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50 |^ |^ March 2020
hen it comes to
encrypting individual
files or entire drives,
there are numerous
options available. If
you’re running the Pro,
Enterprise, or Education version of
Windows 10, you’ll find built-in options
exist in the form of BitLocker and
EFS – the box opposite reveals how
BitLocker works and what you need to
run it. EFS – Encrypting File System
– enables you to individually encrypt
files or folders using your Windows
password as the encryption key. If
the drive is stolen, the files are
unreadable without your Windows
account password.
To encrypt one or more files or
folders, select them in File Explorer,
right-click the selection, and choose
Properties. Click Advanced, then tick the
box next to Encrypt contents to secure
data. Click OK then Apply – you’re
prompted to encrypt the parent folder if
applicable for greater security. Make
your choice, then click OK.
EFS is a simple but relatively weak
way to encrypt files. If you’re looking for
something stronger, or don’t trust
Microsoft with keeping your data
secure, read on.
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If you only need to encrypt individual
files on a semi-regular basis – or wish
to encrypt files before sharing them
with others – the open-source tool
AES Crypt (www.aescrypt.com) is all
you need. Download and install the
program, then going forward, simply
right-click the file you wish to protect,
and choose AES Encrypt. Enter a strong
password – the more characters, the
stronger the encryption – and click
OK. An encrypted copy of the file
with an .aes file extension is created,
unreadable to anyone who doesn’t
know the password.
If you want to share the file with
others, send them the encrypted
version, then communicate the
password separately and securely.
They need to install AES Crypt before
double-clicking the file and entering
the password required to extract the
decrypted original.
It’s also possible to encrypt Office
documents – but encryption is only
effective in Word 2007 or later when
first AES 128-bit, and more recently
(from Office 2016) AES 256-bit,
encryption is employed. To do so in
Office 2007 or later, select the File tab
and choose Info > Protect Document
> Encrypt with Password.
If you want stronger encryption for
individual files or folders, Gpg4win
(www.gpg4win.org) works in a similar
fashion to AES Crypt, with the added
bonus of allowing you to encrypt files
using public keys protected by
passphrases for additional security. After
installation, launch the Kleopatra tool
and choose File > New Key Pair, then
select Create a personal OpenPGP key
pair to get started. Once done, you can
then encrypt files by right-clicking them
in File Explorer and choosing Sign and
encrypt to use your key (you can also
encrypt files with a simple password,
too, if you prefer).$RQHVWRSVROXWLRQ
AES Crypt and Gpg4win are perfect for
occasional encryption, but you’ll need
to re-encrypt your files each time you
make changes to them. If you want a
more comprehensive, flexible solution,
VeraCrypt (www.veracrypt.fr/en/) pretty
much does it all. It can be used in a
variety of ways to meet most people’s
needs – like BitLocker, you can encrypt
entire drives, including your Windows
boot drive, but you can also restrict its
use to a specific set of sensitive files
using a smaller virtual encrypted
container, which resides as a file on
your hard drive.
The app is available for Windows,
Mac, and Linux, so you can use it
across all your computers. There’s a
portable version available, too, which
can do everything except encrypt your
boot drive. After downloading and
installing (or extracting to your portable
apps folder), launch the program– Veracrypt-x64.exe if you’re running the
portable version – and you will find
yourself at the main VeraCrypt window.&UHDWHDYLUWXDOGULYH
The VeraCrypt Volume Creation Wizard
now opens, with Create an encrypted
file container selected by default. This is
the safest option, because it merely
creates a single file on an existing hard
drive, inside which all your sensitive
data will be stored for you. There’s no
risk to any other files or drives. To
proceed, click Next.
Two types of volume can be created- to simply protect the data if the drive
it’s on is lost or stolen, leave Standard
TrueCrypt volume selected, and click
Next again. Skip to the next section.
You’ll also see an option to create a
hidden volume, with an explanation
about why you might want one. Hidden
volumes are created inside standard
True Cr y pt volumes, hiding themselves
in their free space.
First-time users should select Hidden
TrueCrypt volume then Normal mode
to create a standard TrueCrypt volume
inside which your hidden volume will
be created. If you’ve already created a
standard volume, you can choose Direct
mode instead when prompted, and
follow the prompts to set it up inside
your standard TrueCrypt volume. In
either event, the wizard follows a similar
process to that for standard volumes, as
described below.
One tip if you plan to create a hidden
volume: Be sure to save selected files to
the standard volume. An empty
standard volume would arouse
suspicion among those you’re trying to
hide your data from.
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Click the Select File... button, browse to
your USB thumb drive, then type a new
file name into the File name box. AvoidAES Crypt won’t delete your original file after creating an encrypted copy.VeraCrypt’s wizard makes it easy to create any kind
of encrypted drive.