After some initial excitement that TrueCrypt would carry on in some form via CipherShed, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is dead, Jim.
For some time, I’ve been using encryption on Linux just in case my laptop gets stolen. However, towers and desktops can be stolen as well. It’s just not as easy to do so, but it is far from impossible. So, I’ve been wanting to encrypt the data there as well, which is really the same data backed up anyhow.
Several things have held me back from implementing it. I would want to be able to encrypt in place if possible, else I could end up with a huge mess on my hands. Even if I wanted to backup and restore, the whole TrueCrypt’s sudden stop last year put a dent in those thoughts.
I don’t care what the old TrueCrypt team says. BitLocker is a stupid option for several reasons, but especially when you are using multiple platforms.
However, several months later (just over a year, in fact), what does TrueCrypt.ch/CipherShed have to show for its efforts?
From their “download” page:
The first version of CipherShed is in development. The current process consists of “rebranding” the TrueCrypt 7.1a code.
…
For the current pre-alpha version, please refer to here.
This is their “download” page, and the date still says “2014”!
I have stumbled upon VeraCrypt, however, about which Wikipedia says on their “TrueCrypt” page:
Alternatives include two freeware projects based on the TrueCrypt code, VeraCrypt and CipherShed, as well as numerous commercial and open-source products.
So, over one year after TrueCrypt’s sudden departure, I am going to give VeraCrypt a try, and I hopefully will have a review in the near future.