The Best Encryption Software for 2024

File Encryption, Whole-Disk Encryption, and VPNs

In this roundup, we're specifically looking at products that encrypt files rather than whole-disk solutions like Microsoft's Bitlocker. Whole-disk encryption is an effective line of defense for a single device, but it doesn't help when you need to share encrypted data.

You can use a virtual private network, or VPN, to encrypt your internet traffic. From your PC to the VPN company's server, all your data is encrypted, and that's a great thing. However, unless you're connected to a secure HTTPS website, your traffic is not encrypted between the VPN server and the site. Of course, the VPN's encryption doesn't just magically rub off on files you share. Using a VPN is a great way to protect your internet traffic while traveling, but it's not a solution for encrypting your local files.

No Back Doors

When the FBI needed information from the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, they asked Apple for a back door to get past the encryption. But no such back door existed, and Apple refused to create one. The FBI had to hire hackers to get into the phone.

Why wouldn't Apple help? The moment a back door or similar hack exists, it becomes a target, a prize for the bad guys. It will leak sooner or later. As my colleague Max Eddy pointed out in a past article about one-time Attorney General Barr's ignorance of encryption, "A back door is still a door, and even a door with a lock on it can be opened."

All the products in this roundup explicitly state that they have no back door, and that's as it should be. It does mean that if you encrypt an essential document and then forget the encryption password, you've lost it for good.

Two Main Approaches to Encryption

Back in the day, if you wanted to keep a document secret, you could use a cipher to encrypt it and then burn the original. You could also lock it up in a safe. The two main approaches in encryption utilities parallel these options.

One type of product simply processes files and folders, turning them into impenetrable encrypted versions of themselves. The other creates a virtual disk drive that, when open, acts like any other drive on your system. When you lock the virtual drive, all the files you put into it are completely inaccessible.

As with the virtual drive solution, some products store your encrypted data in the cloud. This approach requires extreme care. Encrypted data in the cloud has a much bigger attack surface than encrypted data on your PC.

Which is better? It depends on how you plan to use encryption. If you're not sure, well, most of these products either are free or have a free trial on offer. Take advantage of the freebies to get a feel for the different options.

Secure the Originals

After you copy a file into secure storage or create an encrypted version of it, you must wipe the unencrypted original. Just deleting it isn't sufficient, even if you bypass the Recycle Bin, because the data still exists on disk, and forensic data recovery utilities can often retrieve it. These days, Windows 10 and 11 both have file recovery built in.

Some encryption products avoid this problem by encrypting the file in place, literally overwriting it on disk with an encrypted version. It's more common, though, to offer secure deletion as an option. If you choose a product that lacks this feature, you should find a free secure deletion tool to use along with it.

Overwriting data before deletion is sufficient to balk software-based recovery tools. Hardware-based forensic recovery works because the magnetic recording of data on a spinning-disk hard drive isn't digital, as you might think. It's more of a waveform. In simple terms, the process involves nulling out the known data and reading around the edges of what's left. If you think someone (the feds?) might use this technique to recover your incriminating files, you can set most secure deletion tools to make more passes, overwriting the data beyond what even these techniques can recover.

Encryption Algorithms

An encryption algorithm is like a black box. Dump a document, image, or other file into it, and you get back what seems like gibberish. Run that gibberish back through the box, with the right password, and you get back the original.

The US government has settled on Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) as a standard, and all the products gathered here support AES. Even those that support other algorithms tend to recommend using AES.

If you're an encryption expert, you may prefer another algorithm, Blowfish, perhaps, or the Soviet government's GOST. For the average user, however, AES is just fine.

Public Key Cryptography and Sharing

Passwords are important, and you have to keep them secret, right? Well, not when you use Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) cryptography.

With PKI, you get two keys. One is public; you can share it with anyone, register it in a key exchange, tattoo it on your forehead—whatever you like. The other is private and should be closely guarded. If I want to send you a secret document, I simply encrypt it with your public key. When you receive it, your private key decrypts it. Simple!

Using this system in reverse, you can create a digital signature that proves your document came from you and hasn't been modified. How? Just encrypt it with your private key. The fact that your public key decrypts it is all the proof you need. PKI support is less common than support for traditional symmetric algorithms.

If you want to share a file with someone and your encryption tool doesn't support PKI, there are other options for sharing. Many products allow the creation of a self-decrypting executable file. You may also find that the recipient can use a free, decryption-only tool.

What's the Best Encryption App?

Right now, there are three Editors' Choice products in the consumer-accessible encryption field.

AxCrypt Premium has a sleek, modern look, and when it's active, you'll hardly notice it. Files in its Secured Folders get encrypted automatically when you sign out, and it's one of the few that support public key cryptography. Xecrets Ez Premium builds on the same code base as AxCrypt and the two can decrypt each other's files. But you can use Xecrets for free, or pay a small subscription for enhanced ease of use.

Folder Lock can either encrypt files or simply lock them so nobody can access them. It also offers encrypted lockers for secure storage. Among its many other features are file shredding, free space shredding, secure online backup, and self-decrypting files.

Of course, the other products here also have merits. Read the summaries above and then click through to the full reviews to decide which one you'll use to protect your files. Do you have an opinion on one of the apps reviewed here or a favorite tool we didn't mention? Let us know in the comments.