Technically, you can still use older versions of TrueCrypt if you like, and you can even follow along with this very guide, since TrueCrypt and VeraCrypt are nearly identical in interface. RELATED: 3 Alternatives to the Now-Defunct TrueCrypt for Your Encryption Needs

VeraCrypt is ideal for creating encrypted volumes for groups of files, rather than encrypting your entire boot drive. VeraCrypt can encrypt your entire drive too, at least on some PCs, but we generally recommend Windows’ built-in Bitlocker for this purpose instead. VeraCrypt takes care of everything, keeping the files temporarily in the RAM, sweeping up after itself, and ensuring your files remain uncompromised. When you’re done working with them, you can just unmount the volume. All the files within the container are encrypted, and you can mount it as a normal drive with VeraCrypt to view and edit the files. With VeraCrypt’s on-the-fly system, you can create an encrypted container (or even an entirely encrypted system drive). RELATED: How to Set Up BitLocker Encryption on Windows

TrueCrypt is now discontinued, but the project has been continued by a new team under a new name: VeraCrypt. Without on-the-fly encryption, actively working with encrypted files is an enormous pain and the outcome is usually either that people simply do not encrypt their files or they engage in poor security practices with their encrypted files because of the hassle of decrypting and encrypting them. TrueCrypt was a popular open source, on-the-fly encryption application that allowed you to work with encrypted files as you would work on files located on a regular drive. Encryption essentially uses a secret key to turn your files into unreadable gibberish-unless you use that secret key to unlock them. The best way to secure files you don’t want others seeing is encryption. What Is TrueCrypt/VeraCrypt and Why Should I Use It?

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