Right before the New Year begins — and with it, CES — tech companies tend to out many of their upcoming wares before the show even starts. Take Samsung for example, with its new CH711 quantum dot curved monitor. The CH711 comes in two sizes: 27 or 31.5-inch displays, both with 2560 x 1440 (WQHD) resolution. Samsung is touting the deep and distinct 1800R curvature of the… Read MoreCybersecurity is one of the most important areas for modern businesses. Without the right protection and defence mechanisms in place, firms face the risk of hackers infiltrating their systems and getting hold of valuable business data. And once that happens, so much can go wrong, and reputations can be quickly and possibly irrevocably damaged.
Encryption is, of course, a crucial area of cybersecurity. In most scenarios, encryption tools encode data so that it can only be unlocked with a certain key, making it harder for third-parties to gain access.
These tools are used to protect data such as email addresses, customer transactions and passwords, and other crucial information which you really can’t afford to potentially expose.
Companies are also using encryption tools to ensure internal online conversations and emails are kept private.
So which are the best encryption tools? That’s what we’re going to tell you here.
VeraCrypt is one of the most popular security tools, providing you with enterprise-grade encryption for important data.
The system is quite easy to use, and all it really does is add encrypted passwords to your data and partitions. All you have to do is give the tool a few details about your data, such as volume size, location and specified hashing algorithms – and then the program does its thing.
What’s also nifty about VeraCrypt is that it’s immune to brute-force attacks, so you never have to worry about hackers decrypting your passwords and other sensitive data. The basic version of the software is completely free, as well.
While free software can be convenient for some, it’s not always as powerful as premium offerings, and AxCrypt is a good bet if you want something reliable. The software has been designed specifically for individuals and small teams within businesses.
It provides strong security, with files protected by either 128-bit or 256-bit AES encryption, which should thwart any intruders. There are also cloud storage capabilities thrown into the mix – the software will automatically protect files saved on services such as Google Drive and Dropbox.
AxCrypt is fully multilingual, and it can work with languages such as English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Swedish and Portuguese – with more support planned for the future. As well as this, there’s passport management, and you can access your encrypted files through a smartphone app.
Although it’s important to protect assets on company computers, it’s also crucial to add protection to any device that stores critical data. For instance, most employees have access to their company emails and other accounts on their smartphones, and they need to be protected.
FolderLock is a good option when it comes to adding encryption to your mobile devices. The app can protect your personal files, photos, videos, contacts, wallet cards, notes and audio recordings stored in your handset.
There are some other hidden security features, too. Not only is there encryption, but you can also set a decoy password, hacker deterrents, log unauthorised login attempts, back up all your passwords and get notified on potential brute-force attacks. The basic app is free to download, with a pro version available if you want more.
CryptoExpert is Windows desktop software which offers secure data vaults for all your data, ensuring it’s always protected from potential breaches.
It provides more powerful encryption than some of the other tools and apps listed in this article, boasting fast on-the-fly operation. The system can back up a range of different files, including certificates, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, multimedia files and email databases.
The best thing about CryptoExpert8 is that it can secure vaults of unlimited size, and it uses Blowfish, Cast, 3DES and AES-256 encryption algorithms. The latter are highly effective and industry-acclaimed. It’ll work with 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7, 8 and 10.
CertainSafe is highly effective cloud-based encryption software which attempts to mitigate all aspects of risk and is compliant with industry regulations.
With the platform, you can store and share documents, private messages, photos, videos and other files without exposing them to third-party sources. You can even collaborate and communicate with colleagues through the system, with all correspondence encrypted.
CertainSafe also adds automated security for business databases and applications, meaning you don’t always have to do things manually. You can subscribe for a monthly plan, but before making any decisions, there’s the option to get a free demo and try things out that way.
You’re doubtless familiar with the ‘blue screen of death’, which pops up when Windows totally hangs with a fatal error, but things with the BSOD are changing, as Microsoft has turned the famous blue colour a different shade – at least for those testing Windows 10.
Going forward, with preview builds of Windows 10, the crash screen will be green rather than blue, as spotted by one enterprising Twitter user in a leaked preview version of the OS (build 14997 – which has seen several revelations, including a new ‘Game Mode’ and the ability to delay Windows updates).
Chris123NT discovered the green screen of death, as it has now become for Windows testers, and Matthijs Hoekstra, Senior Program Manager for Windows Enterprise Developer Platform, confirmed that it was only for test builds of the OS.
In other words, it’s so Microsoft can easily see whether a crash is from a preview build – crashes in released versions of Windows still remain blue. And are likely to remain leaving you feeling blue, as well.
Which brings us to the talking point that seems to have caused most of the chatter across the net regarding this change – why green? Typically, green is regarded as a ‘positive’ colour in that it means go ahead (with traffic lights), or that things are safe. Surely Microsoft should have gone with red if they were picking an alternative colour?
Although perhaps red is simply regarded as too overly alarming in nature to be used.
Hoekstra said that he had no idea why green was chosen. And he also hinted he’d received a slapped wrist due to his tweets on this matter…
This isn’t the only change Microsoft has made to its crash screen this year. Back in the spring, we first saw the introduction of QR codes to the blue screen of death, which you can scan with your phone to swiftly get more in-depth troubleshooting details on the problem at hand.
Image Credit: Chris123NT
Via: Betanews
