Unlike Truecrypt, this one doesn't show you how it makes the encription, nor does it give you the option to choose the type of encryption. It doesn't make a format of the container or at least it doesnt' show it. It works just like a cheap lock box, that's all.

i never received my activation code so i guess this is a waste of time ....

Well I got error code 65678 when trying to create a safe, now what do I do?

Downloaded and installed... tried to enter the serial number and the program crashes.

Tried numerous times, with both ways to enter the serial number...

Not going to bother with this ..... removed from my system. Thanks anyhow.

Steganos Safe is a good app, but with lots of competition, & the same potential shortcoming you can find with any similar encryption software -- if someone(s) has gained access to your Windows device, they also have access to whatever you've encrypted when you decrypt it to view or use those files.

Storing a copy of a vault in the cloud makes sense -- it actually makes double sense, since a cloud service provider **may** send everything to Virus Total before storing it. This trend by some biz has a bad side effect -- the content of your files is available to subscription holders, same as if it was a malware sample. Putting the data you store in the cloud in a vault also prevents the scanning many cloud services practice.

I haven't tried with this version, but one thing Steganos used to be unable to do is store a portable, Driver-free vault on a USB drive -- one that did not need drivers installed to access the files inside. You can do this with the open source Veracrypt. [Veracrypt is the only software that can that I've found so far.] You can of course use a self-decrypting archive, one that contains its own executable [like a self-extracting zip file], but that's not quite the same thing. Another alternative with its own downsides in to use BitLocker.

Steganos Safe can be part of a strategy to defend yourself from ransomware, which is only becoming more common [you can now buy inexpensive ransomware as a service packages]. The best defense is to store your stuff [or a copy] off-line -- on unconnected or unattached storage. If ransomware can't access the files because they're off-line, it can't encrypt them. But having your valuable stuff on something like a USB stick can pose a problem re: physical security -- it's easy to *lose* one. If your files are in a vault or safe, you don't have to worry about their contents being read.

As far as the Steganography goes, hiding stuff in another file, e.g. a photo, for some people it has bad connotations, because terrorists have used the tactic. For more mainstream or normal use however, it can still be useful.

In most places, by law you have to provide any passwords law enforcement or security officials tell you to provide. Refusal can mean going to jail, or in some countries, those demands may be accompanied by torture. One answer is to hide encrypted files. Steganography is one way to do that. Truecrypt used to advise nesting VHDs [one inside another], with enough files in the outer VHD [Virtual Hard Disk] that the inner one is hidden.

That all said, folks always wonder what happens if I lose the GOTD version -- can I still access my files? THAT is a good question in this case, because the trial you can download from steganos[.]com is v. 18. You might assume that the newer version would be compatible, but I couldn't find confirmation on their site, so mitigate any risks as possible if you use this GOTD. Backup your system with Steganos Safe installed, &/or put it on more than one device, &/or save a redundant copy of your stuff in another format somewhere, &/or test the v. 18 trial, maybe installing it to a VM etc.

This software is almost useless, unless steganos includes way to open the safe on a portable device without need the software to be installed on the remote computer once the safe already exists, otherwise it can not be called portable, it does depend on the installed software on the original computer.
Big flaw in the design, in my opinion.

Works well on windows 10 64 bits.

To use Steganos Safe 17 with google drive or Dropbox (which must have been installed first), think about restarting the computer, otherwise they will not be recognized.

So how does one enter the serial number obtained from visiting their web page and "registering"...?

VeraCrypt is free, nuff said...

Can Steganos company recover lost password on user request
and what does it cost?

Yay! Great software... It really works for me.