Full disk encryption software

FastEthernet

Just got a Win 7 laptop and would like to put full disk encryption on it in case I leave it on a train.
Can anyone recommend FDE software?
My own personal laptop, so can't be authenticating against a server somewhere.
Suggestions welcomed. Thanks.

joelsfood

Bitlocker
And don't leave it ont he train.

dhay13

i have used truecrypt before on my personal laptop

636-555-3226

bitlocker, free and easy, esp. with win10 and saving your recovery key in the cloud (tho there are issues if you need to recover and use wireless instead of a hard line)

stryder144

Which version of Windows 7 are you using? If it is Ultimate, then BitLocker is the way to go. If you have Windows 7 Professional, you can upgrade to Windows 10 Professional and you will have access to BitLocker (as well as HyperV). Just thoughts.

rsutton

Like the others said, Bitlocker is a good option but you need Win 7 Enterprise, or would need to upgrade to Win 10. TrueCrypt is also great. I've used Synamtec's workstation encryption product and it was nothing but problems, so I would recommend steering clear of that.

alias454

Do NOT use Truecrypt it is not safe to use anymore “TrueCrypt is not secure,” official SourceForge page abruptly warns | Ars Technica

And bitlocker (has been patched) Windows' disk encryption could be easily bypassed in 'seconds' | ZDNet

Not that they are any better than any other company but Sophos works okay

TechGromit

We use bitlocker at work, the only downside is if your windows system files get corrupted, your done, no recovery like the old days. What I really need is a BartPE CD with bitlocker support for file recovery.

stryder144

Here is a more recent article from ArsTechnica about Truecrypt.

alias454

Thanks for the updated article.

"Despite the vulnerabilities, the analysis concluded that TrueCrypt remains safe when used as a tool for encrypting data at rest as opposed to data stored in computer memory or on a mounted drive. The researchers said the vulnerabilities uncovered by Project Zero and in the Fraunhofer analysis should be fixed but that there's no indication that they can be exploited to provide attackers access to encrypted data stored on an unmounted hard drive or thumb drive."

"It does not seem apparent to many people that TrueCrypt is inherently not suitable to protect encrypted data against attackers who can repeatedly access the running system. This is because when a TrueCrypt volume is mounted its data is generally accessible through the file system, and with repeated access one can install key loggers etc. to get hold of the key material in many situations. Only when unmounted, and no key is kept in memory, can a TrueCrypt volume really be secure. In result, TrueCrypt provides good protection mostly when storing encrypted data offline."

So as long as the encrypted drive is not turned on or in use it's fine! I also like seeing that something provides good protection "mostly" when talking about unmaintained security products.

I should have added this to my first post too -- Veracrypt was forked form the original Truecrypt source https://veracrypt.codeplex.com/

joelsfood

TechGromit wrote: »

We use bitlocker at work, the only downside is if your windows system files get corrupted, your done, no recovery like the old days. What I really need is a BartPE CD with bitlocker support for file recovery.

Techgromit, take a look at manage-bde. I used to boot from Win7 disks, go into recovery mode and use manage-bde to unlock drive and copy users files off before formatting back when I worked desktop support.

https://4sysops.com/archives/unlock-bitlocker-under-windows-pe/

Think I had it built into my ubcd4win rescue disk too, but can't remember.