Regardless of whether they are used at workplace, or at home, We use our computers for storing a whole lot of private and confidential information. From important business reports to those invaluable family vacation photos, just about everything is stashed on our computers’ hard disks. So it’s extremely important to ensure that this information is secured against any and all unauthorized access. And that’s exactly what disk encryption software help you do. Utilizing everything from randomized keyfiles to industry standard encryption algorithms, these applications provide your data the privacy it deserves. Can’t wait to know more? Here’s a listing of the 8 best encryption software for Windows.
Best Encryption Software for Windows
1. VeraCrypt
Platform Availability: Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1, 10; Mac OSX 10.6 and above, Linux (Desktop), Android, iOS
After that, specify the encryption password, an optional keyfile, and you’re done. The decryption process is essentially identical, except that you have to select the Decrypt option from the context menu. AxCrypt employs the industry-accepted AES encryption algorithm (both 128-bit and 256-bit key length) and also includes features like auto-encryption of modified files, passphrase caching, and stuff like that. What’s more, if you are a premium user then you can share encrypted files too with your contacts. Simply put, if you are not an advanced user and want a user-friendly encryption software for Windows then AxCrypt is the best out there.
3. 7-Zip
Download
Price: Free
Platform Availability: Multiple graphical front-ends for Windows (I would recommend Kleopatra), Mac OS X, Debian (Desktop); RPM, Android, VMS, RISC OS (Mobile & Other)
In the beginning, we have included some of the advanced encryption software, but AES Crypt is everything a general user wants: a simple and user-friendly encryption tool. You don’t need to be an expert in encryption or cryptography to use this awesome software. AES Crypt is a dedicated file encryption software which means you can directly encrypt files, unlike Veracrypt and other software that requires you to create a volume container to mount the encrypted file. You just need to right-click on a file and select “AES Encrypt”. After that, set a password and a new file with AES file format will be created in the same location. Now, you can send the file to anyone or save it on a cloud service without fear of data breach. Additionally, the original file will not be deleted so that is great.
And if you want to decrypt the file, right-click on it and choose “AES Decrypt”. Next, enter the password and voila, there you have it! As simple as it can be. Even in terms of security, AES Crypt does not compromise and brings the powerful AES 256-bit encryption. Basically, you are well guarded against all the fronts. However, keep in mind, you must remember the password otherwise you will lose all your data. There is simply no way to decrypt the file without the password. Having said all of that, the best part about AES Crypt is that it’s completely free and open-source so you can comfortably trust the software with your data. All in all, if you want a straightforward encryption software for Windows that works in a few clicks then AES Crypt is simply the best out there.
EncFS is a free and open-source cryptographic filesystem originally developed for Linux distros. But as the popularity grew, EncFS was ported to Windows and other Unix-like systems too. However, the EncFS project for Windows was abandoned after a few years of development. Now, a developer named Charlie Munson has revived the project– called EncFS4win– to fix the security issues and bring the latest features of EncFS. EncFS4win deals with both disk encryption and filesystems and can directly encrypt files without creating disk volumes. It encrypts individual files by translating all requests for the virtual EncFS filesystem into the equivalent encrypted operations on the raw filesystem.
8. Cryptomator
There are many cloud-based encryption services but I like Cryptomator because it offers you to encrypt files locally and then you can move it to a cloud platform of your choice. This way, the encryption process remains quick and easy. Apart from that, you can encrypt a whole folder or a file with Cryptomator in just a few clicks. However, Cryptomator does not deal with disk encryption on Windows so keep that in mind. That being said, the best part about Cryptomator is that if you make a change in one of your documents then only that document is synced rather than the whole container. It translates to an efficient encryption process and will save you a lot of time and resources.
