privacy-engineering-tools

Encryption tools

Here you can find a list of encryption tools. There are many more encryption tools and packages available - here we selected the ones most commonly used. However, there are many more tools available, see for example this Wikipedia comparison of encryption software, this overview, and this short list of open source encryption tools.

Important notes

• When encrypting data, it is always important to store the key to decrypt the data in a safe location such as a password manager. It is often the case that once you lose the key, you lose access to the data.
• When sharing encrypted data with others, make sure you share the password or decryption key via another way than how you share the data.
• Some encryption tools can use keyfiles besides passwords that are needed to decrypt the data. These can either be created by the tool, or you can use personal files like a specific picture.

Full drive encryption

The tools in the table (alphabetical order) below can be used to encrypt an entire drive. This is useful to protect data on personal devices or external disks like USB sticks.

Name	Description	Technique	More info	Maintenance	GitHub stars	License
Bitlocker	Drive encryption software built into Windows.	XTS-AES with 128-bit or 256-bit keys	Documentation, FAQ, set up on Windows	Inactive	NA	Unknown
dm-crypt	Open source command-line software for drive encryption on Linux	AES, Twofish, Serpent	wiki	Active	500-1000	LGPL
FileVault2	Built-in encryption software for MacOS to encrypt the entire startup volume.	XTS-AES-128 with a 256 bit key	Manual	Active	NA	Unknown
GnuPG2	Free encryption software for Windows, Linux and MacOS to encrypt messages, files, folders and drives.	AES-128, AES-256, 3DES, Blowfish, RSA, etc.	Guides, FAQ Front-ends	Active	NA	GPL-v3
Veracrypt	Open source file and drive encryption software for Windows, Mac OS and Linux.	AES-256, Serpent, Twofish, etc.	Documentation, FAQ, Beginner’s tutorial	Active	NA	Apache 2.0 and Truecrypt 3.0

File- and folder encryption

The tools in the table below (in alphabetical order) describe tools that can encrypt files and folders locally. Note that there are also tools that do not have encryption as their primary purpose, but as an additional functionality, such as Microsoft Office, LibreOffice and SPSS.

Name	Description	Technique	More info	Maintenance	GitHub stars	License
7-Zip	Compression software for Windows.	AES-256	7-Zip FAQs, how to for MacOS and Linux, how to for Windows	Active	NA	GNU LGPL and BSD-3 Clause
AES Crypt	Open source software for encrypting files and folders in Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS and Android	AES-256	Documentation	Active	NA	Unknown
AxCrypt	Open source encryption tool for Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android.	AES-128, AES-256	Get started, FAQ, forums	Active	NA	Free version: GPL-v3
Boxcryptor	Encryption of files and folders stored at cloud providers like OneDrive, Google Drive, etc. for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Microsoft Teams.	End-to-end, AES-256, RSA-4096	Help pages	Active	NA	Unknown
Cryptomator	Open source tool to encrypt files, folders and file names. Suitable for Windows, Linux, mac OS, Android and iOS and optimized for cloud storage	AES-256	Documentation, community forum	Active	1000+	GPL-v3
EncFS	Open source command-line-based software for Linux and Mac OS.	AES, Blowfish, etc.	Manual	Inactive	1000+	LGPL
GnuPG2	Free encryption software for Windows, Linux and MacOS to encrypt messages, files and folders.	AES-128, AES-256, 3DES, Blowfish, RSA, etc.	Guides, FAQ, Front-ends	Active	NA	GPL-v3
Veracrypt	Open source file and drive encryption software for Windows, Mac OS and Linux.	AES-256, Serpent, Twofish, etc.	Documentation, FAQ, Beginner’s tutorial	Active	NA	Unknown

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