{"id":288,"date":"2012-12-13T11:45:46","date_gmt":"2012-12-13T16:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=288"},"modified":"2012-12-13T11:45:46","modified_gmt":"2012-12-13T16:45:46","slug":"answer-line-truecrypt-vs-encrypted-zip-files","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2012\/12\/13\/answer-line-truecrypt-vs-encrypted-zip-files\/","title":{"rendered":"Answer Line: TrueCrypt vs. encrypted .zip files"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

Regular readers know that I’m a big fan of the free, open-source encryption program, TrueCrypt. I’ve written about it numerous times, most recently in Can I recover some files and securely wipe others on a crashed hard drive?
\nKeeping sensitive files in .zip archive file also works, provided you use AES encryption. Windows itself doesn’t support AES-encrypted .zip files (it supports standard zip encryption, which is far too easy to hack), but many third-party compression programs support it. You can encrypt and decrypt AES with industry leader WinZip, the free 7-Zip, and others.
\nTrueCrypt offers several advantages over .zip archives:
\nFirst, I find TrueCrypt’s way of working–which involves turning the opened vault into a virtual drive–more secure, especially compared to 7-Zip. When you open a file inside a .zip archive, both WinZip and 7-Zip will decompress and decrypt the file to a temporary folder. When you close the file, 7-Zip merely deletes it, leaving traces that can be recovered by people who don’t have your best interests at heart. WinZip securely wipes the temporary file–a much better solution. But TrueCrypt avoids the problem altogether, since the file remains only in the encrypted vault.
\nSecond, there’s the file-name issue. Sometimes, the file names can provide clues to what’s inside. Anyone with access to an encrypted .zip file can view the file names inside. You only need the password if you try to open, view, or decompress a file. No such problem with TrueCrypt.
\nFinally, I find TrueCrypt easier to use. Since Windows sees an open TrueCrypt vault as a drive, you can access the files transparently. But you can only access the files in an AES-encrypted .zip file through your compression program.
\nBut there are reasons to stick with .zip archives:
\nFirst, the file size is dynamic. Add a file to the archive, and the archive gets bigger. Remove one, and it shrinks. But a TrueCrypt vault has a set size (it is, after all, a virtual drive). So you have to start by making it big enough for everything you might ever put into it.
\nAnd finally, if you’re already using .zip archives for this purpose, switching over is itself a hassle.
\nvia Answer Line: TrueCrypt vs. encrypted .zip files | PCWorld<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Regular readers know that I’m a big fan of the free, open-source encryption program, TrueCrypt. I’ve written about it numerous […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,9],"tags":[325,1105,1275],"class_list":["post-288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-security","category-software","tag-encryption","tag-truecrypt","tag-zip"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-4E","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5902,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/07\/09\/so-long-truecrypt-5-alternative-encryption-tools-that-can-lock-down-your-data\/","url_meta":{"origin":288,"position":0},"title":"So long, TrueCrypt: 5 alternative encryption tools that can lock down your data","author":"NCCT","date":"July 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Open-source legend TrueCrypt may be gone, but the usefulness of full disk encryption carries on. So what's a crypto fan to do now for their encryption needs? Well, you could continue to use older versions of TrueCrypt if you already have it installed. While the security community was shocked earlier\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Security"","block_context":{"text":"Security","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/security\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5625,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/05\/29\/truecrypt-is-not-secure-official-sourceforge-page-abruptly-warns\/","url_meta":{"origin":288,"position":1},"title":"\u201cTrueCrypt is not secure,\u201d official SourceForge page abruptly warns","author":"NCCT","date":"May 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the official webpages for the widely used TrueCrypt encryption program says that development has abruptly ended and warns users of the decade-old tool that it isn't safe to use. \"WARNING: Using TrueCrypt is not secure as it may contain unfixed security issues,\" text in red at the top\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Security"","block_context":{"text":"Security","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/security\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8789,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/12\/21\/critical-wps-vulnerability-discovered-in-bell-canada-home-hub-routers\/","url_meta":{"origin":288,"position":2},"title":"Critical WPS vulnerability discovered in Bell Canada Home Hub routers","author":"NCCT","date":"December 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"By Boyd Chan | Neowin In recent years, Wi-Fi has gained attention mainly due to the increased speeds afforded by the 802.11n and 802.11ac specifications. This has seen a flurry of new hardware hit the market enticing owners of older 802.11a\/b\/g hardware to upgrade to the latest and greatest kit.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Security"","block_context":{"text":"Security","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/security\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7954,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/04\/03\/firefox-37-supports-easier-encryption-option-than-https\/","url_meta":{"origin":288,"position":3},"title":"Firefox 37 supports easier encryption option than HTTPS","author":"NCCT","date":"April 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest version of Firefox has a new security feature that aims to put a band-aid over unencrypted website connections. Firefox 37 rolled out earlier this week with support for opportunistic encryption, or OE. You can consider OE sort of halfway point between no encryption (known as clear text) and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Software"","block_context":{"text":"Software","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/software\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6516,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/10\/03\/these-self-destructing-ssds-will-physically-destroy-the-nand-flash-on-your-command-techspot\/","url_meta":{"origin":288,"position":4},"title":"These self-destructing SSDs will physically destroy the NAND flash on your command – TechSpot","author":"NCCT","date":"October 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s one thing to have your personal notebook filled with family photos, music and movies come up missing. It\u2019s a different beast entirely when that missing notebook contains business information, trade secrets or the login credentials of your employer. 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