DIY Encryption

It’s not always simple keeping your data safe online…
Even the least tech savvy among us have probably heard the word “encryption” in reference to our personal data safety online. But due to its relative complexity as a concept and the perception that it’s the domain of data geeks and computer savants, few of us have actually taken the time to protect our data at the local file level.
The unfortunate reality is that these days no one is safe from the prospect of having their computer hacked and their personal files destroyed or held to ransom. In fact, there have been a startling number of cases where unsuspecting people have had their files literally held ransom by criminals half a world away, known as “Ransomware” attacks. These hackers aren’t after the files themselves, just the money that can be gained by offering to give the files back to their rightful owner. And if you think your files are safe because you store them in a public shared cloud, not locally on your desktop or laptop, think again. File-sharing giant Dropbox has experienced numerous large-scale data breaches in the company’s short history, proving that “out of sight, out of mind” unfortunately isn’t a viable approach when it comes to keeping your files secure.
However, despite the fact that the internet can sometimes feel like the wild wild west when it comes to keeping your data safe, there have been promising advances in the area of computer security. For several years some of the world’s leading cryptographers and researchers have been developing a powerful new method called “indistinguishability obfuscation,” which researchers are positioning as a potential game-changer for computer security. IO as it is otherwise known is a promising mechanism because, as Wired magazine explains, it could potentially serve as “a ‘central hub’ for all of cryptography—a unified basis upon which to reconstruct familiar cryptographic tools like public keys and selectively secure signatures.”.
While IO may be a long way off from serving the average computer user, the good news is there are a number of consumer-facing products that you can download and install on your own personal hardware with relative ease.
Here’s a look at some of the most popular consumer-facing software that online denizens can use to protect their data. This list focuses on desktop file encryption tools which are used locally on your own device to protect your files, as opposed to third-party cloud services that offer encryption on your behalf.
VeraCrypt: The successor to the now-defunct but once popular open source tool FreeCrypt, this option has versions available for Windows, OS X and Linux. Users of this tool tend to like its simplicity as well as the fact that it only decrypts file on an as-needed basis (i.e. when they’re in use), while the rest of the time it keeps your files safe and out of reach to hackers.
BitLocker: BitLocker is mostly used as a full disk encryption tool—meaning it encrypts your entire drive rather than a select group of files—which is a little more complex to set up; however some believe it can ultimately be more secure. Available for Windows Vista and Windows 7, users like the fact that it offers multiple authentication methods, including a conventional pin number and password methods, a USB key and a hardware method known as Trusted Platform Module.
7-Zip: 7-Zip is a popular, free and user-friendly program which can be used to compress and encrypt files you need to archive, store or even send to other people online. While it only compresses select local files rather than an entire disk, users report that it’s fast, flexible, and ultimately easy to use.