file encryption

[thesimplecreator]

i was thinking about security and file encryption
since I've never really used any type of security measures at all in linux besides a user password :P

i was reading this article about file encryption
Linux.com :: Enhance security with file encryption tools

and it talks about a few different programs that encrypt files
bcrypt looks like the simplest one to use
you enter in a password 8 to 56 characters long
and it encrypts it using the blowfish algorithm
and hashes the password to a 448-bit key.
and all you need to decrypt it is bcrypt and the original password.
bcrypt also by default overwrites the original input file with garbage data 3 times before deleting it.

the bcrypt developers havent updated the program or their website since 2002 though, would that make it more vulnerable?
should i use this program for file encryption or would gnupg be a safer one to use?

[Cabhan]

I should think that you want a program that is well-maintained. GPG is of course one option. I also hear a lot about TrueCrypt, though I've never used it myself.

[djap]

I have tried truecrypt and I would recommend it. You can use it to encrypt whole partition and you need password for mounting the encrypted partition but after mounting you can just copy files to/from it and encryption / decryption just works on the fly without you even knowing it's there.
You just have to remember unmount the encrypted partition when you leave the computer so nobody else can go look around your secrets.
It also have rather nice GUI for managing the encrypted partitions so mounting/unmounting shouldn't be a problem even for a complete beginner.
One of my old classmates used it for encrypting the whole system disk but I haven't gone that far yet so can't comment on how it works

[thesimplecreator]

true crypt does seem very nice and easy to use, ill look into it
thx