VeraCrypt download for Windows

VeraCrypt encrypts data so that nobody without your password can read it. The most common use is a container: a single file that, once mounted with your password, appears in Windows as an ordinary drive letter. You can also encrypt a whole USB stick, a second disk or the partition Windows runs from. VeraCrypt continues the TrueCrypt project and is free and open source.

Which VeraCrypt download?

The downloads page offers for Windows:

• EXE installer for x64 and ARM64. The usual choice.
• MSI installer for x64 and ARM64, for administrators who deploy software.
• Portable version, a single EXE that runs without installation.

For macOS 12 or later there are two builds, one needing macFUSE and one using FUSE-T; the page recommends the FUSE-T build for Apple Silicon Macs. Linux users get AppImages and packages for the major distributions.

Every file comes with a PGP signature, and the page publishes SHA-256 and SHA-512 checksums. For software that guards your data, verifying the download is worth the extra minute.

If you still have volumes from TrueCrypt, note that current VeraCrypt no longer opens them. The download page links to an older VeraCrypt release kept for that purpose; mount the old volume with it and copy the files into a new VeraCrypt container.

Your first encrypted container

1. Click Create Volume and choose Create an encrypted file container.
2. Choose Standard VeraCrypt volume.
3. Pick a location and a file name. The file does not exist yet; VeraCrypt creates it.
4. Keep the default encryption settings. They are a sound choice for almost everyone.
5. Set the size. You cannot grow a container later without moving the files to a new one, so allow some room.
6. Choose a long password: a short sentence is easier to remember than random characters and much harder to guess.
7. Move the mouse randomly in the window until the bar fills, then click Format.

To use it: in the main window select a free drive letter, click Select File, choose your container and press Mount. Enter the password, and a new drive appears in File Explorer. Work with it normally, then press Dismount when you finish. While it is dismounted, the file is just unreadable data.

Encrypting a USB drive or the system disk

A USB drive or second disk. Create Volume, then "Encrypt a non-system partition/drive". Choose the option that formats the drive if it holds nothing you need; encrypting in place takes much longer.

The Windows partition. "Encrypt the system partition or entire system drive" asks for a password before Windows starts. VeraCrypt makes you create a Rescue Disk first. Keep it; it is the way back if the boot loader is damaged. On a work computer, check with whoever manages it before you start.

Before you rely on it

There is no back door. A lost password means lost data, and VeraCrypt cannot help. Keep backups of important files, preferably in a second encrypted container stored somewhere else.

The portable version still needs administrator rights to mount volumes, because encryption runs through a driver. On a PC where you are not an administrator, it will not work.

FAQ

Is VeraCrypt free?

Yes. It is free and open source, with no paid edition.

Container or whole-drive encryption?

A container for a set of files you want to protect and carry around. Whole-drive encryption when everything on a disk or USB stick should be protected.

What if I forget my password?

The data cannot be recovered. That is the point of strong encryption, so write the password down and store it safely.

Can VeraCrypt open my old TrueCrypt volumes?

Not the current version. Use the older release linked from the download page, then move the data to a new volume.