Best Encryption For Google Drive

[Adam Makin]

Whenevera hacker breaches a network or an executive loses a laptop, data is exposed to theft. Full disk encryption of hard drives, external drives, and other storage systems provides a baseline of defense against this risk and can easily be implemented as a first step toward better security.

We will start with a list of 10 top full disk encryption (FDE) software solutions and discuss their features, pros, cons, and cover any available pricing. Next, we will cover the pros and cons of full disk encryption as a technology before we conclude with an overview of what criteria enabled vendors to make this list.

Most PC and server operating systems have built-in encryption technology that can be easily enabled for local file and full-drive encryption. The top two technologies are covered in detail below: FileVault 2 and BitLocker.

Built-in free encryption tools provide strong protection, but larger businesses need centralized controls to enforce compliance with security standards and to manage encryption keys. Organizations willingly pay licensing fees for more sophisticated encryption software to reduce IT support costs associated with encryption setup, management, and user support.

Micro Focus, acquired by OpenText in August 2022, delivers the ZENworks Full Disk Encryption (FDE) solution for management and enforcement of endpoint full-disk encryption. Other tools in the ZENworks product family include solutions for tracking, configuration, security, and endpoint management through a single web-based console.

Microfocus does not publish pricing for the ZENworks FDE product on their website. Zenworks FDE annual licenses can be purchased on a per user/device basis and customers likely can obtain volume discounts or reseller discounts through sales partners.

Sophos does not publish pricing information but offers free trials and quotations through their website. Sophos Central Device Encryption can also be purchased through resellers and annual per endpoint client licenses are priced around $15. Bulk discounts and dealer incentives may reduce the prices further.

A license for the Symantec Endpoint Encryption with one year of support is estimated to cost around $65 per Windows device. There may be variance in prices for licenses for different operating systems and volume discounts.

Trellix does not publish pricing but encourages interested organizations to contact sales through their website. Trellix offers annual subscriptions and perpetual licenses with one year of support, and organizations can likely obtain volume-based discounts and partner promotions.

Trend Micro does not publish pricing information on their website for the Endpoint Encryption tool; however, a license for a single user and up to 500 endpoints is estimated to be between $75 and $85 per year. Trend Micro offers free quotes and free trials of the Smart Protection Suite that includes the Endpoint Encryption tool. Trend Micro also helps organizations to find a resale partner that can likely provide bulk pricing or other incentives.

Check Point offers demos and free trials for Harmony Endpoint. Check Point offers annual licenses for three versions of Harmony Endpoint (Basic, Advanced, Complete). However, host encryption is only available with Harmony Endpoint Complete, which costs about $64 for per device (Windows, macOS, Linux).

ESET PROTECT delivers full disk encryption as part of their ESET PROTECT bundle that also includes a unified management console, endpoint protection, file server security, advanced threat defense, email security, and cloud application protection.

ESET offers an interactive demo and a 30-day free trial of PROTECT. Pricing is listed on their website, but does not reflect potential discounts available through resellers and MSP / MSSP partners. For businesses, ESET offers three versions of ESET Protect (Entry, Advanced, Complete), but only Advanced and Complete support full disk encryption.

ESET Protect licenses are for a minimum of one year and five devices. Discounts are available for longer time commitments, more endpoints, and through occasional new customer promotions. Prices start at:

Encrypted data provides an obstacle and a layer of risk mitigation against data loss by rendering data unreadable at rest. Full disk encryption (FDE) uses encryption algorithms to encase the operating system, all data, and all installed applications residing within a storage device within the encrypted environment.

When a device is turned on, the user is prompted for the encryption key that descrambles the data and allows the system to decrypt enough to boot and run normally. However, while encryption provides a strong benefit in specific use cases, it cannot solve all problems, and organizations need to be aware of both the advantages as well as the limitations of FDE.

Enables User-Data-Device Matching: FDE can also work with multi-factor authentication methods (biometrics, USB keys, one-time passwords, etc.) to ensure that the data is only accessed by the correct person on the correct device.

Decrypted data remains vulnerable: Full disk encryption only works when the data is at rest. Once the user turns on the device and the drive decrypts, information read from the disk is decrypted on the fly and stored in memory. This decrypted data can then become vulnerable to a variety of attacks:

Brute force attack vulnerability: The only practical way to decrypt encrypted drives without access to the key is to use software to make repeated attempts to guess the password. Organizations prevent these brute force attacks through settings in the FDE software to limit failed login attempts or disable the system (permanently or for a fixed period) after a certain number of failed login attempts. Weak user passwords undermine brute force protections so password complexity should be enforced.

Slowed performance: Encryption adds a layer of calculations and one more application for computer memory and processors to juggle in addition to other workloads. For newer personal computers, the slowness may be imperceptible, especially for users that begin working with already-encrypted drives. However, for computationally heavy applications and older devices, performance will certainly be affected.

Disabled software: Full disk encryption products may overwrite parts of the disk (such as the boot sector) already in use by other installed software. FDE installed later may make this software unusable. In most cases, this type of conflict can only be detected after installation.

To gather candidates for this list, market research was performed on the encryption category to determine popular solutions for full disk encryption. Based upon product reviews, industry discussions, and industry rankings, the list was narrowed to top candidates. An analysis of capabilities was then performed to determine how the product fit into the Full Disk Encryption category relative to peers.

We then considered tool features, with the most weight on the critical centralization of encryption control and key management. Finally, price, prominence, and extra features helped us make our final list.

A large number of tools enable full disk encryption, and the market continues to evolve. This list of top tools will likely evolve with the market over time to reflect added capabilities and rising competitors.

Full drive encryption may be a limited tool, but it plays a crucial role in a business environment. The low effort to implement FDE and the decrease in risk for lost or stolen data more than offsets potential limitations. FDE provides a high-value solution that all organizations should strongly consider adding to their security stack.

I have been asked to join a web demo later today regarding drive encryption that my other office have arranged. They are being quoted 60 a user per year for full disk encryption, this also includes removable devices, local folders, network share, public storage service (OneDrive, Dropbox etc.) Bitlocker management, Android/iOS APP.

Whilst it is not Windows, have a quick look at Data-at-rest encryption - ArchWiki and that may give you a bit of background and a few ideas. Realise that VeraCrypt has replaced one of them on the right hand list. What is interesting is that SSD normally have inbuilt encryption.

SafeGuard Disk Encryption 1544. SafeGuard File Encryption Advanced 2237 and SafeGuard Enterprise 3579 for 60 Users on a 2 year licence. Assume that there is discount applied as it is an additional product and everything works through the same AV management Console.

I have read this guide several times, but I still have doubts. So I ask you directly in the hope that someone can advise me, among those listed in the aforementioned Wiki page, the best encryption method that best suits my case in particular.

What I would like to do is divide my 1 TB SSD into two distinct parts, then install Arch in the first portion of the disk which must be absolutely and completely encrypted. Subsequently, my intention would be to create as few partitions inside as possible: no SWAP, no /home separated from root, just one effectively encrypted partition.

Finally, in the future, I would like to install Windows on the remaining part of the disk, which must not be encrypted.

I am unable to say which of the various methods suggested by the guide is the best for me, as this is my first time installing Arch.

I just know that I would like to create as few partitions as possible and also, if possible (forgive me if this is stupid or unreasonable), also encrypt the boot partition, to avoid having to make it able to open a LUKS partition.

The GRUB problems I am referring to are that, installing other Linux distros (for example Void), I had to modify the fstab file with UUID codes to allow GRUB to access an encrypted partition, and this procedure cost me a lot of time (I like to reinstall my PC OS many times). So if I could avoid having to do this it would be better.

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