Folder/file encryption

[747 jock]

I'm after a bit of advice and I'm sure some of the knowledgable people here could help.

I used to have a laptop running XP professional, and I had a PGP encryption prog that I used to encrypt some sensitive info that I had on there. (I was working in Nigeria and there were some documents I had that I didn't want read if the laptop was stolen).

I've recently bought a new laptop which has Win 7 Home premium (64bit) and the verson of PGP I have won't run on it & I don't want to pay $105 for a new version.

Could anyone recommend an encryption program (either freeware or a reasonably priced paid version) that is fairly secure and could be used for encrypting single files and maybe folders.

Thanks

[Milo Minderbinder]

two options that make sense
1) use trucrypt TrueCrypt - Free Open-Source On-The-Fly Disk Encryption Software for Windows 7/Vista/XP, Mac OS X and Linux (http://www.truecrypt.org/)
thats free

2) use the online upgrade feature of windows to switch to one of the Win7 versions that come with Bitlocker encryption - ie Ultimate or Enterprise
BitLocker Drive Encryption - Windows 7 features - Microsoft Windows (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/bitlocker)

[Groundbased]

Truecrypt is good, and you can encrypt portable devices with it aswell, i.e external hard drives, USB sticks etc.

Just be aware that there is no back door with it, so there is no way to recover data, via a password reset for example, if you forget the password.

Makes it vital to have a good backup strategy in place to ensure you don't lose any data.

[mixture]

Just be aware that there is no back door with it, so there is no way to recover data, via a password reset for example, if you forget the password.

Erm... yes there is :

(a) Last time I used it, there was the option to create a recovery CD that you can keep in a safe place.
(b) There's always the option of a brute-force dictionary attack. Your average Joe is unlikely to pick a cryptographically secure password. There are commercially available hardware accelerators available to speed up the process greatly when you job involves cracking these things (i.e. you can cluster them and attempt well over 1 million passwords per second !)

[riverrock83]

A brute force attack is not by definition a "back door".
A recovery CD on the other hand...

If you are used to using PGP then The GNU Privacy Guard - GnuPG.org (http://www.gnupg.org/) is a free alternative that is compatible. There are also free front ends available (I think one called Kleopatra comes with it). I think the only difference is the file extension (it by default creates .gpg files instead of .pgp files).

If you are only encrypting the odd file then bitlocker is overkill (and normally requires an upgrade - do you not need compatible hardware too?). I haven't used TrueCrypt so can't comment on it.

[Milo Minderbinder]

I installed Kleopatra on one of my PCs along with an internet browsing secuity package and had problems with web browsers crashing
It didn't seem a finished product to me

[Groundbased]

From truecrypts website:

I forgot my password – is there any way ('backdoor') to recover the files from my TrueCrypt volume?

TrueCrypt does not allow recovery of any encrypted data without knowing the correct password or key. We cannot recover your data because we do not know and cannot determine the password you chose or the key you generated using TrueCrypt. The only way to recover your files is to try to "crack" the password or the key, but it could take thousands or millions of years (depending on the length and quality of the password or keyfiles, on the software/hardware performance, algorithms, and other factors). If you find this hard to believe, consider the fact that even the FBI was not able to decrypt a TrueCrypt volume after a year of trying.

and:

If the TrueCrypt Boot Loader screen does not appear after you start your computer (or if Windows does not boot), the TrueCrypt Boot Loader may be damaged. The TrueCrypt Rescue Disk allows you restore it and thus to regain access to your encrypted system and data (however, note that you will still have to enter the correct password then). In the Rescue Disk screen, select Repair Options > Restore TrueCrypt Boot Loader. Then press 'Y' to confirm the action, remove the Rescue Disk from your CD/DVD drive and restart your computer.

I take this to mean that if you cannot remember the password the rescue disk won't help you. Also you need to create a new rescue disk each time you change your Truecrypt password or you won't be able to access the data.

All I'm really saying is that for whatever encryption mechanism you use, it always makes sense to have a backup strategy that ensures your data won't get lost

[747 jock]

Thanks milo.

I'll have a look at Truecrypt in a day or so.

[mixture]

All I'm really saying is that for whatever encryption mechanism you use, it always makes sense to have a backup strategy that ensures your data won't get lost

Forget encryption.

If you use a computer for anything important or that has emotional value, you MUST do backups. Encryption doesn't come into it.

Backup,backup,backup,backup,backup,backup,backup

Rant over. :E

[kenhughes]

And backup prevents prying eyes from reading sensitive information how?

Although I do agree with you about regular backup, it doesn't answer the OP's question about data security.

[Mike-Bracknell]

And backup prevents prying eyes from reading sensitive information how?

Although I do agree with you about regular backup, it doesn't answer the OP's question about data security.

errr you have heard about encrypting your backups as well, haven't you? I think you're misinterpreting the call for backup as being an alternative to encryption - not so.

[mixture]

What the man from Bracknell said.

What I was trying to say is that Groundbased worded his message in a way that implied backups were an important means of recovering access to your encrypted data.

What I was trying to put forwards is that whether or not you encrypt your data doesn't come into it in terms of the importance of backups.

Backups are a fundamental part of IT, irrespective of whether or not encryption is deployed.

i.e. you should already have a backup regime in place prior to deploying encryption, not as a result of deploying it.

Capiche ? :E

[Groundbased]

If that was what I implied it wasn't what I meant.

What I meant was:

1. Encrypting your data is good practice
2. Backups are a fundamental part of your technology solution
3. Encrypting your backups is good practice
4. In all cases ensure the encryption method you use provides you with certainty that you can get access to your backed up encrypted data in the event of a disaster.