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Encrypt with AESCrypt on Windows – Part 2

Note: This is part 2 of 3 on encrypting files using AESCrypt on a Windows computer. There will also be a Mac series.

Purpose of the ModuleThe purpose of this module is to provide you with how to encrypt confidential data files using AES Crypt on Windows computers.

Video Tutorial


Step by StepStep 1 – Right-click on the file you want to encrypt and choose AES Encrypt option:

Step 2 – Enter the password you want to encrypt your file with and then click OK:

Step 3 – Note that your encrypted file has a different icon.


Supplemental TutorialSecurely Deleting Files on Windows Computers
Simply because one deletes or drags a file to the Recycle Bin on a Windows computer does not mean that the data has been securely deleted. This is explored in detailed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org) on their web site:

When you “delete” a file — for instance, by putting the file in your computer’s trash folder and emptying the trash — you may think you’ve deleted that file. But you really haven’t. Instead, the computer has just made the file invisible to the user, and marked the part of the disk drive that it is stored on as “empty,” meaning that it can be overwritten with new data. But it may be weeks, months, or even years before that data is overwritten, and the computer forensics experts can often even retrieve data that has been overwritten by newer files. Indeed, computers normally don’t “delete” data; they just allow it to be overwritten over time, and overwritten again.
The best way to keep those “deleted” files hidden, then, is to make sure they get overwritten immediately.


There are many options for achieving a secure deletion (a.k.a. shredding or wiping) on a Windows computer. One possible choice is Eraser. Again, here is some information from the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Eraser is a free/open source secure deletion tool for Windows, and is much more sophisticated than the built in cipher.exe. It can be used to quickly and easily target individual files for secure deletion, or to implement periodic secure deletion policies. You can get a copy of Eraser here and some tips on how to use it here. 


Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

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