Recommended File Encryption

Start with what you are protecting and where it lives. For files you sync to Dropbox, Google Drive or iCloud, a client-side tool like Cryptomator keeps the provider from ever seeing your plaintext. For the data on your own laptop or an external drive, full-disk or container encryption such as VeraCrypt protects everything at once, including if the machine is stolen. If you mainly need to encrypt individual files to store or send, a focused tool like Kryptor or the OpenPGP family (GnuPG and its front-ends) does the job. Prefer open-source tools that have been independently audited, favour modern and well-studied cryptography and remember that your passphrase and key backups are as important as the software you pick.

Here are some things to look for.

• Open source. You can only trust encryption that you or others can inspect; closed "secure" tools ask for blind faith.
• Independent audits. A published third-party review of the code is far stronger evidence than a vendor's own promises.
• Modern, standard cryptography. Well-studied algorithms like AES, XChaCha20 and Argon2id beat homegrown or dated schemes.
• The right shape for the job. Cloud-file, full-disk and single-file encryption solve different problems; match the tool to your threat.
• Key and passphrase handling. Strong software is undone by weak passphrases or lost keys; good tools help you manage both.
• Active maintenance. Encryption must keep pace with new attacks and new operating systems; abandoned tools quietly rot.