PROTECT YOUR LOCAL FILES WITH ENCRYPTION

If you’re like the average user, you own more than plenty of computer files. People that don’t keep them saved to their computer store them on portable devices. That brings into question the safety of your data. What if it, or your computer or USB flash drive, got stolen? Data is the most invaluable part of your computer. That’s because all your documents, photos, and music are irreplaceable if lost or corrupted.

Every computer user should backup their files regularly to prevent loss. For extra sensitive data, there’s a way to secure it even more. The solution is file encryption. This is a method used to protect digital data. Contrary to popular belief, encrypting files isn’t a task only brainy computer users can handle. Some encryption methods are complex, but a few can be used by anyone. I’ll cover one program in this article: AES Crypt.

USING AES CRYPT TO SAFEGUARD YOUR LOCAL FILES

AES Crypt is a free program that encrypts local files (those stored on your hard drive or a USB flash drive) with a password. It can encrypt a single file, or a large batch at a time. The important thing is not to forget the password, or you’ll lock yourself out of your files! AES Crypt works from the right-click menu. It can be installed on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

This article assumes you’re using a Windows computer. Head to https://www.aescrypt.com/download/ and get the right installation file for your computer. Run it to install AES Crypt. Now, unlike most programs you’re used to, you don’t open this one first and then ask it to access a file second. You locate the file (or files) first and then summon AES Crypt to work on it.

Encrypting your files via the Windows right-click menu.

To use the program, go to a folder that contains the file(s) you want to encrypt. Right-click on the file, and then select “AES Encrypt”. A prompt will appear asking for a password, as shown in the picture below:

Enter a password in the first box, then confirm it in the second box. Click Enter, and an encrypted version of your file will be created. The original file remains as it was just in case. Note that the encrypted file has the .aes extension (the characters at the end of the file name that tell you the type of file it is).

To decrypt a file, right-click on it and select AES Decrypt. For this, you only need to supply your password once. If it’s the correct one, the file will be decrypted. The encrypted version remains, but you can safely delete it. If you want to encrypt your regular file again, you can do so.

By encrypting your files, you ensure that no one but you can open them. This kind of protection sounds like it’s meant only for important people, but it’s not over the top for regular folk. Anyone can benefit from encryption. Maybe you have a poetry attempt that embarrasses you. Or you went high-tech and keep a digital diary instead of a paper one. Point is, don’t be afraid to use encryption thinking it’s conspicuous, or a dark art. Privacy is a right.