Encryption features
Which program manages to stand out from all the rest?
The graphical version of AES Crypt is rather rigid though the CLI version supports generating and encrypting using a keyfile. Unlike the other tools, EncFS has no volumes that occupy a fixed size: it encrypts directories that grow and shrink as more files are added or removed from the mount point. The encrypted files are portable in that they can be decrypted on another operating system.
EncFS’s encrypted directory can also be located on a remote file server accessible via NFS, Sshfs and such. The tool has a special reverse mode that enables encrypted files to be backed up with normal file-system tools, such as Rsync. KGpg includes a simple text editor, where you can type or paste text to encrypt/decrypt it.
ZuluCrypt and VeraCrypt are fairly equally matched. Besides creating encrypted containers inside folders, both programs can also place the encrypted container inside a partition of its own or even on a USB drive. They also can’t encrypt the boot partition or the boot drive. But you can use them both to encrypt a file with either a passphrase or a keyfile or both. Both also enable you to add a key or a keyfile to an already created volume and also offer the option of adding salt data to the encrypted container. The salt comprises values generated by their respective random number generators, and makes it difficult to pre-compute all the possible keys for a bruteforce attack.
Using VeraCrypt you can also benchmark and test all the supported ciphers while zuluCrypt can also be used to securely erase data in a removable device. VeraCrypt can also create hidden encrypted volumes for plausible deniability. However many experts have played down this feature’s usefulness. ZuluCrypt can also create VeraCrypt’s hidden volumes.