TrueCrypt - Free, Simple, and Powerful Encryption for Everyone

Just last week, there was a minor furor when Dropbox amended their terms of service to announce that any data stored on the cloud service could be revealed upon government request.  This is really no different from the existing policies and actions of many cloud providers, from Google to Amazon to Yahoo.  Add to that the constant pressure of hackers and occasional accidental reveal of account information and passwords, and it is surprising that we have entered an era where many users are trusting their data to be stored on servers beyond their immediate control.  Considering this environment, encryption can be a useful tool in safeguarding that data, and TrueCrypt puts the power of top-quality encryption into a very user-friendly format, for free.

TrueCrypt allows several different types of encryption - you can encrypt an entire volume, such as a USB Storage Thumb Drive, or an entire Hard Drive.  You can also encrypt a system drive, preventing unautorized users from even booting into the Operating System.  You can encrypt a volume within a normal drive, allowing you to create a secure "locker" for sensitive files.