Originally posted by: SagaLore
There are 3 main targets of encryption and their advantages and disadvantages:
- Files/Emails
You only encrypt specific files, directories, emails, etc.. If your active login is hijacked, those files are still protected, UNLESS you have them open at that same time. You will have to enter in your password each time to access them, but this helps keep them safe when they're not in use.
- Drive
You encrypt the entire hard drive at the block level. You need to entire in a pin/password as you boot up. If your laptop or workstation's drive gets stolen, then the data is protected. But if you're booted up and logged in, all data is vulnerable to live attacks.
- Session
You encrypt any data during an active network session. Examples include SSL and IPSEC. This prevents attackers from spying on any data in-transit. You can use passwords or keys.
My suggestion is if you have a laptop, encrypt the drive, in case it gets stolen. If you ever use wireless, always use encryption. Use a VPN to connect remotely. If you are sending confidential data via email, use PGP/S-MIME, or at the very least use a password protected ZIP/RAR file for the documents (and give the password over the phone). I don't think its that useful to encrypt individual files on your own hard drive, but if you save them on another server, perhaps you could use Blowfish or some other encryption softwares.
Hope that helps.