The risk-based study brings forward an astonishing fact that 36 billion records got compromised in the first half of 2020 due to data breaches. Because of this, people can ask for ransom and blackmail, leading to cybercrime. We are developing many techniques to overcome cybercrime and to ensure data safety. One of them is cryptography, where we use encryption and decryption methods.
What are encryption and decryption?
Encryption is the process of scrambling data into a form that other people cannot find a logical meaning out of. You can do it by both computer programs and special codes, such as ciphers, prevalent around since ancient times and still widely used.
Encryption is not the only way to make secret messages. Secret writing (for example, with invisible ink), hiding the message (for example, in a wall or under a rug), and speaking in code (for example, by using one word for “red” and another for “stop”) are also ways to make secret messages. But encryption is the simplest, most reliable, and fastest.
People developed encryption for military use originally. The encryption systems used by armies and navies are called ciphers.
Now, for decoding the encrypted data and messages, a few people have the access to a key or a method.
Talking about digital data and its privacy, data encryption software is used for it. Such software uses a cryptography method that prevents unauthorized access to the data.
Now, we will discuss the top 10 data encryption software to rely on to ensure your data is secure while using them.
1. AxCrypt:
AxCrypt is one of the best data encryption software out there. This free-to-use software is easy to use. Just download it and select the files you want to encrypt, and it will secure all the files with 128-bit or 256-bit encryption. Users get two options to choose from, the premium and the business. The Premium version is for private users, and the other one is the data encryption software for business. It has crossed 20 million downloads worldwide. It is a multilingual software, and so it understands more than 15 different languages.
2. Veracrypt:
VeraCrypt is open-source software for data encryption with cloud storage. So users can access its data from anywhere and anytime. It uses various encryption schemes of ciphers (an algorithm to perform encryption or decryption) like AES, Twofish, Serpent, etc. Initially released in 2013, last year in 2020, VeraCrypt made its stable release.
3. CryptoForge:
CryptoForge confidently claims that it stores the data and the information with something more than encryption. If the user complains of breach, CryptoForge makes sure the data is secure. It can encrypt files of large sizes of up to 16 TB. One can send encrypted files to anyone, and then they can decrypt the files even without the CryptoForge software. It has strong AES encryption implemented, which ensures the data remains safe even in future unauthorized activities.
4. NordLocker:
NordLocker is one of the free data encryption software, and it is easy to use. The user only needs to open a cloud account to store all files. Then drag and drop the files they want to encrypt, set the password and that’s it! Hence, the files are now encrypted and safe. Even if they want to check the files sometime later, they can check it by only entering the password. They do not even have to decrypt the files for accessing them. Moreover, everything is stored in cloud storage to access it from anywhere by using its login credentials.
5. Microsoft BitLocker:
BitLocker is a Microsoft data encryption software provided with the Windows operating system. It is designed to prevent unauthorized users from accessing data stored on a hard drive. In BitLocker, the boot volume is encrypted, and the user can encrypt other volumes.
BitLocker uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption, which means that BitLocker encrypts the drive using keys stored in a file on a central server. When the system is powered on, users need to confirm their identity to re access the data.
6. Boxcryptor:
Boxcryptor provides something that other software does not- it is a data encryptor, especially for cloud storage. So, it is a cloud data encryption software. It provides encryption for more than 30 cloud storage, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive. It facilitates encryption using a combination of AES 256-bit encryption and RSA encryption. Passwords and keys are kept in user devices.
7. CYPHERIX:
CYPHERIX is one of the best data encryption software. It provides 448-bit strong encryption, making sure no data attacks happen on users’ data. It runs on all versions of windows and all 32-bit and 64-bit systems. One unique feature of it, along with file encryption, is file shredder. Many times, after deleting the encrypted files, some of their portions remain in the system that can be decrypted using some software. It may lead to severe data breaching. A file shredder is something that completely deletes the files from the system.
8. Folderlock:
Folderlock is an end-to-end encrypted locker that synchronizes encrypted files on a dedicated cloud server. It encrypts files with AES 256-bit military-grade encryption. It encrypts the files by just copying them to Folderlock. To date, its download count has reached almost 60 million downloads, which is huge!
It has a feature of shredding the files, which deletes the files completely when wanted.
9. Sophos:
Sophos is one of the best data encryption software for windows. It protects devices and mi data with full disk encryption for macOS and Windows. It enables users to share the encrypted files, which the recipients can only access with the correct password.
10. Kruptos-2:
Kruptos-2 is all-in-one software to encrypt data against data breaches. It protects private notes, files, financial details, and cloud storage all at once. It uses military graded 256 AES encryption to secure the data. Once encrypted, the files can be accessed from any other device, even if the user’s computer is stolen or someone tried to break into it. It also has this facility to send encrypted emails. One can download its free trial from its website, and if users want to get access to all of its functionalities, they can also buy the premium version.
Learn how Easyjet’s 9 million travel records got breached.