Free Encryption software to use

prost

ccrypt-1.9.tar.gz from http://www.mathstat.dal.ca/~selinger/ccrypt/ 650Kb works well and is very user friendly. There is a version for Windows 95-XP. You should also get ccrypt_gui_integration.zip 20Kb from http://ccrypt.sourceforge.net/VF/README.html which allows you to encrypt/decrypt files/folders by right-clicking on them in Linux KDE, Gnome, and Windows 98+. I think that in Windows you double click 'ccrypt-Win32-install.bat' to install it.

ccrypt is based on the Rijndael block cipher, with 256-bit block size and 256-bit key size. The Rijndael cipher is the U.S. government's chosen candidate for the Advanced Encryption Standard.

The good thing about it is that after encrypting files, you don't have to delete the original file. I'm using it in Linux and will need to send encrypted files to Windows users, so I wondered if ccrypt-1.9 works in Windows vista and 7. Can people let me know? Also, what are encrypted files called? For example in Linux it would be, filename.mp3.cpt for mp3 files.

There is a version for mac if you use google.

[Linux users:
There is a ccrypt for Ubuntu/debian users.

To install ccrypt_gui_integration.zip, uncompress it. Open a terminal. Then type in the full path name. Like '/home/yourusername/ccrypt-kde-install' if it was in your home folder. It works for KDE 3.5 but I'm not sure about KDE 4.]

bengalknights

You could always use Trucrypt and just encrypt the whole pc

prost

I tried truecrypt but it didn't work. Ccrypt does.

paddyrg

I think 'truecrypt doesn't work' is a bit sweeping, it certainly works very well for me. In which way doesn't it work? It may be that there's a solution to that problem.

Hammyman

prost wrote: »

I tried truecrypt but it didn't work. Ccrypt does.

Also, what are encrypted files called? For example in Linux it would be, filename.mp3.cpt for mp3 files.

Truecrypt does work and it works well. There is no changing of filenames. By changing the filename extension to cpt, you're telling a cracker what program you're using to encrypt them and have just sped up the cracking process, having saved them several days work trying to figure out what was used.

And at the end of the day, if you use an encryption key that brings up any result other than "Your search - - did not match any documents" when you put it in Google, it is WORTHLESS and you might as well just not bother.

paddyrg

One nice feature in TrueCrypt is the hidden drive thing, can't remember the formal name for it, but if you set up say a 20GB drive/image with a password 'abc' and then within that set up a 10GB (max - half the size of the containing virtual drive thing) one with passowrd 'wia14tm24ts' or similar, the inner one is mathematically invisible and completely deniable thanks to the design of TC. This means you can use the outer one for fairly secret stuff, and the inner one for the codes to launch the nukes - it is mathematically impossible to know the nuke codes even exist alongside your fairly secret stuff.

HO87

Truecrypt doesn't work? I think the OP must have had a problem with his download perhaps. I've used TC both in Windows and more latterly in Linux. Its easy to use, easy to understand and I believe is more secure than cc as it allows combinations of encryption to be used - as opposed to just the 256-bit AES. Tried ccrypt some years ago and found the gui poorly thought through and fiddly - even the command line was shakey - and encryption/decryption relatively slow (albeit this was with the 2004/5 version).

paddyrg - you were referring to Hidden Volume I think.

paddyrg

HO87 - that's exactly what I meant, cheers!