亦幻亦真/Illusory and Real

Many years ago, on a whim, I wrote a little something - a TrueCrypt/VeraCrypt launcher. Little did I know at the time that this piece of code would become the starting point of my journey into heavy encryption.

The time when the story began feels distant now. For the purpose of privacy protection, I was searching for a reliable encryption software, and TrueCrypt became my choice, until 2014, I switched to VeraCrypt.

> (*) Reason: https://jsntn.com/software/2014/06/01/truecrypt.html, in fact, I am still using both TrueCrypt and VeraCrypt simultaneously.

However, the tedious process of opening the software, selecting the encrypted volume, entering the password, and manually mounting the disk every time made me tired. I needed a simple and efficient way to manage my encrypted volumes, so I started conceptualizing and designing a launcher.

Then, in 2021, I open-sourced this launcher and put it on https://github.com/jsntn/veracrypt-launcher.

I have polished it over the years, using and iterating continuously, and I believe it has become a very complete version now.

This launcher has many highlights, let me tell you about them one by one:

First of all, it is a portable application, with no need for troublesome installation. With just one click, you can happily use it.
Secondly, I have built-in support for TrueCrypt/VeraCrypt, making it easy for you to encrypt your data.
Moreover, the launcher has a fantastic feature. By using corresponding batch files, you can easily mount volumes in read-only or read/write mode, giving your data the best protection in different scenarios.
Not only that, the launcher also supports a single configuration INI file, allowing you to customize your decryption settings.
Furthermore, you can specify a specific drive or let the launcher automatically find an available drive letter.
Lastly, I can proudly tell you that it is very stable and reliable.

Today, I cautiously released version 0.1.0 of this launcher, which is my first step towards perfection. I consider it a gift for you, who, like me, love privacy and encryption.

If you don't know what TrueCrypt/VeraCrypt is, I recommend you to learn about it immediately. It can effectively protect your personal privacy and important data. To put it in a grander way, it is not just a tool, but a manifestation of values.

However, if you find that VeraCrypt is not useful for you after using it, I can give you some advice to help you discover its applicable scenarios:

You can use it as a storage volume for your portable software, protecting your data privacy.
When you need to handle fragmented files, it can also serve as your storage volume, solving the efficiency and encryption issues of cloud synchronization.
You can also combine it with external hard drives or NAS for more stringent data protection.

Don't forget, these scenarios can be easily implemented on your personal devices. And with the help of the launcher on the PC platform, starting TrueCrypt/VeraCrypt becomes even quicker and more convenient.

I even feel that everyone should use VeraCrypt-like software to encrypt their data on their personal devices. It should be used even more on non-personal devices because we are unsure and cannot control their security.

Finally, I have said so much.

This little launcher, carrying my love for privacy protection, will continue to accompany me every day on my PC.

In the virtual world, both illusory and real.