The Ultimate Guide To Best Hard Disk Encryption Software

Add a symbol and it takes even longer"p4ssworD!" Would take about 275 days. An even stronger password could be a sentence that is a combination of letters, numbers, symbols and capitalization. Something easy to remember but difficult to imagine, like"mYd0g!sMyp4ssw0rD," would take a PC approximately 3 quintillion years to figure out.Encryption Software: Things We Tested, What We FoundMost of the encryption software for Windows we analyzed lets you combine your encrypted documents in one protected location, whether it is a locker, library or vault.

The document encryption software you select should get the job done quickly, be user friendly and maintain your information safe.PerformanceWe analyzed each of the encryption methods thoroughly using 63 files that totaled 128MB to determine which program was the greatest overall. People who converted the files quickly received more credit in the final scores than others.

Although encrypting such a little batch of documents only took seconds in most cases, some apps took minutes to finish the job. When you are locking up only a few megabytes' worth of information, it's not a big deal, however if you're encrypting gigabytes of data, you could be looking at hours of waiting.We also clocked the speed of decryption and found that most apps can give you access to your files fairly quickly.

The apps we include in our lineup are overall simple and intuitive, especially Folder Lock and Secure IT. They both guide you through procedures step by step. Safe IT gives you access to encryption by integrating with the Windows operating system, so all you've got to do is right-click on a file and select to encrypt it in the menu.In almost every evaluation, we found that these file encryption programs compress files as they encrypt them.

Little Known Facts About Best Hard Disk Encryption Software.

Those that compressed documents the most obtained more credit in scoring.SecurityEncryption software employs different kinds of ciphers to scramble your information, and each has its own benefits. Advanced Encryption Standard, or 256-bit key AES, is a sort of the Rijndael cipher and can be used by the U.S. government, including the National Security Agency, so it is considered one of the strongest encryption ciphers available.

Although any of these ciphers could be broken given enough time and computing power, they're considered almost unbreakable. AES has long been recognized as the exceptional algorithm, so we gave more credit to the apps that use AES.Many data applications include an option to shred your documents when you are all set to bury data.

To"shred" documents, a program overwrites the data with random bits of information. Data recovery is a lengthy process, so unless you're in the business of trade secrets or espionage, your hard drives are likely safe from data recovery.Your documents and information will be only as safe and protected as your password.

The longer and more random your password is, the tougher it is to break. A password strength meter included in the program is helpful. Many programs require a master password to utilize the application, and then another password for each vault or collection of files. Password generators can also be useful when you don't want to have to think of strong passwords yourself.We sent encrypted documents through email and provided a password into the tester to unlock the files.

About Free Computer Encryption Software

You use your mouse, which prevents potential keyloggers out of recording your password as you type it. Your Windows operating system includes a digital keyboard, and that means you have access to this safety feature, but programs like Folder Lock and Advanced Encryption Package Pro make it effortless to access. Stealth mode provides even more solitude anyone else that logs on to your personal computer or hacks in won't even see that you used encryption software.After encrypting files, a few applications enabled us to back up the protected data and connect to upload to a server, such as Google Drive or Dropbox, which can be called redundant safety.

In fact, you can upload any of your encrypted files into a cloud area and your documents remain safe.Top Ten Reviews Aims, whenever possible, to assess all products and services in hands-on tests that simulate as closely as possible the experiences of a typical consumer. wikipedia reference We obtained the software in our comparison on loan from the companies and via retail purchase.

Outcomes of our evaluations were not provided to the companies in advance of publication.What Else Is Important in Choosing Encryption SoftwareWhile safety is the utmost element in picking the right encryption software for you personally, it's obviously important that you choose a program that works for your system. Also, if you run into issues with your published here software, you may need to contact customer service or have access to online manuals and tutorials.Version CompatibilityIf you are running an old version of Windows, such as Vista or XP, then you want to make sure the app still supports your operating system.