How to securely encrypt the contents of your computer?
If you have confidential documents that you would like to securely protect so that no one can open them except you, then there are several ways to do this. For example, set a password for an MS Word file or archive. Yes, it is not difficult to set a password for an MS Word file or archive, but this method is the most unreliable, since it will protect only from amateurs. There is another very reliable way to protect data – it is their encryption.

Built-in encryption mechanism in Windows - BitLocker
Only professional and corporate versions of Windows Vista, Windows 7 Ultimate/Enterprise, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 support BitLocker file and directory encryption. The most popular home version of Windows does not have this feature.

In many new computers that now come pre-installed with professional Windows 10, the hard disk encryption feature is enabled by default. This feature was first enabled by default back in Windows 8.1 on some computers. But disk encryption can only be enabled if you register with Microsoft and use your Windows account. Your recovery key will be uploaded to Microsoft servers. This will help you recover your files if you ever fail to log into your computer. Also, this key, if necessary, will help decrypt your data to the special services, to which Microsoft will transfer it if necessary.

Since switching to a professional or corporate version of Windows is expensive, and your encryption key can be transferred by Microsoft to third parties, it is therefore better that we use the free encryption program TrueCrypt, which will reliably protect your data.

VeraCrypt data encryption program (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X)
Encryption using the VeraCrypt program is very reliable. This program securely encrypts data during operation ("on the fly") and is compatible with all the most popular operating systems (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X). With its help, you can easily encrypt any partition of the hard disk, the entire hard disk or USB flash drive, as well as any of the files. To access encrypted data, you can use a password, key files, or a password and key files at the same time. The key file can be absolutely any file of your choice. You can install the program on a flash drive and store encrypted files on the same flash drive.

You can download the latest version of the program here: https://veracrypt.codeplex.com . Installing the program is very simple – run the downloaded installation program and click Next all the time until the program is installed.

The program is in English, so run the program, click on the “Settings" tab, the menu opens. Next, you need to select "Language" from the list to change the language. From the suggested list of languages, select "Russian”, then confirm the selection by clicking on the "OK" button. Now the program will be in Russian.

Russian Russian translation The program is very easy to install and use, however, in order to figure out how to use it, you will have to spend 30 minutes reading the help in Russian: The VeraCrypt Guide for beginners in Russian (translated with the help of a Google translator).