6 encryption tools that will secure your data

Image courtesy of jeff_golden at Flickr.com

Encryption is defined as the conversion of electronic data, Plaintext, into ciphertext, encrypted text. This type of text can be hard to understand by a person that is not authorized to do so. Encryption main purpose is to help in the protection of your confidential electronic data which can be found in your laptop, personal computer, or the digital information sent through Internet and other networks. Even though the use of encryption is not new for humans, the advancements about it are greater every day. These advancements are generated by the increment of security problems on the transferring of digital data. That’s why companies related to these issues have worked for many years to develop strategies against safety gaps. In this list, you will find encryption tools that were created to help you in the difficult task of protecting your valuable digital data from the online threats out there.

BitLocker

This full disk encryption software has been developed by Microsoft and it has been set up in almost every Windows operating system. BitLocker works with AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) which is a military grade encryption that most of the security companies use. The easiness of this encryption tool is that you can use it effortlessly, and you can already find it in your Windows operating system. When you encrypt your hard disk with BitLocker, it will block any data breaches or exfiltration from it. If someone steals your laptop, it would be impossible for them to access your files.

7Zip

If you dislike the idea of encrypting the whole hard disk, 7Zip is the right tool for you. 7Zip is a simple but powerful encryption tool (AES - 256) that can support you with ciphering only the data you need to. It works with a 7z archive format, but other archive formats can be also read and written. This encryption tool has a great compression format, and it can extract nearly all file formats. 7Zip is suitable for almost all Windows versions, and you can find it in about 87 languages.

AxCrypt

This encryption software has been around for 15 years, making one of the most popular tools to encrypt data around the world. You can use this software to protect important data from your computer system. AxCrypt encrypts a file during a definite extent of time, and it will be decrypted automatically after it arrives safely to its destination. This tool is simple and fast which makes easier to encipher a complete folder or a group of files. In addition, AxCrypt provides safety against cyber criminal attacks and their extensive cracking methods. It can be installed on different Windows operating systems.

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VeraCrypt

Tools from VeraCrypt strengthen the security of the system algorithms and its encrypted partitions so it becomes immune to advanced cyber attacks. You can download it freely for Windows, Linux and MacOSX operating systems. If you have files with the obsolete TrueCrypt too, the version 1.0f of VeraCrypt can import TrueCrypt files and it can convert containers and system partitions from a TrueCrypt format to a VeraCrypt one. This encryption tool is been continually improved and its updates increases its security. 

Tor Browser

This tool has been created to allow anonymity and protection while accessing the network. Its software bounces your communications over a worldwide distributed network of relays that are carried out by volunteers. The Tor Browser can be operated by anyone who wishes online privacy and wants to keep prying eyes out of the picture during browsing activity. With this tool, you can also avoid sharing your location to the web sites you visit, and makes almost impossible to trace back to you your instant messages and other communicative activities. The Tor Browser can be used on Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux, and it can be run off from a USB flash drive, so it is not necessary to install any software.

Virtual Private Network – VPN

Virtual Private Network (VPN) makes use of encryption to offer secure access to a remote computer across the internet. VPN is a private network that establishes an encrypted channel capable of protecting your communication from interference attacks. This is another alternative to be online in complete privacy, especially if you need to work remotely and operate private company networks. For instance, VPN is very useful when you want to transfer confidential data or you need to run highly important operations online. Besides, Don Burns recommends using VPN if you connect from unsafe public networks, so you can encrypt your private information and protect your web traffic.

Read more about encrypt and secure communications in this older post “How to encrypt communications”