Encryption refers to any process that makes sensitive data more secure and less likely to be intercepted by those not authorized to view it.

There are several types of modern encryption used to protect sensitive electronic data, including email messages, files, folders, and entire drives.

Android and iOS smartphones encrypt stored data by default when the user creates a screen lock passcode (sometimes to the annoyance of law enforcement), and Windows and macOS offer optional full-disk encryption Windows and macOS offer optional full-disk encryption.

Still, it is very important to understand what type of encryption is most important for your particular needs, and not to be lulled into a false sense of security by fancy sounding names.

Many encryption programs offer excellent security for little or no money, sometimes for free. [Consider, for example, the folder encryption options available to users of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Because Microsoft's proprietary encryption software is generally strong, most users do not need to look for additional ways to protect sensitive financial data, medical records, or other confidential files.

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Also, if you are concerned about Microsoft's relationship with the US National Security Agency, try VeraCrypt, an open source, free software solution. (VeraCrypt is a fork of TrueCrypt, which is no longer in development.)

The most dangerous pitfall of folder encryption is that there may be temporary unencrypted versions of sensitive files.

Consider this: most computer users regularly save their work to avoid catastrophic data loss due to power outages, storms, or other unexpected events. Each time a user saves a file they are working on, a temporary version of that file is created and saved in an appropriately named folder called the "temp" folder.

Simply deleting the temporary file is not sufficient protection. Someone with a strong desire to access your data will likely be able to access these files using free or inexpensive data recovery software.

All encryption techniques have weaknesses. As these weaknesses are uncovered and exploited, new methods of encrypting data are being developed to provide an additional layer of security for users.

One of the most common and troublesome weaknesses occurs when encryption methods, also called ciphers or algorithms, produce an output with an identifiable pattern instead of producing a seemingly random string of gibberish. If the pattern is noticed by an intruder, it may help him to decrypt the encrypted data.

A similar problem involves encryption algorithms that generate a predictable pattern of characters for a predictable repetition of input.

: Email encryption: this problem is worth solving.

If the problem is sufficiently extensive, a digital intruder can decrypt at least part of the encrypted data. In many cases, even a partial data breach can be devastating.

Individuals and organizations that wish to add protection to their encryption algorithms often insert extra lines of code to modify the output.

For example, one of the most commonly used passwords is simply "password. Malicious hackers know what "password" and other common passwords look like after they are run through common encryption algorithms.

However, if an organization adds an extra character to each password during the encryption process, such as "safe" to "password," the output will be unrecognizable to a malicious hacker as long as the extra character is kept secret.

Encryption can also be used to verify the integrity of files and software. The raw binary data of a file or application is passed through a special encryption algorithm that generates a "hash," which is a long number unique to that file.

Different hashes are generated when hackers insert malicious code or modify files through random data corruption. Computers and mobile devices compare the new software hash to the actual hash before installing software.

A similar process involves running a piece of software through a simple algorithm that generates a single short number called a "checksum." If the software is modified in any way, a different checksum is likely to be generated.

To prevent random and accidental corruption, many software include protection in the form of self-diagnostic checksum matching, which is performed each time the software is started. [Data encryption is important for everyone, not just large corporations and government officials. For those without extensive computer experience, the topic can be daunting, but thankfully, for most users, keeping sensitive data secure is a relatively simple process. [The key is to start early and regularly verify the effectiveness of the security measures you choose.