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Youve probably heard the word encryption a million times before, but if you still arent exactly sure what it is, weve got you covered. Heres a basic introduction to encryption, when you should use it, and how to set it up.

Encryption is a method of protecting data from people you dont want to see it. For example, when you use your credit card on Amazon, your computer encrypts that information so that others cant steal your personal data as its being transferred. Similarly, if you have a file on your computer you want to keep secret only for yourself, you can encrypt it so that no one can open that file without the password. Its great for everything from sending sensitive information to securing your email, keeping your cloud storage safe, and even hiding your entire operating system.

Encryption, at its core, is similar to those decoder rings you played with when you were younger. You have a message, you encode it using a secret cipher, and only other people with the cipher can read it. Anyone else just sees gibberish. Obviously, this is an incredibly simplified explanation. The encryption in your computer is far more complexand there are different types of encryption that use multiple decoder ringsbut thats the general idea.

There are also different levels of security when it comes to encryption. Some types, for example, are more secure but take longer to decode. And few, if any, encryption methods are 100% foolproof. If you want a more thorough explainer on how encryption works, check out this article from the How-To Geek and this article from HowStuffWorks. They explain a few different kinds of encryption and how they keep you safe online.

First of all, a short answer: yes. Things can get stolen even if you dont share your computer. All someone needs is a few minutes in front of the keyboard to retrieve anything they want. A login password wont protect you, eitherbreaking into a password-protected computer is insanely easy.

So should you encrypt your sensitive files? Yes. But its a bit more to it than that. You have two big choices when it comes to encryption: do you just encrypt the important stuff, or do you encrypt your entire drive? Each has pros and cons:

We generally recommend against average users encrypting their entire drive. Unless you have sensitive files all over your computer, or have other reasons for encrypting the entire thing, its easier to encrypt the sensitive files and call it a day. Full disk encryption is more secure, but can also much more problematic if you dont put in the work to keep everything backed up safely (and then encrypt those backups as well).

That said, well show you how to do both in this guide. and what you do is up to you. Well talk a bit more about each situation in their individual sections below.

If you need to keep a few files safe from prying eyes, you can encrypt them with the free, open-source, cross-platform TrueCrypt. These steps should work on Windows, OS X, and Linux. Note that if youre encrypting files to send them over the internet, you can also use this previously mentioned 7-Zip method.

Update: TrueCrypt is no longer in active development, but you should be able to follow these same instructions with its more up-to-date successor, VeraCrypt.

Creating a TrueCrypt volume for your files is insanely easyjust follow TrueCrypts step-by-step wizard. Heres an overview of what it entails:

To mount your volume, open up TrueCrypt and click the Select File button. Navigate to the file you just created. Then, select an open drive letter from the list and click the Mount button. Type in your password when prompted, and when youre done, your encrypted volume should show up in Windows Explorer, as if it were a separate drive. You can drag files to it, move them around, or delete them just like you would any other folder. When youre done working with it, just head back into TrueCrypt, select it from the list, and click Dismount. Your files should stay safely hidden away.

The process of encrypting your entire hard drive isnt that different from encrypting individual files and folders (though TrueCrypt can only do this in Windows). Once again, the process is quite simple thanks to TrueCrypts step-by-step wizard. Heres what you need to do:

Thats it. From now on, when you start up your computer, youll need to enter your TrueCrypt password before you boot into Windows. Make sure you dont forget your password or lose that recovery discif you do and something goes wrong, you wont be able to boot into your computer and youll lose all your data.

OS X has a built-in encryption tool called FileVault, and its incredibly easy to set up. All you need to do is:

When you boot back up, OS X will begin encrypting your disk, and your computer will probably run a little slowly while it goes. It could take an hour or more, depending on how big your hard drive is.

TrueCrypt has long been one of the most popular encryption tools out there, and its one of the easiest to set up. It isnt the only option, however. As we mentioned earlier, 7-Zip is also a great way to encrypt your files, as is BitLocker, which comes with the Pro version of Windows 8 (or the Enterprise and Ultimate versions of Windows 7). Check out our Hive Five on encryption tools for a comparison of some of the more popular alternatives if you want to try them out.

As we mentioned at the beginning, encryption is not 100% foolproofbut its better than leaving your files out in the open. Remember what encryption cant doit cant secure your drive if its infected with malware, if you leave it turned on in public spaces, or if youre using a weak password. Even if you put your computer to sleep, its possible an experienced hacker could recover sensitive data from your computers RAM. Dont let encryption lure you into a false sense of security: its just one layer of the security process.

Lastly, remember that this is just a beginners guide to what encryption is and how it works. Theres a lot more beyond basic encryption of files and folders, like transferring encrypted data to your friends, securing your email with PGP, encrypting your Dropbox, or creating a decoy operating system to further obscure your information. Now that you know the very basics, dont be afraid to branch out and learn more about encryption and what you can do to secure your data. Good luck!

Images by Vector Icon (Shutterstock), Pixel Embargo (Shutterstock), and von_hedwig.

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A Beginner's Guide to Encryption: What It Is and How to ...