Truecrypt 5.0 is out and it's free

TRUECRYPT - the vendor of free, open source, on-the-fly data encryption - has released version 5.0.

Truecrypt is free and available for Windows Vista or XP, Mac OS/X, and Linux.

What's new in Truecrypt release 5.0 includes a version for Mac OS/X and the capability to encrypt the system hard drive, that is, where Windows Vista or XP is installed, with pre-boot authentication. What that means is that anyone who wants to use the system must first enter the password before the PC will boot.

This last is particularly relevant for most Windows users because they typically have Windows itself and all software and data on a single hard disk partition.

Other new features in Truecrypt 5.0 include:

• Pipelined operations to increase data read/write speed by up to 100 per cent under Windows.
• XTS mode of operation, the IEEE 1619 standard for cryptographic protection of data on block storage devices.
• Use of the SHA-512 hash algorithm, replacing SHA-1.
• A graphical user interface (GUI) for the Linux version.
• In the Linux version, abstraction from changes to the Linux kernel.

Truecrypt's major features include:

• It creates a virtual encrypted disk in a file and mounts it as a real disk.
• It can encrypt an entire hard disk partition or an entire storage device, such as a USB flash drive.
• Its encryption is automatic, real-time on-the-fly and transparent to the user.
• It provides two levels of plausible deniability -- undetectable encrypted data and hidden encrypted volumes.
• It uses strong encryption algorithms -- AES-256, Serpent and Twofish -- and its XTS mode of operation uses two independent encryption keys.

Truecrypt uses passwords, not data keys that must be kept on a USB stick. So all the user has to do is remember their password, rather than keep track of a keyfob that might get lost or damaged.

There's no excuse for anyone possessing sensitive data not to keep it encrypted. Are you listening, all of you British government toffs, tossers and jobsworths?

And did we mention that Truecrypt is free? µ

L'INQ
TrueCrypt