DiskCryptor

DiskCryptor is a free program designed with open source to help users encrypt all drives, including system (partition) drives. The most outstanding feature of this program is its ability to perform tasks without requiring that format Windows drive. Instead, you just need to apply encryption without having to worry about reinstalling Windows. Another popular free utility that offers the same encryption function is TrueCrypt, but it requires you to format your Windows drive (except for encrypting individual files only). Besides, the Ultimate and Enterprise editions of Windows 7 and Windows Vista also provide a disk encryption utility called BitLocker, but it is difficult to set up and use.

Therefore, with its simple and easy to use interface, DiskCryptor has become one of the popular disk encryption utilities on the market.

Function:

• Support AES, Twofish, Serpent encryption algorithms and their combinations
• Strong encryption of drive partitions.
• Comprehensive support for Dynamic Disks.
• Supports disk devices with wide sector sizes (important for hardware RAID).
• Performance is much higher than the unencrypted system
• Support hardware AES acceleration:
• AES-NI instruction set on new Intel CPU
• PadLock extension on VIA processor.
• Many options for configuring an encrypted operating system boot
• Comprehensive compatibility with third party boot loaders (LILO, GRUB, .).
• Encrypt the system and bootable partitions with authentication before booting.
• Optionally set bootloader on external media and authenticate via main media.
• Support key files.
• Comprehensive support for external storage devices
• Option to create encrypted CD and DVD.
• Comprehensive support for encryption of external USB storage devices.
• Automatically mounts disk partitions and external storage devices.
• Support hotkey and optional command line interface (CLI).
• GNU GPLv3 public license.

How to use DiskCryptor to encrypt a hard drive:

Your laptop may be worth only a few hundred dollars but it is being used to work with a lot of important data - especially personal or business-related information - when the data is stored. The storage is much more valuable than the hard drive. That's why you need to learn how to use DiskCryptor to encrypt the entire contents of your hard drive so intruders can't access information without a password - even if they steal the device. that computer.

However, this type of attack is often mentioned more often on laptops and netbooks because they are easily lost or stolen, but you still need to have this utility on your desktop to use in case you need it. set.

First of all, it should be noted that, when applying encryption with DiskCryptor, you will have to enter the encryption password every time you open the computer to allow it to perform the boot process. After entering the password, the computer will boot and Windows will boot as usual. If you have a separate Windows password, you must also enter it.

As suggested, you should create a bootable Windows disc (LiveCD) through DiskCryptor before encrypting the Windows drive. This way, if you encounter problems booting later, you can insert the disk and use the built-in DiskCryptor utility to decrypt the drive with the existing password. (Without doing this step, you will not be able to retrieve your files.)

When you're ready to encrypt, simply open DiskCryptor, select your system drive (usually C :), and click Encrypt . Then follow the instructions to configure the various settings. Can use the default boot and encryption settings. When setting up passwords, try to create as complex as possible, containing upper and lowercase letters and numbers. However, remember that password because you will not be able to recover files if you forget the password.

DiskCryptor may take several hours to encrypt the drive, depending on its size. You can continue using the computer, but when you need to restart or shut down, be sure to click Pause first. To continue the process, just select the drive and click Encrypt again. If you encrypt your laptop, make sure that you plug in the charger so that the computer does not lose power while performing the operation.

When the encryption process is complete, DiskCryptor will list your drive as ' mounted '.

After you complete the encryption of the drive, back up the drive's capacity label information. This way, if the label is lost or corrupted, you can restore it and not lose all encrypted data. To back up, open DiskCryptor , click Tools -> Backup Header , and then store the backup to a USB drive or other computer.

Remember, utilities outside of Windows (such as a LiveCD or a USB boot drive) cannot access the encrypted drive. Therefore, you will not be able to repair, reinstall, or upgrade Windows without first decrypting the system drive through running DiskCryptor in Windows or using a Windows disk that can boot the code that created the DiskCryptor inside.

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