I tend to agree with #24 that folder encryption and password access is more important than individual file encryption. I don't know if this does that with folders or not. It doesn't seem to address that. So I assume not. A little deeper explanation prior to installation would be helpful.

As for Windows EFS encryption, there are some significant drawbacks to using it. Not the least of which is if you are signed in to your computer, you open the door for access to anything, by anyone. (No passwords required). EFS also does awful things to files, such as changing all the files dates around, never to be recovered. So it's never a good idea to encrypt entire folders. (Because it creates a new file for each, but it overwrote the old one), so any record of file modification has been completely lost, unless you take a lot of notes on each file in advance. In projects, programming, or presentations this can be disastrous, short of great advance precaution.

Last but not least, if there is a system crash, and you need to reinstall Windows, or system data becomes altered and you have to do some kind of major recovery, your chances of retrieving your encrypted files is close to nil. The fact that your UserID and password are the same as they were before, doesn't matter. Programs like this don't have that shortcoming. Access remains the same.

The description for this program is a bit confusing, but for individual file encryption, it seems as though it would do the job adequately. It simply turns any file of any kind into a self-extracting executable with a password for access. This would presumably apply to executables, imagery, videos, doc files, text, etc.

It's not something I need right now, but might apply favorably in some cases.

-JC

If I have to transfer confidential client info over the Internet, I have always used PGP (Pretty Good Privacy). PGP was developed by a computer scientist named Phil Zimmermann, who was also an anti-nuclear activist who wanted to encrypt email and data shared with other anti-nuclear activists. Many government agencies around the world have tried to break PGP encryption but none have ever succeeded. The original PGP source code was made public and there are no known vulnerabilities.

@AndyPandy #18 & #38, open source is really the only way to go. The biggest threat to data encryption security (other than weak passwords), is whether or not the algorithm and protocol used has a weakness, which the open source community would be sure to find. There is nothing wrong with everyone knowing how you encrypt because they still need your private key (if using public/private keys) and your pass phrase or password to break the encryption.

PGP does have a rather large install but the reliability and credibility are unsurpassed. I've recommended the trial (turns into freeware), to many customers just for the encrypted self-extracting executable feature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy
http://www.pgp.com/downloads/desktoptrial/

This is a keeper for me. I find it esy to use but like others have stated it could use right click intrgration. I also have AxCrypt. I like it but for some reason I could not get it to encrypt a .jpg file. Maybe it's some sort of operator error. Also when I went from version 1.63 to 1.64 I lost the ability to encrypt to an .exe file. For that reason alone I will keep File Defender. Thank you to the GAOTD team for all of your great work and also thank you to the publisher, Enplase Research, for your contribution.

to #1, christina, +9 and counting for Your comment iam shocked because if You read it IS Compatible with XP as well so Your comment makes no sense... of course it works on XP with service pack 3, how stupid.

AndyPandy, Ashraf, et alias. I always thought that Opensource means the "company" that produces it will never go out of "business", close the doors and kill it...and therefore screw the poor saps who use the software. It's also the reason Gmail is so popular...ie everyone thinks Google will be around a long time to support it. Remember all the similar "free" email startups that have failed by now?

Opensource = Alive a long time.

Worthless.
There are too many open source encryption components available. I can make a little utility to encrypt/decrypt files in 1 day using AES, IDEA, Blowfish or anything you want.
There are also a ton of freeware applications (such as 7-zip) with encryption support using stronger algorithms than this program.
BIG thumbs down.

Oh, one other thing - straight 'zip-compatible' encryption is extremely weak and only deters the truly lazy. AES-compatible encryption, such as in 7-zip, is preferrable, but if you really want to make sure your data is secure, I'd still suggest use of separate encryption and compression tools. Free, good ones are available and personally I'm more comfortable with a dedicated security application, done by someone who knows what they're doing and who does that one thing well, rather than someone trying to do two things well.

One last piece of guidance - compress, then encrypt. Lossless compression does its work by finding and transforming redundancy in the data (e.g., representing 25kbits of alternating '1's and '0's with '10' and an indicator of how many times to repeat); encryption processes by their nature make data look pseudo-random and, therefore, lacking in redundancy. Compression of an encrypted archive usually results in a file size increase(!), if the encryption is truly good and pseudo-random. Actually, a simple test of the pseudo-randomness of an encryption process is to see if the reulting data becomes uncompressible. ;-)

#29: AxCrypt can produce self-decrypting .exe files, and also does some rudimentary compression as well to offset its ~67kb file size increase due to the decryption engine. I heartily recommend it as a viable alternative to today's offering. TrueCrypt also has a portable mode, but does not produce self-decrypting archives. I use them both: AxCrypt to distribute material to others who don't have encryption natively, while I use TrueCrypt to secure material for my own use on other computers (e.g., carrying around my sensitive files with me on a USB drive).

#38: Having worked in the security field for 24+ years, in this case an open-source algorithm is preferable. It may be counter-intuitive, but a well-vetted open source algorithm benefits from public scrutiny - there is a high likelihood that there can be no remaining back-doors that would enable data recovery without knowledge of the key, or allow recovery of the encryption key itself. The security of any encryption process is dependent wholly on the quality of the actual implementation - which benefits from peer review - and upon the strength and protection afforded the key used with the algorithm. I'm oversimplifing somewhat, but that's pretty much it. If this weren't true, then all web and banking security would be vulnerable (e.g., SSL, TLS, DES, and AES are all publicly available security protocols and algorithms). Security by obscurity (i.e., depending solely on the secrecy of an algorithm) is no security at all.

@AndyPandy. #38:
Your view is just as valuable as any other; please don't appologize for having your own opinion. You at least have an opinion and it does not hurt to disagree. It's just food for thought and fuel for a good discussion. Fair enough for me.

The thing is, quote "but to gain that trust they can’t exactly tell you exactly what the software does in the encryption" is the root of your misconception IMHO.

In Open Source software everybody knows what the encryption part is doing. Without the password it is still very hard to get back to the origin. The protection is in the encryption.
Not knowing what happens is just obscuring things, also obscuring the possibility of hidden features. There is always little protection from obscuring things. This would not be my horse of choise to make a bet.

The trust in Open Source software comes from the fact that there are no 'hidden features' compromising your trust.

It's me who likes to thank you for your participation and sharing your views with us.

Hi all,
despite its current law user rating (39% THUMBS UP for this SW is sinply ludicrous...), I found this application pretty easy to use and quite complete (the ability to encrypt multiple files at once is not bad at all).

Of course the biggest CON of this GAOTD is that it's not OPEN SOURCE, so it's not the most secure option available on the "market" for this kind of applications but overall I give it THUMBS UP (am I the only one here?? LOL!!).



BEST FREEWARE ALTERNATIVES (all these programs are VISTA compatible):



- TrueCrypt (OPEN SOURCE so probably the best solution for encrypting files)

- AxCrypt

- Kruptos 2

- DPCRYPT 1.05 (cryption tool with very high security settingssuch as Blowfish, Cast256, 3DES, Mars, Twofish, RC6, Rijndael and Serpent)

- File Crypt 1.0.2

- CryptoSidekick Personal (2048-bit RSA keys, 256-bit strong AES symmetric encryption)

- iSafeguard Freeware 6.2 (secures your files and e-mails with strong encryption and digital signature)

- ZNsoft Crypto 2.5

-Flash Securer 1.1

http://www.download.com/Flash-Securer/3000-2092_4-10645676.html?tag=mncol

A program which allows you to secure the sensitive data you carry on your USB FLASH DRIVE: since the data is encrypted, your sensitive data won't get into someone else's hands even if the FLASH DRIVE is stolen or lost.


- MyWinLocker 3

http://www.download.com/MyWinLocker/3000-2092_4-10841300.html?tag=mncol

A cool, light, and easy to use encryption tool with slick interface to encrypt or decrypt files with advanced encryption technologies (AES multiple file encryption, secure disk, password assistant manager, desktop search security etc....) which are accessible through a (VISTA) sidebar gadget or just by right-clicking on a specific file or folder.


- Advanced File Security Basic 3.1.4

A good encryption application to protect any type of data against unauthorized access using the world-wide standardized, fast and very safe encryption algorithm - AES. Usable with all kind of storage types such as Hard-Drives, CD/DVD, USB Sticks.


- MEO File Encryption Software 1.10

http://www.download.com/MEO-File-Encryption-Software/3000-2092_4-10684789.html?tag=mncol

An excellent encryption application to encrypt or decrypt files of any type, including Microsoft Word, Excel and PDF documents as well as email, so as to protect your sensitive data against un-authorized viewers by utilizing the latest data encryption technologies


- STEGANOS SAFE ONE 10.0

http://www.download.com/Steganos-Safe-One/3000-2092_4-179318.html?tag=mncol

What happens if your kids turn off your firewall then leave you unprotected whilst your computer is left online? Your files and data stored in your HD would be accessible to hackers or any other unauthorised users.

To avoid this, this TOOL turns a section of your DRIVE into a protected and encrypted area, creating two Data Safes with 1 GB capacity each on your PC, Laptop, USB-Sticks, CDs, DVDs and so on, that is only accessible if you know the password required to access the encrypted DRIVE. In this way you can be sure that no one can get access on your personal data (photos, documents, music,video etc...) in case you forget your laptop somewhere or it’s stolen by thieves...LOL!!

This program uses the Advanced Encryption Algorithm AES with 256 Bits helping you create HIGHLY SECURE PASSWORDS which you even don't need to remember since you can use a USB-Stick for a key or a sequence of pictures with Steganos PicPass.


- CryptDisk.4h 3.0.0.2

http://www.download.com/CryptDisk-4h/3000-2092_4-10761842.html?tag=mncol

An encryption utility based on a VIRTUAL DISK created by the program itself within a file: everything you write to the created virtual disk will be encrypted transparently and then decryption is automatic as CryptDisk.4h automatically decrypts the data before it is loaded, but when data is written back to the hard disk it is automatically re-encrypted using two of the most proven encryption algorithms: AES-256 and Twofish-256. Very easy to use as multiple drives can be easily managed from a simple list menu, not to mention that after mounting a drive files can be dropped in and removed using Windows Explorer or just the drag and drop function.


- TRax File Guard 0.1b

http://www.download.com/TRax-File-Guard/3000-2092_4-10668853.html?tag=mncol

An encryption utility acting as a safe-deposit box for your confidential documents and files for the windows operating system. It encrypts and password-protects any kind of files (e.g. text, document, application executable, and multimedia) using high secure 256 bit Advanced encryption standard with a single mouse click, enabling you to protect your files from being accessed by other people. TRax File Guard is compatible with all file systems including NTFS, FAT, and FAT32.


- WISeCrypt 1.4.6.18

http://www.download.com/WISeCrypt/3000-2092_4-10728953.html?tag=mncol

It helps you to securely protect, encrypt, decrypt and wipe files, folders, and email on any storage device using WISeKey CertifyID certificates (which are also free), thus making it safe to store sensitive data on fixed, or transportable media, and transfer them over public networks.


KEY FEATURES:

* integration with Windows shell
* high security using trusted X.509 digital certificates
* supports AES (Rijndael), 3DES, RSA, RC4 and other asymmetric and symmetric cryptographic algorithms.


- EASY FILE LOCKER


An easy-to-use security software product designed for protecting your private files and folders on your local PC simply by keeping them out of sight from any possible intruder’s eyes. With its great protection, users will not be able to open, read, modify, delete, move, copy the locked files/folders, or even not be able to see it as the hidden files/folders will be totally invisible to all users and to any program even under Windows Safe Mode.



And above all:

- DEVAULT 2009, an easy to use, secure and powerful TOOL, far more superior to any other utility, for organizing, securely storing and sharing files.

http://ekwintools.com/

Unlike any Zip product, deVault also has built-in Categories and Labels to help you organize all your files.

With this stunning TOOL you can securely store and organize all your important files using them anywhere on any PC as well as synchronize your files between any number of PCs, find any file using real time search and above all share multiple files with others in secure digital vaults.


KEY FEATURES:

- Built-in Compression
- Categories, Labels
- Revision Control and fully customizable interface
- Synchronization
- Backup and Restore
- Email, FTP, HTML Links
- Instant Search
- 256-bit Blowfish Encryption to keep all your files safe from intruders.


Did I mention that it's FREE?? LOL!!


FULL REVIEW here:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/158583/devault_helps_protect_against_identity_theft.html


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


If you need to find out any password-protected or encrypted files from your PC or network so as to check out how secure your protected files are or verify that you still have passwords for your important files, these two FREE TOOLS can actually do this job effectively and efficiently :


- Passware Encryption Analyzer 1

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Encrypting/Passware-Encryption-Analyzer.shtml

This is an excellent free encryption scanning tool that finds password-protected or encrypted files on a PC. With this professional tool you can also verify that you still have passwords for your important files and if you need to unprotect one or more of them, this application gives you the required password recovery module automatically. Full system scan usually takes less than an hour and can be run in the background.


KEY FEATURES:

* Scans files fast - over 4,000 files per minute on an average PC
* Runs the required password recovery modules to unprotect your encrypted files
* Supports over 100 different file formats
* Provides detailed information: file formats, protection methods
* User-friendly Explorer-like interface
* Available as SDK for .NET



- RememberMe 1.7

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Password-Managers-Generators/RememberMe.shtml


A free password storage tool that uses an AES encryption method to ensure that you are the only person that has access to your passwords, allowing you to create customized categories to better organize and retrieve your passwords.





Finally if you need a small and handy application for creating unbreakable passwords in a few clicks, using 4 hash algorithms, "Aconiac Password Generator" is definetely one of the best solutions for this, as the password generator is very easy to install using very few resources indeed with the additional option to integrate in the user's system a simple tool that can be opened when needed.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Password-Managers-Generators/Aconiac-Password-Generator.shtml



Another application to create numeric, alphabetic, alphanumeric or even special character passwords with variable length is also Tukanas Password Generator 1:

http://www.download.com/Tukanas-Password-Generator/3000-2092_4-10768061.html?tag=mncol




Hope this helps.


Cheers from Italy.

Giovanni

The problem is the same with an excutable encryption... most email servers will not forward a file with an executable attached because it may be a virus so my problem is unsolved back to PGP.

Dave

#29,
AxCrypt does support creating "self-decrypting" files, so you don't need AxCrypt on the receiving machine.

WinZip apparently doesn't encrypt filenames in an encrypted archive, so that is a flaw with that method. 7-zip does encrypt the filenames though in it's 7z format, and uses 256-bit AES, so the encryption scheme is incredibly secure.

The encryption schemes are not easily hacked, and haven't been. In fact, the only "cracks" available are for the hacker to keep guessing the password, using dictionary attacks, etc. So the security of your info is dependent entirely on how long/complex your password/passphrase is. All encryption schemes will have the same vulnerability in regards to weak passwords.

A useful link on making a "crack-proof" archive:
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Crack-Proof-Archive

Thanks Ashraf and Terry for your replies. I agree with both of you to a certain degree. But, I'm an old fashioned programmer and regardless of the protocol used I don't agree with open source. I.e here we have a security program and by the way, here's how the encryption works.

I totally agree with both of you that open source is a great idea, Open Office is open source and I love it, I use it every day. The security side of software is another matter, you need to trust the vendor, but to gain that trust they can't exactly tell you exactly what the software does in the encryption. That would defeat the object. Just my old fashioned view.

I never imagined my comment would result in 17 thumbs downs, sorry to have offended so many people. Just being honest.

#8, if you used your head you would be able to figure out what you did wrong, *sigh* the program works fine if you used it corectly... why are people having such trouble figureing this thing out! its a simple program with a simple use!

bcu

Just a quick note - program works perfectly as described. I'm truly amazed at the amount of misinformation in the comments above - my only guess is that people can't/don't read the program descriptions first. This password protects/encrypts any file, doesn't destroy the original - that is up to your own chosing, and as a self-extracting archive it's very portable. Does add overhead which is expected from any self-extracting archive. Like every other piece of software made, there are plenty of alternatives (some more advanced, some less advanced). This one works perfectly as described and the price tag is right.

Glary Utilities is great for this as it also allows you to write your own password hint...

So if you already have Glary's Utilities you don't need another programme.

P.S. thanks GAOTD!

Every single time GOTD offers an encryption program that generates a self-executing exe file, several comments always appear recommending truecrypt as an alternative. This is annoying. Truecrypt is an excellent program, but it does NOT offer this feature. You can not decrypt truecrypt containers or truecrypt-encrypted drives without truecrypt installed.

#15,
This is a file "protector" in that it protects your privacy by preventing the file from being viewed by unauthorized people; it doesn't protect it from deletion. If you have Windows, you can get Windows to prompt for confirmation by making the file "read-only" in its properties. If you want to 100% prevent deletion, you'll probably need some other software

#24,
If you want an encrypted "folder" that only you have access to, you can use TrueCrypt to create an encrypted "volume" on your harddrive. Basically, it appears as its own drive once you've entered the password, and you can move files into or out of it, then disable it when not in use. You could send someone a truecrypt volume too, but they'd need to have the software on their PC.

If you want to send someone a self-extracting protected folder, you can use the previously mentioned examples of using a ZIP archiver like Winzip or 7-Zip to create an encrypted, self-extracting archive.

#26 and #27 are correct that most security experts agree that open-source encryption is the best way to ensure the security of the encryption scheme. A solidly built encryption scheme should be difficult to crack even if the source code is known, and some of the strongest encryption schemes are open ones.

#28,

While it's true that "nothing is impossible," the better encryption schemes, coupled with with a strong password, require so much computing power for brute-force decryption that at the moment they are for all practical purposes impossible to crack. Most successful "cracks" are caused by the weak passwords users choose.

BTW, Windows has file encryption built-in:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307877

Everytime it starts, it's halfway off the screen, and when
moved to the center and closed, it restarts off the screen.

#20: "Another drawback ... you wont be able to email your encrypted file as most web-based emails ie yahoo and hotmail wont send .exe files."

Actually it works quite well if you simply rename the file's extension to .zip. This *may* even increase security as it'll appear just a bad/corrupted file to anyone not knowing any better -- double clicking it will just bring up the associated unzipping program, until it's renamed again.

* * *

#28: "Nowadays, hackers are so advanced that they can hack anything they strive to."

The basis for using encryption is two fold -- 1) it's hard enough to break that honest people stay honest, & 2) breaking good encryption takes so long, &/or so many resources, that it simply isn't worth the hassle.

After looking at FileDefender a bit, I really think I'd recommend 7-zip to people looking for this capability. Understanding the concept of "compressed archive containing a file" is something most people can wrap their little grey cells around, and the jump from there to "compressed and encrypted archive containing a file" is pretty easy.

Besides, I used both FD and 7z on a 50MB text file. The resulting encrypted file with FD was 51MB, while the resulting file with 7z was about 3MB. 7-zip uses the AES encryption method, which is probably the encryption software that has had the most expert scrutiny of any of the very good encryption algorithms.

The resulting file, which is self-executable only on Windows computers, can still be extracted using the 7-zip version for other platforms.

File Defender looks like a good choice for encryption when you want to distribute an encrypted file(s), & convenience for the recipient is more important than absolute security. By including the decryption executable in every encrypted file, as long as the recipient can run the executable, in theory they don't need anything else -- there is a potential Gotcha... When you double click the encrypted exe file and enter the correct password, the unencrypted file opens in whatever program is associated with the original file type... This is Very Convenient for something like a text file, but if you send something like an encrypted Word Doc, & the recipient doesn't have a program associated with the .doc file extension that can open & read it correctly, you've got a problem. A temporary copy of the original is created on the hard drive & then deleted -- you *may* get away with being able to copy that before closing the opening program -- & you can often save a copy of the unencrypted file from the opening program [Word or Notepad for example will let you save a file, while something like an image viewer may not]. In a nutshell, File Defender is super convenient if/when you're confident the person opening the encrypted file has the right program installed properly to open it -- otherwise use something else.

You can find information on the XTEA encryption method used by searching on-line with Google etc. The supported versions of Windows listed on the developer's site don't include Vista, & don't mention 32/64 bit -- this could just be an oversight as File Defender is a few years old, but I'd want to test it out more thoroughly in Vista/Win7 64 before relying on it in those operating systems.

With any encryption software, how it compares to alternatives is Super Important... Axcrypt is great, with higher overall security, but you need it installed to unencrypt files. Truecrypt is great, but the focus is on stealth -- not sending something as an email attachment. Zip, 7zip, RAR etc are all decent choices, & all allow both encryption & self decrypting files, but software & methods to break the encryption are common, & finding out what files are included in the archive is usually pretty easy. All in all, assuming it works well in 64 bit Windows, File Defender does seem a good choice when ease of unencrypting on different PCs is the most important consideration.

"Since the software is based on a very strong encryption algorithm, it is impossible to gain access to protected files without a password." As everyone knows, nothing is impossible. Nowadays, hackers are so advanced that they can hack anything they strive to.

@18: Why would you want open source encryption?

If someone with the source code but not the pass phrase has a better chance of decrypting your file than someone without either, that's another way of saying that the encryption is basically worthless.

Good encryption software uses a variety of methods to encrypt a file such that you can't decrypt without the pass phrase, even if you know the source code. This may seem counterintuitive, but it's true.

The other advantage of using open source encryption software is that lots of people can look at the source code, including you if you are so inclined. That way you can hear from someone besides the salesperson as to whether the encryption is good, and whether there are any back doors or weaknesses in the program.

Doing encryption right is very hard. Just because a company sells encryption software doesn't mean that they know how to implement encryption software (any more than it means the opposite). On the other hand, open source software that has been available for inspection for many months is very likely to have had all of its weaknesses and bugs pointed out (and fixed), and even if not, you can take the source code to your friendly neighborhood encryption specialist that you trust to tell you whether it is any good.

#18 AndyPandy,

Well for one it helps assure the user that the developer does not have some malicious code with the program, like password mining. But for importantly, counter intuitively, it improves security.

#17

You don't need the program to run the standalone encrypted files. I am running in Vista, the OS that is not officially supported, and I can run the standalone encrypted files just fine without File Defender installed.

Try again.

What is required is folder encryption and not file encryption

Interesting. Why not just use AxCrypt, though?

http://www.axantum.com/AxCrypt/

I just use WinZip which I have at work and home. The Network Nazis won't let us install programs or run .exe's.

Apologies for punctuation errors. I wrote this in a hurry. Thanks.

I tend to agree with Phil#17. However when you read Asraf#10's Plus sides it would probably be more useful to newbies who only want to protect standard files from other account users. I have tried it out and quite like the look and feel of it. Shame there is no context menu feature, a big drawback for those in a hurry. Another drawback which I think was mentioned earlier is you wont be able to email your encrypted file as most web-based emails ie yahoo and hotmail wont send .exe files. If you are looking for an encryption program that gives excellent security then go for TrueCrypt, for moderate security then Kruptos 2. I use both depending on the level of security I want. But I will keep this one too and use it for general purposes only.
For those having problems activating it. Unzip, run setupand install completely then close the program and click activate button. Allow access on your firewall. Once you get the activated message open program and go to help, about. It should say its registered to giveawayoftheday. Give it a try. You can always uninstall later if you dont like it!.

AMD 2 64 4000+4 Gig RAM seagate 1TB HDD Windows XP sp3 Fast download and install. Program works fine but you need to delete the original file you have encripted after you have created it, with this program (seems cumbersome....Dunno about that...) to me. My own preference here, is to load all your sensitive files onto a thumbdrive and secure the entire drive with Truecript, another program thats mentioned here. Um no #17, Ashraf isnt being deceitful or misleading, his review is right on the money (just my 2 cents worth)

Hi,
Just reading through the comments before downloading. Ashraf, you mentioned as a bad point that the software is not open source! why would anyone want an encryption program which was open source, surely not.

Though a lot of #10 Ashrafs comments are mis-leading and a couple are contradictory I find the program easy to use. The only problem I find (And it's a serious one) is that you need the program to open the EXE. file. When I try to open it without the program I get a quick view of the encrypted file, then an error message. You can choose not to have the original left in place by using the settings option and even use a SFX Module. The program does warn you if your password is too short, but still works anyway. An EXE. file should open on its own, and once password is in place should reveal the contents. I think the developers didn't do enough to make the program function properly. Thumbs down and a fast un-install here.

Today’s games have been posted over in the games discussion forums. The first is a spooky 2D isometric third person shooter called Night of the Cephalopods and two pirate based shooting games called The Euchmich Legacy and Pirate Cliff. The last one I just tagged on as an afterthought because it was similar to the second one, though in 3D. It’s actually a commercial game, but is being given away for free, so if you don’t already have it, I’d check out the video I’ve provided. The other two are freeware:

Night of the Cephalopods, The Euchmich Legacy and Pirate Cliff:

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/4800

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I also decided to post Wednesday’s and Thursday’s games which are of the Beat ‘Em Up genre and include a traditional Streetfighter game and a couple of Dragonball Mugens games. Most of these files are between a few hundred to 550Mb in size, but there is at least one Streetfighter game at just over 30Mb, but its basic compared to the bigger files; {all of Tuesday’s games are around 10Mb}:

Streetfighter Mugens & Dragonball:

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/4801

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday’s game is a single click adventure game called Fate by Numbers, and is on the lines of East Side Story and Hope Springs Eternal, though instead of using still imagery uses actual video footage:

Fate by Numbers:

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/4802



======================================================================

Gave this a quick try on xp sp3, password protected a file of no particular use and it worked as said, i then right clicked and deleted the protected file and was left with the visible file intact...if i was going to delete a protected file shouldn't i have been prompted for a password...thumbs down on this one

To commentor 8: this program does NOT encrypt the original file BUT it creates a second file that reads: protected_myfile.exe!! Also this file displays today's program icon associated with it so one can recognize it as an encrypted auto-extractible file.

While I think such a tool is superfluous, here is a diffferent approach…

Pack your exe (or the whole package!) crypted with 7-zip or RAR and add a SFX module.
A 2nd gain of this approach is that the package itself is left untouched in all its parts - but you have still access to all unaltered files.
Another gain is the small size and instead of packages with sub-folders you have only ONE file to carry around.
BTW: all files get only temporarily extracted in uniqe folders which are deleted after the program/package is ended.

thanks for the reviews. It's not worth it if encrypted files can "just" be opened!!

#5 and #8,
Without even downloading it I read that it creates a SEPERATE file which is an executable, I would guess that the original file that you clicked on was not the encrypted one.
It may work better if you click on the newly created .exe file.

While this program is not officially Vista supported, it ran fine on Home Premium 32-bit. I only ran into one problem which I mentioned in my full review.

The Good
* Nice clean and easy to use interface.
* Creates self executable/standalone encrypted files.
* Encrypted files re-encrypt themselves after use.
* You get to chose if you want to save/delete executables or original files.
* Drag + Drop.
* Can encrypt multiple files at once.
* You can password protect File Defender.
* Uses XTEA encryption - light on resources for slower/older computers.

The Bad
* Not Open Source.
* Uses XTEA encryption - not the most secure out there.
* When encrypting, passwords you enter are not hidden by default.
* The original source file is not deleted by default.
* You can't add a 'protected' suffix.
* When extracting file contents, the passwords you enter are not hidden by default.
* You can't extract file contents via standalone encrypted files.
* Standalone encrypted EXE adds on ~650 KB to the file size.
* The "Comment" box is placed very out of the way.
* If you hit "X" on the window where you enter password the password for encrypting, the file will start encrypting.
* You can't chose where to place file once you encrypt it.
* You can't chose where to place file once you extract contents of encrypted file.
* No context menu entry.
* Self extractor doesn't work well with videos (Vista only?)
* If you try to extract more then file at once, and the passwords are different of the files, you will get an error.

Free Alternatives
TrueCrypt
AxCrypt
Kruptos

To read the final verdict, recommendations and the full review, please click here.

Spikey: "A big worry for me about this download is, what would happen if you had to do a re format?"

It would have been good if you actually read the few lines of information before spreading doubt.

"The software creates encrypted executables, thus removing the need for the software to decrypt files on other computers."

So even if you loose the program you can still decrypt your files as long as you got the password.

#3 Don't worry. The program doesn't work at all!
I installed it well on my PC and I added some files and made them protected with password. Then I clicked to the original file which were now protected, and they opened as if nothing had happened to them!
All thumbs down.

Sheesh...the activate file is not connecting with GOTD. Anyone else experiencing this?

Running the program in demo mode right now. Does what it says just fine. Fairly large overhead on a small text file. Turned a 2K file into a 672K file.

Installs, activates, and runs fine on Windows7 x64. Nice aero-like interface.

If you're confused after reading the blurb, like I was, what this program does is make an encrypted copy of files, and the encrypted copies are saved as exe files. And they are saved to the same location as the original files. There's no option to make the program save them to a different location. By default, when you type in the password, the password is not displayed as asterisks, but you can change this in View -> Settings.

My 1 row review:
Program installed,registered,encrypted,opened protected files on VistaHP

just use 7zip self extract feature
it will encrypt you archive with password protect

A big worry for me about this download is, what would happen if you had to do a re format? If this software can only be installed today, and you encrypt your files, and you had to reformat next week, how would you gain access to your files without being able to re install the program that encrypted them?

So this means if I encrypt a JPG file it makes a .EXE out of it and I pass it on to a Mac or Linux user they can't do anything with as .EXE is for Windows operating systems (only)... Do we/you really want that?

XP SP3 - installs and works fine.