Veracrypt – An Open Source Cross-Platform Disk Encryption Tool

Filesystem/Volume encryption has become paramount to the masses in the IT industry due to the varying advantages it presents including protection of sensitive data, military-grade encryption standards, password keys to prevent unwanted access, and an encrypted file/drive only the encryption software can access among others.

Veracrypt is a cross-platform and open-sources on-the-fly encryption tool that was originally based on Truecrypt’s 7.1a codebase back in June 2013 but has since then matured greatly to become a singular encryption solution that is now dissimilar and incompatible with volumes encrypted with Truecrypt.

Veracrypt is essentially your go-to option for an encryption tool if you’re looking to replace Truecrypt.

Installing Veracrypt in Linux

The installation of Veracrypt is pretty easy and downright straightforward. Before anything, you’ll need to download the Veracrypt Generic Installer package for Linux systems, after which you’ll extract it and run “veracrypt-1.xx-setup-gui-x64” as a program from the extracted folder as seen in the image below.

$ tar -xf veracrypt-*.tar.bz2
$ ./veracrypt-1.24-Update7-setup-gui-x64  [for 64-bit]
$ ./veracrypt-1.24-Update7-setup-gui-x86  [for 32-bit]

On executing the installer, you’re prompted with the Veracrypt installer.

Install Veracrypt in Ubuntu
Install Veracrypt in Ubuntu
Accept Veracrypt License
Accept Veracrypt License
Setup Veracrypt in Ubuntu
Setup Veracrypt in Ubuntu

At this point, the installation is complete. You’ll press the enter key to exit the Veracrypt setup. The next prompt you’ll see immediately afterward is the uninstall dialog that basically gives you uninstall instructions. Should you be displeased with Veracrypt in the future, you can easily remove it by entering “veracrypt-uninstall.sh” in the terminal.

Uninstall Veracrypt in Ubuntu
Uninstall Veracrypt in Ubuntu

Creating Virtual Encrypted Disk in Linux

Start the Veracrypt from the Application Menu and click on the “Create Volume” button to create a virtual encrypted disk.

Create Encrypted Disk
Create Encrypted Disk

Select the Volume type.

Select VeraCrypt Volume Type
Select VeraCrypt Volume Type

Choose the location of the directory at which you want to save your virtual drive.

Select VeraCrypt Volume Location
Select VeraCrypt Volume Location

Allocate disk space to your drive.

Set VeraCrypt Volume Size
Set VeraCrypt Volume Size

Create a password for your virtual drive.

Set VeraCrypt Volume Password
Set VeraCrypt Volume Password

Choose the filesystem for your drive.

Set VeraCrypt Volume Format
Set VeraCrypt Volume Format
VeraCrypt Volume Format
VeraCrypt Volume Format
VeraCrypt Volume Created
VeraCrypt Volume Created

Once you’ve set your encrypted volume up, there’s nothing more to do than mount it in Veracrypt whenever you need to.

Mount VeraCrypt Encrypted Drive
Mount VeraCrypt Encrypted Drive

Do we hope you’ve found the installation instruction easy and straightforward? Should you run into any sort of problems, let us know in the comments below and we’ll reach back to you as soon as I can.

Jesse is that tech enthusiast you never heard of...he's mainly into things relating to Linux and Android and has an unending passion for both platforms which is why he writes about them.

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2 thoughts on “Veracrypt – An Open Source Cross-Platform Disk Encryption Tool”

  1. Comrade! What do you need such strong encryption for? I do not mean to pry, but I couldn’t help but notice you have also install the Tor Browser. It is not my business, I know, but it would be a shame if you fell victim to pornography or illicit drugs. Laws against these things are here to protect the interests of the prolitariat, comrade. I won’t mention this to anyone, but please, we need your mind focused on the revolutionary struggle and not degeneracy.

    Reply

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