create a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mounts it as a real disk. Files that is stored in this encrypted disk are automatically encrypted or decrypted on-the-fly and transparent to user.

TrueCrypt can also encrypts an entire partition or storage device such as USB flash drive or hard drive.

The other feature that I never try with TrueCrypt is the Encryption of a partition or drive where Windows is installed (pre-boot authentication).

No data stored on an TrueCrypt encrypted volume can be read (decrypted) without having the correct password or correct encryption key. Until decrypted, a TrueCrypt volume appears to be nothing more than a series of random numbers.

The encryption algorithms supported by TrueCrypt includes AES-256, Serpent, and Twofish. Additionally, five different combination of cascaded algorithms are available: AES-Twofish, AES-Twofish-Serpent, Serpent-AES, Serpent-Twofish-AES and Twofish-Serpent. The cryptographic hash functions used by TrueCrypt are RIPEMD-160, SHA-512, and Whirlpool.

From information security point of view, it is a good practice to protect your sensitive data with encryption software. TrueCrypt offers this excellent function to us freely!

Comments

Popular Posts