TrueCrypt 6.2 is available

Version 6.2 of TrueCrypt, the free open-source disk encryption software for Windows Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux has been released today.

New feature: The I/O pipeline now uses read-ahead buffering, which improves read performance especially on solid-state drives, typically by 30-50%. (Windows)

Improvements, bug fixes, and security enhancements

The boot loader now supports motherboards with BIOSes that reserve large amounts of base memory (typically for onboard RAID controllers). Note: In order to be able to take advantage of this improvement under Windows Vista, you will have to install Service Pack 1 or higher first. Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista resolved an issue causing a shortage of free base memory during system boot. (Windows Vista/XP/2008/2003)

Mounting using the ‘Auto-Mount Devices’ feature may take significantly less time as partitions containing unencrypted filesystems are now skipped. (Windows)

When volumes that are mounted as read-only or removable are saved as favorite volumes, they are mounted as read-only and/or removable when ‘Mount Favorite Volumes’ is used.

When a multiple-pass wipe algorithm is selected when performing in-place encryption of a non-system volume, the header areas will be wiped before the encrypted headers are written to the disk. Note: On an existing volume, you can perform such an operation by changing its password and/or keyfiles. (Windows)

Many other minor improvements, bug fixes and security enhancements. (Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux)

For an overview of how TrueCrypt works read this article and to download the new version click here.