Documentation update for encryption and hash algorithm choices

[armaccloud]

As a non-expert, but long-time user of (previously TrueCrypt) VeraCrypt, it is unclear for me to find out what encryption and hash algorithm to choose. What are the pros and cons of any of these algorithms and is there an overview of them somewhere? The links within VeraCrypt only takes me to the sourceforge.net page for VeraCrypt, but doesn't show anything about these various options.
When browing further, through the documentation link, I arrive at the following page, which only sums up the same encryption types like this:

The hash algorithms show more information, however it is not clear what variables should be taken into consideration in choosing the right standards.

In my example; I would simply like to encrypt my data in a way that it would be unlikely for any government or organization or anyone to be able to decrypt it, because I use the highest possible encryption standard (knowing the rate of technology intelligence expansion, this sounds like the best option to choose from) I am able to choose within Veracrypt. For me, the option Serpent-TwoFish-EAS sounds best, but I have no idea of any drawbacks.

Thanks.

[idrassi]

First of all , the online documentation is available at https://veracrypt.codeplex.com/documentation and the upcoming 1.0f will point all URLs to their respective entries in this online documentation.

Concerning the choice of the best algorithms combination, there is no definitive answer because it depends on many factors.
For the hash algorithm used in key derivation, it is better to use one of SHA-512 or Whirlpool as they offer the maximum strength (512 bits). Many are suspicious of SHA-512 since it was designed by the NSA so a more safe choice would be Whirlpool.
Concerning the encryption algorithm, there is no agreement among cryptographers if using cascade algorithms increases or decreases security although the most prevalent opinion points towards the safety of using cascades.
The drawback of cascade usage is low encryption/decryption performance which can be a big issue for certain applications. Here is a benchmark of the performance of all algorithms on a machine equipped with a Core i7-2600K CPU and 8GB:
.

In this machine, the CPU comes with AES hardware acceleration which gives a huge advantage to AES compared to other algorithms.
If in your case encryption/decryption speed is not a priority, then using one of the tripe cascade algorithms is a safe choice in my opinion.
If you want to have good performance but you don't trust AES, then you can use Twofish.

I hope this clarifies things to you.
Cheers,

[armaccloud]

That's a perfect answer for me, thanks. Good to know that the URLs to the corresponding documentation will be updated in a later version; I assume this issue should stay open until that version is released (?). Cheers and keep up the good work!

[idrassi]

1.0f has been released and all the URL are now pointing to the correct content. Closing this issue.