LibreCrypt

Protecting sensitive files from being accessed can be done via various methods, encryption being one of them. Single files can be easily encrypted, but sometimes entire drives have to be protected this way.

LibreCrypt (formerly DoxBox) has been developed for this particular purpose and it can encrypt and decrypt the data as it is written or read from the hard disk; actually, this is what OTFE stands for: “on the fly encryption.”

The application is easy to install, but take into consideration that using it requires administrative privileges; sometimes a computer restart is required for all the changes to take effect and the product to work properly.

Looks are not impressive but the minimalist interface is intuitive and easy to use. In the upper part there Are the main options while the largest chunk of the application window is reserved for listing the encrypted drives.

An encrypted drive is actually some storage space that has been protected and mounted so that it can function as a regular partition. All the data on it is available in encrypted form and because of this you should expect decreased performance when working with it.

Once the virtual drive is unmounted all the data on it becomes inaccessible without the right password.

The application makes available multiple cyphers that can be applied. Among them there is AES, Blowfish, RC6, CAST and DES.

LibreCrypt may not appear to be the easiest encryption tool but the wizard-driven interface coupled with extensive online documentation should change this opinion. It works as advertised; expect a drop in performance when working with encrypted files.