Encryption

Why encrypt data?

Encryption protects your data from unauthorized access. If someone steals your laptop or USB drive, without the correct password, the data cannot be accessed. Full-disk encryption should be standard on every device.

Full-Disk Encryption

Encrypts the entire disk including the operating system. Data is protected even when the computer is turned off.

Container Encryption

Creates an encrypted container (virtual disk) for sensitive files.

File Encryption

Encrypt individual files for sharing or archiving.

Disk and container encryption

VeraCrypt

Open Source Recommended Audited

VeraCrypt is the successor to TrueCrypt for encrypting disks and creating encrypted containers. It supports hidden volumes for deniable encryption and a variety of encryption algorithms.

Windows, macOS, Linux

AES, Serpent, Twofish, Camellia

Tip:Use cascade encryption (AES-Twofish-Serpent) for maximum security.

Download GitHub

Cryptomator

Open Source Cloud-friendly

Cryptomator is ideal for encrypting files stored in the cloud (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive). Encrypts individual files so synchronization is efficient.

Windows, macOS, Linux

Android, iOS (paid)

Download GitHub

LUX

Open Source Linux native

LUKS (Linux Unified Key Setup) is the standard solution for disk encryption in Linux. Most distributions offer LUKS encryption directly during installation.

Linux

cryptsetup (CLI)

GitLab

File encryption

GnuPG (GPG)

Open Source Standard

GnuPG is an open-source implementation of the OpenPGP standard. It is used to encrypt files, emails and signing. It is the basis of many other tools.

# File encryption

gpg --symmetric --cipher-algo AES256 file.txt

# Decryption

gpg --decrypt file.txt.gpg

Visit

age

Open Source Modern

age is a modern, simple file encryption tool. Designed as a replacement for GPG with an emphasis on ease of use and safe default settings.

# Encryption with password

age -p -o file.age file.txt

# Decryption

age -d -o file.txt file.age

GitHub

Secure file sharing

OnionShare

Open Source

Share files anonymously over the Tor network. The recipient does not need any software.

Download →

Send (Bitwarden)

Open Source

E2EE file sharing with automatic deletion. Part of Bitwarden.

Visit →

Wormhole

Open Source

Simple P2P file transfer with E2EE directly in the browser.

Run →

Syncthing

Open Source

P2P file sync between devices without the cloud.

Download →

Built-in encryption in the OS

Windows

BitLocker- available in Pro/Enterprise edition

⚠️ Keys can be stored in a Microsoft account

macOS

FileVault 2- XTS-AES-128 encryption

✓ Recommended to turn on

Linux

LUX- set during installation

✓ Standard and safe solution