Upgrading your crypto protection from TrueCrypt to VeraCrypt 1.26

Smart cards and new technologies increase security.

VeraCrypt 1.26 was released after an 18-month period of development. The initiative is a continuation of the defunct TrueCrypt disk partition encryption system. The RIPEMD-160 algorithm used by TrueCrypt has been replaced by SHA-512 and SHA-256 in VeraCrypt. Additionally, the number of hashing iterations has been increased, Linux and macOS compilation has been made simpler, and any errors discovered during the TrueCrypt source audit have been corrected. VeraCrypt 1.25.9's prior version was released in February 2022. The TrueCrypt License 3.0 applies to elements derived from TrueCrypt, while the Apache 2.0 license governs the VeraCrypt code. Windows, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, Linux, and Linux are all supported by the program.

The new version includes the following changes:

• Added support for storing access keys for non-system sections on EMV standard bank smart cards. VeraCrypt supports EMV cards without PKCS#11 setup or PIN input. The unique data on the card is used to generate the key file's contents.
• TrueCrypt compatibility mode was eliminated. VeraCrypt 1.25.9 is the most recent version that can mount or convert TrueCrypt partitions.
• The GOST89 and RIPEMD160 encryption algorithms are no longer supported. VeraCrypt can no longer mount partitions produced using these algorithms.
• the capacity to combine the BLAKE2s hash function with a new algorithm for creating pseudo-random sequences (PRF, Pseudo-Random Function) for system and standard partitions.

Changes for Linux:

• Enhanced support for the musl C library and Alpine Linux.
• Resolved wxWidgets 3.1.6+ and Ubuntu 23.04 compatibility problems.
• In static assemblies, the wxWidgets framework has been updated to version 3.2.2.1.
• The pseudorandom number generator's implementation is brought into compliance with the official documentation and behaves similarly to the Windows version.
• Bugs in the pseudo-random number generator that led to tests failing when the Blake2s algorithm was used were fixed.
• Fixed issues with fsck.
• When using the mode of using all available disk space, the issue with selecting the incorrect size for hidden partitions has been fixed.
• A crash that occurred when making hidden partitions via the command line has been fixed.
• Corrected issues with the interface's text mode. If the file systems exFAT and BTRFS are incompatible with the partitions being created, they cannot be chosen.
• enhanced compatibility with older Linux distributions' traditional installers.
• Added a second check to ensure that the primary and secondary keys do not coincide when creating partitions, as per a recommendation.

• Windows versions now come with a mode enabled by default that prevents non-administrator processes from accessing VeraCrypt memory (this could cause issues with screen readers). Additionally strengthened is VeraCrypt's defense against the addition of outside code. The creation of file containers as well as memory encryption techniques have been optimized. Following unsuccessful launches, EFI Bootloader has improved collaboration with the default Windows bootloader. The mount menu now includes a no-caching option. Encrypt-In-Place encryption issues with slowing down in large partitions have been fixed. Expander now supports dragging and dropping files and keys. A more recent dialog that works better with Windows 11 has been used to select files and directories. Improved is the DLL safe loading mode.
• Windows's legacy versions no longer receive support. Windows 10 is now the newest version that can be supported. VeraCrypt is no longer tested on Windows 7 and 8/8.1, despite the fact that it theoretically could run on these operating systems.