Tried it; didn't work. Got error message "contains invalid path" after a *long* wait trying to create a self-extracting .exe. Waste of time. Uninstalling.

OK, for all of you too dumb to notice, the vote-manipulator who's been manipulating the votes here for close to two years is trying to keep you ignorant by voting down my comments and hugely voting up others, like always. There was useful information in my comment #7 for those very few of you who are bright enough to ignore the votes. Apart from the information about AxCrypt and Fix it, there's one more thing about the Sculpt Touch Mouse. When wheel mice were introduced which tried to combine clicking with horizontal and vertical scrolling, you frequently got either the wrong action or no action. The Sculpt Touch Mouse is actually clever. Although the touchstrip is pressure sensitive, contact area overrides that. To scroll, use your fingerpad, i.e., a somewhat flatter finger position. It won't interpret that as a middle-click, even if you press hard. To click, arch your finger more to use your fingertip, being careful to avoid the page up/down regions if that's not what you want.

How about a duplicate file finder that actually works as well or better the Advanced Duplicate Finder?

This is better than TrueCrypt? I don't think so. TC is cross-platform and can run on Windoze, Linux, or a thumb drive. Too many of these GOTDs only work under the Gates Empire. I have both flavors of OS on my computers and like programs that work with both. Additionally, Ubuntu doesn't require a lot of extra encryption software; it is secure right out of the starting gate.

Another complaint is that too many of these GOTDs require installation within a small time window. I often have time to download, but would like to install a day or two later. In about 2 years of receiving these GOTD offers, I have only found 2 programs that were actually worth installing in my Win computer. Last week I found the third, but because I didn't install that day, it went belly-up. A real giveaway does not place all kinds of strictures on the offer. If these companies really wanted you to have their software, they would be a little less anal about how and when you used it. GOTD should really change its name to TOTD (Tryout Of The Day).

OK, I've got to put in my 2 cents worth: I use Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) for file encryption of individual files and PGPDISK for groups of files. PGPDISK makes an archive file that "loads" exactly as any other removable disk. On disk it appears just as any other file, and is handled in the same way. You can copy the file, move it, whatever. I use files exactly the right size to fit on a floppy for backup purposes, but you can make a file as large as you please. You deal with it just as you would do with files on a floppy. When you are done, you simply unmount the pseudo drive. I have been using PGP since the mid 90's. One advantage is ASCII encryption, where only printable characters are used in the encrypted file. That makes it easy to print a hard copy if need be and later use a scanner with OCR software to recover the file. You can get PGPDISK here:

http://www.pgpi.org/products/pgpdisk/

This is the last FREE version, 6.02i. Subsequent versions after 6.02i are commercial packages and definitely NOT free. The thing about THIS version, 6.02i, is it works everywhere, starting with windoze 95 through XP that I know of personally. Not all of us are on the upgrade, keep up with the Jones's bandwagon. PGP is NOT the easiest package to use. PGP is NOT user friendly. So, that means this offering today COULD very well be a better program for YOU than PGP is! However, PGP is "military grade" encryption AND open source through version 6.02i when it went private through RSA Labs and was renamed Viacrypt, and then later, back to PGP again. The newer commercial versions of PGP are much more user friendly. With PGP the ONLY thing you have to backup and preserve are your public and private keyring files, otherwise, if needed, you simply reinstall the package and copy your keyrings to the appropriate place and you are good to go again. I have been using PGP for over 15 years and had to recover from hardware failures several times. I replicate my keyrings every day, to multiple backup locations, both local and remote.

I have not installed or tried this program, because I refuse to use a program that I can not install, uninstall, and install elsewhere at will. Developers, take note: Some programs simply make you jump through too many hoops to make it worth my while. I read ALL of the comments here before downloading any program. Thanks to whoever it was who pointed out the registration thing and that it can not be installed at will anywhere... The real dealbreaker for me is the having to enter an email at a website to get the key. What do you do if they go out of business? Sorry, but I just can NOT see locking myself into a piece of software that I can NOT reinstall at will if need be at some later date. What good does "you can always use the trial version to decrypt" do? If they go out of business, how do you get the trial version THEN? OK, so you SAY this is an established company, and that is all well and good, but still, a LOT of developers have simply disappeared over the years that I've been in the business (started in 1983 with an original 256k IBM PC and assembly language), and they leave behind a MESS with no support whatsoever. I have seen SO many drop out of sight that I am leery of using anything that I can not reinstall at will at a later date.

That said, I think the comment on using 7-ZIP was on the mark. 7-ZIP is a free archiver program (similar to WINZIP and WINRAR) that uses a robust encryption scheme when you assign a password to the archive. I've used password protected 7-ZIP files as email attachments to communicate with certain friends and family for years. It is sort of like using an envelope with email instead of a postcard for all to see...

Thanks for letting me post my opinions... And thanks to whoever supplies these free give-away-of-the-day offerings.
MB

First, you have to question *any* encryption software that is not open sourced because if the coding is not done correctly, you leave yourself open.

Second, this vendor doesn't help their case any by failing to publish the strength of their methods. Is this 128-AES or 256-AES, for example?

Third, there seems little point in including some of the methods they've used, like Caesar for instance. As to #11 and his/her/its "blowfish is deprecated" comment ... the word "uber-stupd" comes to mind because there is NOTHING wrong with 448-blowfish; at least not with properly implemented code.

All of that having been said, you have to ask who you're protecting your information from? The Significant Other? Mumsy & Dada? Big Bro? You're probably safe with anything you choose; this included. Hackers? They won't waste time either because there are plenty of other fish in the sea that are not encrypted.

If you want to protect yourself against more nefarious bad guys, they'll probably just kill you rather than trying to decode this thing so it doesn't matter anyway.

If you're hiding out from the gov't, do you REALLY think the gov't hasn't figured out how to break ANY of these methods by now?? SERIOUSLY?? What, they've got a message from Al Qaeda but it's encrypted so they say "Darn, guess we're out of luck"?? Please. If you are not smarter than that, you are beyond help.

The fact is, though, that you probably already have an effective encryption program installed right now, as long as you have an archive program that supports .7z (7 zip) or .zipx (the new zip format) ... and almost programs do. It is AES-256 and it is as good as anything.

Bottom-line: Don't listen to the fools here. If you don't have anything else, you might as well use this. This offering is a little more convenient than using your zip program but just about anything you choose will work as good as anything else.

There seems to be a bit of software racism going on here because it comes from Germany. If you have concerns over where it comes from then simply don't download it. If your worried about backdoors, phishing and the likes then perhaps you should buy decent protection for your machine and not just go for whatever you can get for free.
No company is going to risk it's reputation by giving away/selling dodgy security software. Some on the people here must have been reading too many James Bond books.

I've tried this program out although I've no real use for it, just wanted to see it in action before making any comment. Program works well can't find any real faults with it.

20 BUCKS for a tool only capable of encrypting FILES (how about FOLDERS, HDs, USB DRIVES etc....??) ???

This must be a joke!!

DUDES??? This is a SUPER SUPER SATURATED FIELD, meaning there's no longer need to pay any money for software like this, unless they provide users with unique and advanced features, which are unfortunately missing in this GAOTD!!

2 THUMBS DOWN from me!!!


BEST and BETTER FREE ALTERNATIVES (besides TrueCrypt and Axcrypt)

* Portable FreeOTFE Explorer (==> My Personal First Choice)
This is an awesome FREE highly PORTABLE disk encryption program, which can create one or more "virtual disks" on your PC/PDA where every file/folder is encrypted before being stored on your PC hard drive. However, its main feature is its ability to be used with USB flash drives, since it enables users to gain access on their encrypted volumes even on Windows PCs where this tool hasn’t been installed (i.e. in Internet Café).
So it’s a perfect app for those people like me who love carrying their sensitive data securely on a USB drive or other removable media without any hassle.Cyphers include AES (256 bit), Twofish (256 bit), Serpent (256 bit) and even Blowfish (448 bit), a feature missing in most paid encryption software out there: COOL, isn’t it??
It supports password salting (up to 512 bits), thus reducing the risk to see your passwords being cracked by dictionary attacks.
Encrypted volumes can be either file or partition based.

http://www.freeotfe.org

* A+ Folder Locker Free Edition (==> Cool APP)
Amazing FREE tool designed to keep hackers and other prying eyes away from your sensitive data stored in your PC.
In short it creates new LOCKERS where you can put any files, folders, and/or programs you want to be protected.
Each locker is securely protected through advanced encryption algorithms and multilevel anti-hacking security, whose degree may increase should hacking attempts continue.
It sports a powerful built-in Virtual Keyboard, which makes pretty impossible to capture users' pattern passwords even in systems infected by keyloggers: cool, isn't it?
Can also be used to permanently delete any Files & Folders of your choice from your system, without any chance of being recovered by any professional file recovery tool out there.

http://www.giantmatrix.com/products/aplus-folder-locker-free-edition/features

* (Portable) Encoding Decoding Free (==> Cool FREE Italian App)
Very effective little program to encrypt or decrypt any type of file.

KEY FEATURES:

· Coding of any type of files
· Integrating Windows Explorer to explore more rapidly
· Creating one password for decoding (as well as the hidden internal)
· Secure encryption of login passwords, PIN numbers, serial codes, etc....
· Inability to be cracked using the "Brute Force" (if the password is wrong does not show the classic error message intercepted by the crackers, but is decoded in the wrong way and the file will appear illegible).

http://elefantsoftware-en.weebly.com/encoding-decoding.html

* Toolwiz BSafe
Very effective and easy to use encryption app designed to protect your sensitive data in a very straightforward way: in short it creates a "virtual safe drive", using AES 256 encryption algorithm, which works just like a virtual drive once unlocked with the right password. Files within this "virtual safe drive" are instantly encrypted on-the-fly and when they are closed all virtual drives are instantly dismounted, leaving the "virtual safes" encrypted.
So there is no way to retrieve your encrypted files & folders, unless you know the right password, of course.
It also sports advanced protection options against hacking attacks, such as the ability to immediately burn all your passwords in the RAM, so as to prevent any password hijacking attempt.

http://www.toolwiz.com/products/toolwiz-bsafe

Want to protect for FREE your files & folders residing in your USB drives, network servers, CD/DVDs and even iPods like a PRO??

http://www.safehousesoftware.com/SafeHouseExplorer.aspx

Want to encrypt even your email attachments for FREE?? No problem:

http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-free-encryption.aspx

You love the CLOUD (Dropbox, SkyDrive, Mozy etc..) and are eager to share your files & folder with other via email, USB, LAN, P2P etc..., but at the same time you are scared by the idea that some snoopers out there may be able to capture your TCP/IP packets with a (FREE of course) packet sniffers like Wireshark??

Well be happy & don't worry, because with Giovanni there's always a FREE solution even for issues like this:

http://www.cloudfogger.com/en

And to create an almost unbreakable password kissing hackers/lamers goodbye for good:

http://www.softpedia.com/get/PORTABLE-SOFTWARE/Security/Password-Managers---Generators/Portable-Cyberx-Password-Generator-Pro.shtml

http://passwordsgenerator.net/iPassword

But how about hiding for FREE your important files in JPEG images, mp3, FLV files and even into executable files (exe, msi), rather than protecting them with a password?? Too good to be true? Certainly NOT!!

http://clotho.ixenity.tk/feature

Enjoy!!

My 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000002 cents for today's giveaway!!

Files can be encrypted with 100 character password but they cannot be decrypted. Please help....

@ FrancisBorne, post #2: Democracy is not a guide to criminality. National flags are not a guide to integrity.

Where today's developer is concerned, the comfort factor for potential users derives less from its German address as from a website bedecked with 'awards', the majority of which are merely "100% Virus Free" floss or are non-reviews from click collectors like Best Vista Downloads and Download 300 which publish anything that any developer says and then hand out lots of meaningless stars.

A software developer as well-established as 1-abc.net has been around long enough to know what is a genuine award and what isn't. That it chooses to hype its wares in the way it does raises the question of just how far it is to be trusted -- and especially with the critical task of computer security.

On which basis, thanks GAOTD, but no thanks. A potential $19.99 re-install cost for something which Axcrypt has been doing free of charge for years (and without any misleading 'awards') is a reminder that, in the world of software, what you say and how you say it is a lot more important than where you are.

I use a program similar but it is free called MyLockBox at http://my-lockbox.en.softonic.com/

Blowfish is deprecated. I would not trust software that includes it as an encrypting tool... might as well use ROT13.

Most likely the serial will function with the GOTD version.

Tried to use the serial with their Trial version.
It failed.

Go this error message:

"1-abc.net File Encrypter
The key you entered was correct but can only be used for an older version of this program
Do you want to be connected with a website to get a discounted upgrade offer now?"

When I checked the version of the Trial, it was Version 6.00.

When I checked the title of today's giveaway, it was:
"Giveaway of the Day - 1-abc.net File Encrypter 6.00"

So, Version 6.00 is an older version of Version 6.00?

#5 John pointed the danger in case there is a malfunction, it cannot be reinstalled.
Although it has been pointed out that one could always use the trial version to decrypt all previously encrypted versions, it is generally not a wise approach.

Uninstalled the trial version.
Skipped the GOTD version and never installed that.

Would you trust someone who produces encryption software using the Caesar cypher but can't spell Caesar?

# 5 john simply create a self-extracting file of file you encrypt,then all you have to do is remember your password,works even on other computers

For simple file/folder encryption, your best bet is the open-source Axantum AxCrypt. Few people are aware of what all it does and is capable of. In the left-hand column of the website, I recommend reading the FAQ and Features, and down at the bottom-left, the three entries for it under Developers.

Microsoft is always messing things up. A cool tool is Microsoft Fix it. They recommend the one-click fix, but I would never do that. Select the program with the issues.

Finally, a semi-decent Microsoft mouse. The Microsoft Sculpt Touch Mouse has a touchstrip for the middle button. It's a Bluetooth mouse, but one of those super-small USB Bluetooth transceivers will do (just don't plug it into a hub). The touchstrip can be pressed for middle-click, very gently pressed and swiped horizontally or vertically for the corresponding scrolling, flick-swiped horizontally or vertically for rapid continuous scrolling, and pressed at the top or bottom for page up and page down, but for that be sure to use your fingertip, not your finger pad, and press very close to the end (press and hold for fast repetitive paging). A very cool feature is that the touchstrip has haptic feedback, and the multi-point vibration is adjustable.

@John / #5.:

This is no problem in fact, you can always decrypt data even with the unregistered trial version from our website.

Kept getting the following message on their site after clicking the link two or three times:
"Please check your e-mail again ...

You just got another message from 1-abc.net. Please open this e-mail and take your personal registration key from it. You can enter the key in the program and it will become a full version."

Eventually got the key and pasted it.Works but seems slow though I think it is a keeper because of the self-extracting .exe capability which has a lot of use for me.

I will pass on this offer. There are a lot of alternatives that are better than this one both paid and free programs. Add in the fact that you must visit this link...

http://1-abc.net/0018/ed/gtd_vg/m1.htm

... and enter your email address to receive your key.

All in all, a mediocre program coupled with the requirement to jump through the email address hoop equals a miss for me.

Very positive: They are reveiling their address and phone on their homepage http://www.1-abc.net/about.htm (Germany, i.e. a democratic country). By the way same for yesterday's giveaway from Paragon. Consequently you could sue them if they were distributing malware etc. And therefore I'm sure you could trust them.

How useful are other encryption softwares from undemocratic countries if their military intelligence could always break encryption? I remember a well known big country which delivered chips for American unmanned military aircraft including a software backdoor only a short time ago.

Naturally it's your own choice whether to trust enterprises whose country and/or address are hard to find or not to be found in the internet. I hate aggressive answers from "non neutral" sources, therefore I no longer comment on missing addresses etc.

Pros
*Supports batch processing
*Can create self-extracting encrypted standalone EXEs
*Supports eleven encryption algorithms
*Adds an entry to right-click context menu for quick encryption/decryption

Cons
*Extremely slow when creating self-extracting encrypted standalone EXEs
*Doesn’t support drag + drop
*Keeps a history of encrypted/decrypted files. History can be manually cleared and this behavior can be disabled from settings but it is enabled by default.
*Is buggy

Free Alternatives
AxCrypt
Sophos Free Encryption

Final Verdict
Click here for final verdict and full review