Need tips on encrypting system with SSD

douchecanoe · August 22, 2013

For a while now I've been meaning to encrypt my laptop in case it gets lost, I don't want my files to be potentially vulnerable. I've been weary though because I've heard that

TrueCrypt does not recommend using their software on SSD's that have wear-leveling
Somewhat noticeable performance decreases
Added read/write cycle to SSD that could reduce lifetime

The SSD I have in my system is a Samsung 840 (non-pro), and I can't find any information if it accepts hardware real-time AES encryption that some drives/controllers do. If it does then that means I don't have to use any software and there won't be any speed reductions, correct?

Could Bitlocker be a viable solution here? I don't have TPM module but I can enable Bitlocker without it. Or can I use TrueCrypt even though they don't recommend it?

And what if my system has two disks and I want to encrypt both? One is the SSD I mentioned before and the other is a normal HDD. In this case would I use hardware encryption on the SSD and a solution like TrueCrypt on the HDD?

This stuffs a bit confusing, but if anyone has any input (like if the 840 allows hardware encryption), it would be greatly appreciated