Simple, everyday terminology there, right? How does TPM work? It generates, stores, and limits the use of cryptographic keys required to access system files. Now in its second generation, TPM 2.0, TPM acts as a secure crypto-processor. Providing a secure barrier between the information on a computer and attackers who wish to access it is the role of a Trusted Platform Module. Security has only grown in importance as that information has become more sensitive and attacks on it more sophisticated. It says that a TPM is, at best, “redundant”.The security of digital information has been a hot topic from the moment digital information became a thing. “The only thing that TPM is almost guaranteed to provide is a false sense of security,” says the FAQ. VeraCrypt’s FAQ insists BitLocker and other utilities that rely on TPM use it to prevent against attacks that require an attacker to have administrator access, or have physical access to a computer. This argument is still available on VeraCrypt’s website, however. VeraCrypt is an active fork of TrueCrypt. So it’s a bit of a confusing mess in TrueCrypt land. Of course, TrueCrypt’s website now states that TrueCrypt itself is vulnerable and recommends you use BitLocker - which uses TPMs - instead.

It slammed TPM-based solutions as providing a false sense of security. TrueCrypt’s FAQ - now taken down - used to stress why TrueCrypt didn’t use and would never use a TPM. Of course, a TPM isn’t the only workable option for disk encryption. RELATED: 3 Alternatives to the Now-Defunct TrueCrypt for Your Encryption Needs

BitLocker can function on drives without TPMs, but Microsoft went out of its way to hide this option to emphasize how important a TPM is for security. That means it has to store its encryption keys on the hard drive, and makes it much less secure. It has no way to store encryption keys in a TPM.

This is one reason why the older Windows EFS encryption technology isn’t as good.

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