Safe files

Storing confidential data can be a risk for you and for the people you work with. Encryption reduces this risk but does not eliminate it. The first step to protecting sensitive information is to reduce how much of it you keep around. Unless you have a good reason to store a particular file, or a particular category of information within a file, you should simply delete it see How to destroy sensitive information for more information about how to do this securely.

Encryption is illegal in some countries. If it is illegal in your country, downloading, installing or using encryption software might be considered a crime.

Police, military, or intelligence services might use your use of encryption software as a pretext to investigate your activities or persecute your organization. Regardless of what is actually inside your encrypted volumes, or regardless of whether or not is legal in your area, they might cast suspicion on you for using encryption. So investigate how law enforcement has treated encryption in your area, and think carefully about whether tools whose sole purpose is encrypting your data are appropriate for your situation.

If your device is lost, stolen, or seized by people who want to look at your files and communications, you will need protection to stop them.

Encrypting your whole device protects it. On desktops and laptops, youur device may have built-in encryption options. VeraCrypt can also offer additional protection to specific files, external drives, or can encrypt your whole device if you prefer.

You might find it useful to leave non-sensitive files on your device un-encrypted, so that if your device is searched, your device does not look suspicious because it contains ordinary, everyday files and communications. In this case, encrypt only some of your files. When you encrypt your information, nobody else may be able to read it, but someone might still be able to see that the encrypted data is there, and that you have taken steps to protect it.

That adversary might then try to intimidate, blackmail, interrogate, or torture you to get you to unlock that encryption. VeraCrypt gives you the opportunity to avoid this risk by making a "hidden volume. Even if a technically sophisticated intruder gains access to your "unhidden" encrypted files, they will be unable to prove hidden ones exist. VeraCrypt disguises your encrypted information as other, less sensitive, hidden data like music files or ordinary documents , so it does not look unusual.

It is generally considered impossible to tell from analysis whether or not an encrypted volume contains a hidden volume. If you find the. Are you still not sure what files are safe or dangerous on your PC? We at GlassWire have helped over 20 million people monitor the behavior of certain Windows.

Are you curious if a certain. Check out our directory below to see. Keeping track of what executables are running on your PC is a great first step to protect your privacy and security. Want even more security and privacy? Consider trying out our free GlassWire Firewall app. GlassWire helps you see the network behavior of the apps on your PC in real-time. By Ken GlassWire. Last updated November 19, Check it with Windows itself 2.

Upload the file to VirusTotal 3. Who is the publisher? Run it in Windows Sandbox 5. Check the. How to check the. Are you still not sure if an. There are 4 more steps you can take. Does the. Do you still not trust the. Check it in Windows Sandbox Did you know the latest versions of Windows 10 or 11 have a free sandbox feature that allows you to safely run applications in a protected environment on your PC? Check out this example of Calculator app: Download GlassWire free to give it a try.