In the current urgency of online privacy, people need their data to be encrypted and secured. TrueCrypt was full disk encryption for such purpose, but, unfortunately, it was dramatically abandoned in May 2014, after ten years of its launch. However, there are TrueCrypt alternatives like Veracrypt, which an internet user could opt to encrypt his data.
Note: To keep your online activities anonymous and encrypted, we recommend using a high-end VPN like NordVPN. It offers AES 256-bit encryption and multiple security features to keep you secure while browsing.
TrueCrypt was popular among millions of macOS and Windows users. For data encryption, it creates encryption partitions or visually encrypted disks into a file or folder. Therefore, gaining access to encrypted data onto the partitions is impossible without a password.
However, TrueCrypt is unavailable, so people are looking for alternatives. Therefore, we hand-picked some of the best alternatives to TrueCrypt after multiple tests. Read on to find one that suits your needs.
About TrueCrypt
The TrueCrypt software was launched in 2004 but was soon detected with some security flaws, mainly conducted by Google’s Project Zero security team. They discovered two significant security vulnerabilities within the software, from which one flaw could allow a normal user privilege to expand to administrative privilege through an application. These security patches within TrueCrypt were predicted to result from the mismanagement of original TrueCrypt developers.
In addition, these developers have no longer supported the software with updates. So, it’s better to use tools like TrueCrypt for data security.
Best TrueCrypt alternatives for disk encryption
Below is the list of the best open-source encryption software that are similar to TrueCrypt:
1. VeraCrypt
- Website URL: veracrypt.fr
VeraCrypt is a fork of TrueCrypt and is considered the best alternative. Its features are the same as those of the original software, with security enhancements. VeraCrypt uses added security and partition encryption to the system algorithms because of the advanced and added number of iterations per encryption.
Due to these added security features, the risk of vigorous cyber attacks is significantly reduced. However, when you use VeraCrypt software, the encryption process becomes longer as the containers and partition take more time to start. Yet, the application remains unaffected.
It is a free open source software. VeraCrypt encrypts your data using different encryption algorithms, such as AES, Twofish, and Serpent. Researchers regularly audit the software; the process remains the same as that of the original TrueCrypt software.
You can view the complete list of enhancements made in VeraCrypt.
2. BitLocker
- Website URL: BitLocker
BitLocker is an encryption tool that differs from VeraCrypt and TrueCrypt disk encryptions. It does not develop encrypted containers. Instead, it encrypts all the partitions simultaneously. It uses an AES algorithm with a 128- or 256-bit encryption key and encrypts the complete volumes, but it is software just for Windows, including Windows 10 and 11.
Therefore, if you leave your computer powered on, anyone using it can view all the files stored on it. However, there is a particular Windows encrypting system called Encrypted File System (EFS) that encrypts all files individually. However, these can also be accessed while the user is logged in.
The users could not supervise the backdoors to the BitLocker software, as it is not open-source. Also, the cordial relationship between Microsoft and NSA could be a deal-breaker for many individuals. Microsoft removed the feature that counters encrypted disk modification, Elephant Diffuser, which has raised the user’s concern.
Although it is one of the best encryption software, BitLocker has no plausible deniability mechanism. However, it could be believed that removing the Elephant Diffuser modified the hard drive’s content.
Through BitLocker, you could verify that an attacker has not modified the software to boot your computer.
3. DiskCryptor
- Website URL: diskcryptor.org
Like BitLocker, DiskCryptor is the disk encryption software for Windows. It is free and open source, meaning anyone can access its source code. However, it has received very limited security audits. Now, you must consider why the software is considered an efficient TrueCrypt alternative.
Compared to TrueCrypt, DiskCryptor is much faster and requires fewer computing tools for encryption. It is an easy-to-use software that uses 256-bit AES, Twofish, Serpent, or a combination of all these encryption services. Yet, Serpent is claimed to be the fastest among all.
The tool can help you encrypt external devices such as USB drives, hard disks, CDs, and DVDs. It supports various operating systems.
However, it won’t be a great choice if you want to hide your data from the NSA. You could use it for file encryption to restrict an annoying kid from accessing your files or if your device has been stolen.
Through DiskCryptor’s plausible deniability feature, you could transfer installing a computer’s bootloader into an external device such as a USB drive or CD. The Bootloader prevents the computer’s hard drive from displaying as an empty space with dispersed data.
While using DiskCryptor, it is necessary to start the computer and decrypt data through a CD or USB bootloader. It offers a free version and a premium version. To encrypt individual files, you must subscribe to its premium version.
4. CipherShed
- Website URL: ciphershed.org
CipherShed was released as a fork of TrueCrypt. It is available on Windows and Linux. However, it must be compiled for use on the latter two. The first version was non-alpha, after which no other product (v1.0 or later) has yet been released.
Compared to VeraCrypt, it is a slow software, although it is improving. In CipherShed, the flaws of Truecrypt are patched.
However, the TrueCrypt alternative’s disk encryption differs significantly from Veracrypt’s development. It allows you to perform entire disk encryption or create encrypted containers.
Yet, one advantage of using CipherShed, which you could not get through VeraCrypt’s new versions, is that it can be used with TrueCrypt containers. VeraCrypt’s increased iterations make it incompatible with the TrueCrypt containers and make it more secure.
Just like VeraCrypt, CipherShed requires hidden volumes for plausible deniability.
5. FileVault 2
As Bitlocker is for Windows 8, 10, and 11, you could use FileVault 2 for Apple. This was first launched with OSX Lion and uses an AES-XTC 128-bit algorithm for entire disk encryption to secure sensitive data. This Mac-only software uses the user’s login password as the key for encryption.
Although it is a great replacement for TrueCrypt, it doesn’t allow you to create encrypted containers. That means all your data is visible and displayed to anyone using your PC until logged in. Also, a similar feature of FileVault 2 is that it is not open-source, people cannot randomly inspect it, and it may contain backdoors.
6. BoxCryptor
- Website URL: boxcryptor.com
BoxCryptor is free encryption software for disks or individual files. It is file-based and provides protection for AES-256 and RSA encryption. BoxCryptor could be the best TrueCrypt alternative as it supports many cloud storage services, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.
The encryption of such storage services is beneficial as it protects all essential data. BoxCryptor offers support for Windows, Android, iOS, Linux, and macOS.
Is TrueCrypt secure?
In investigating TrueCrypt’s security, the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology 2015 released a 77-page report. This audit was performed on the last stable version of TrueCrypt source code. It was discovered that the software was prone to many bugs, yet it allowed secure service for the primary use case. For instance, encrypting data on rest, such as on a USB or in an external hard drive, could be secure.
The report suggested that the bugs identified by Google were found to reside in the TrueCrypt software, but they are not so vulnerable that they could allow hackers access. However, such secure encryption could not be possible in a computer’s memory or a mounted drive. It could allow hackers to access the encrypted data through a decryption key that remains stored in the computer’s memory if the drive is mounted.
However, the chances of hacker access remain low in this situation. To remain protected, a user must mount the encrypted container where the decrypted data is accessible or place the computer in hibernation with the encrypted container mounted. Yet, there is no way out if the encrypted container is open and someone accesses the computer.
Therefore, a computer with encrypted, mounted drives should not be allowed to hibernate if the encrypted container is open.
Is TrueCrypt worth using?
The mounted drives with the latest original version of TrueCrypt software on an older system could be fully secure with the exceptions described above. However, if you are a TrueCrypt user, using it is a bit insecure for the mounted device for the mentioned reasons.
However, it could be risky and problematic if you consider downloading this software now. TrueCrypt is no longer being offered and has been unavailable for download since 2014. Yet, some websites and torrents claim to offer the original version of it for download. Also, it could be difficult for an ordinary person without software expertise to figure out the alterations.
GitHub is where archived copies can be freely audited; however, due to its time-consuming procedure and high cost, the experts haven’t audited most of the repositories. Yet, according to Open Crypto Projects, the GitHub repository copy, TrueCrypt 7.1, is verified. At the same time, some users claim TrueCrypt to be prone to Government intrusion.
Therefore, we recommend you try out the TrueCrypt alternatives, which are either the derivatives of this disk encrypting software or entirely different from it.
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About the Author
Waqas is a cybersecurity journalist and writer who has a knack for writing technology and online privacy-focused articles. He strives to help achieve a secure online environment and is skilled in writing topics related to cybersecurity, AI, DevOps, Cloud security, and a lot more. As seen in: Computer.org, Nordic APIs, Infosecinstitute.com, Tripwire.com, and VentureBeat.
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