Once upon a time, there was TrueCrypt, a cross-platform program that allowed the sharing of encrypted containers across different operating systems. But the project was always shrouded in mystery because its developers would never reveal their identities. And then, right out of the blue, the developers released a cryptic message about how TrueCrypt was no longer secure, and shut down the project.

VeraCrypt is the successor to TrueCrypt, and it allows the sharing of encrypted containers across Linux, Windows, macOS, and FreeBSD machines. Although LUKS and eCryptfs are good, VeraCrypt does offer more flexibility in certain ways:

• As mentioned, VeraCrypt offers cross-platform sharing, whereas LUKS and eCryptfs don't.
• VeraCrypt allows you to encrypt either whole partitions or whole storage devices, or to create virtual encrypted disks.

• Not only can you create encrypted volumes with VeraCrypt, you can also hide them, giving you plausible deniability.
• VeraCrypt comes in both command-line and GUI variants, so it's appropriate for either server use or for the casual desktop user.
• Like LUKS and eCryptfs, VeraCrypt is free open source software, which means that it's free to use, and that the source code can be audited for either bugs or backdoors.