Still no joy.
Uninstalled the prog fully, reformatted usb sticks, tried other usb sticks, did a couple of things Mike suggested - all total failure.

Downloaded it again from this page.

GOTD successfully activated it.
It appeared to install correctly.
I created a secure area, password etc

Went to use it and it throws me up a window asking for a reg code, and again tells me I have 29 days left to use the program.
I've never had this problem before with any of my many GOTD downloads and installs.

What's up, developer?
Any settings that need adjusting to get yr tool to function as a non-trial version??

Really wanted this one but will now have to switch to Roho's which has a very good reputation and is free permanently.

bs"d
Hello!
Could I use this software to lock my USB to be read only?

Installed program. This fine company has provided us with a program that adds password protection but does not shrink your old partition, instead it wipes all the data. The program on the flashdrive is .exe so windows only. Oh and to make it even better they only install a trial program on the flashdrive. Not a true giveway, only a trial. Additionally the programs can barely speak English and certainly could not operate the spell check function on their computers, see the "About" section.

And if you DO try to view it on something other than winblows i guess is the data will not be accessible, or at least that is the case with linux.

Go open source or buy the good stuff.

@#31 Jack that was very silly comment since no USB encryption software is designed like that - since if they do like what you said, it is completely pointless to carry a USB stick because you will not be able to retrive file contents on other computers. They usually create a virtual disk on the USB stick and installs a PORTABLE VIRTUAL DISK UNLOCKER, so if you lose the program you can always unlock the virtual disk and retrive the data as long as you remember the password.

Open source counterparts do the exactly same thing. Open source products are good, like always and I love them, however "never trust a closed source encryption software" is definitely the sillist thing I ever heard in GAOTD.

Loaded it, encrypted it, now can not open it, LOL. Just kidding it works great.

response to # 19

We have fixed the bug,please contact us to get new version.Thank you.

Hmmm.. what about using a portable version of Sticky Password manager as a portable password manager? This utility is useless for me. I have everything on the web, so I just need an identity protector, which Sticky Password really is.

http://www.stickypassword.com

Formatted an SD card to NTFS to try out. Tried to install this program to the SD card, got an error right away:

Failed to install!Code:0x000080020

Since the program fails to install to a simple SD 512 MB card, why would I bother with a real USB drive? Think will stick with TrueCrypt as not had an install failure yet.

@#27

Before creating secure area,you should backup your files on USB stick to hard disk firstly. Thank you.

@#28

This version needs administrative rights.
But we have some solution for enterprise users that don't need administrative rights.

@#31

We can not understand what you say, there is no way to respond to your question.

Free alternatives...
Winmend Folder Hidden
SafeHouse both work as portable and are safe enough for the average person.

Software from Lumension for data privacy is the best I have seen till date. The complete stick gets encrypted. No concept of public area so when you stick it in a internet cafe or a friends machine, there is no way of getting a virus attack. You get to see the files stored in it only after supplying the password and not before.

Even more.. this is SOX, HIPAA, etc compliant. Used by banks too.

ok #31, what turnup truck did you fqall off of: thumb drive encryption 101 class begins: the application that will be installed on your ... computer is a setup program, it whipes... formats... and puts a micro copy of the encryption program on your thumb drive. you do not! need the program on any other computer other than an image of your main computers disk so you don't lose your copy of the original program, thus becomeing unable to setup any more drives. all you need to use the thumb drive is the drive and your password. point 2: if you lose your password, then your in deep maird`, if it was easy to get the password off the drive then the program would be useless. the manual phone book idea is a good one; you can also get an encripted data base for passwords so all you need recall is one password, if that will ease your mind, i also keep a copy of my passwords on my unattached back up drive, since it is an externel and only plugged into the computer and power supply when my main is not attached to the web, during full backups, the data is sacfe but accessible there. any more questions class?

elfly

GiliSoft USB Stick Encryption is very similar to the earlier GOTD from Wondershare. Where you registered an email address with Wondershare to get a key, it's built into the GOTD version of GiliSoft USB Stick Encryption [you can't use the normal shareware download]. I had some trouble installing USB Stick Encryption to a USB stick at first, cured by setting "Optimize for performance" in the stick's device properties [right click -> properties -> hardware -> select USB stick & click properties -> Policies tab]. I didn't have any further problems, formatting the stick & reinstalling the encryption software about a dozen times after that, copying files back & forth etc, & it was an older USB stick.

In practice you run the main program on your PC/laptop to install what acts like a dynamically expanding virtual disk on the target drive, usually a USB stick or drive. In Windows Explorer you just see the file: "agent.exe", which starts off at ~3MB. Double click agent.exe, & you get a pop-up window to enter your password -- if the correct password has been entered, clicking Open opens the secure disk as a separate USB drive with drive letter Z:. Options include Read Only & changing the password [click settings]. Right-click -> Properties for the secure *drive* shows the maximum size you set when you installed the encryption software & the amount of space used by any files/folders you added -- Properties for the actual USB stick shows how much space is used by all files/folders, whether inside the secure area or not, along with total drive/stick capacity. You can delete agent.exe, then recover it using the GiliSoft USB Stick Encryption software you installed to your hard drive -- it also allows you to change the secure area's maximum size. Some security software includes features to help you out when/if you forget/lose your password -- today's GOTD does not. While the secure area is open there's an taskbar icon letting you close the area [remove the added drive in Windows Explorer].

While you can achieve some measure of stealth by deleting agent.exe, from the properties dialog in Windows Explorer it's clear there's something there, plus you have to recover it before you can access the secured area on another PC/laptop without USB Stick Encryption installed -- if you really want/need to hide something on a drive read up on Truecrypt... If hiding protected data isn't a concern, today's GOTD is a lot less learning & much less work. I've been using the earlier GOTD from Wondershare daily without a hint of problems, & today's offer is so similar that I'd expect it to be just as foolproof. Since the registration is recorded with the software on your USB stick, in my tests you don't lose your registration unless you format the drive, even if you've deleted agent.exe & have to recover it with an unregistered trial download. Since it's also part of the program you installed to your hard drive, you should have no problem creating encrypted areas on your USB sticks tomorrow [I used an app to tell GiliSoft USB Stick Encryption that it was next week & it still worked just fine].

Q> What does this software really do? 1. Encrypts the data, 2. Locks the USB drive, 3. Or Both. ??

Excellent if you need secure storage on a USB device. BUT as with all modern encryption methods, loss of password = loss of data. Even paying a specialist company is unlikely to retrieve your data unless the password is very simple (ie no more than 6 characters) and comprises short dictionary words!

Do not trust close source encryption software. NEVER!

This application is even worse because you cannot reinstall. If you lose your computer by theft; crash or accident, you will never be able to recover your data. You're screwed!

@localfreak

"I’d suggest that if you want to encrypt your data and can’t be bothered or with understand the installation of truecrypt give this a try. I know this will be recommended to my family."

This type of comment is hilarious. If TrueCrypt is too complicated to install then so is this application. And you're recommending a software that will never be available free. If the worse happens and it will happen, poor family members that you have for an adviser :(

Also, if they or anyone else can't the time to understand the basic principles of encryption then they shouldn't be using encryption at all!

@#25

This tool does not support MAC.

@#21
Sorry for hearing this message.Before creating secure area,you should backup your files on USB stick to hard disk firstly.

Do you need administrative rights on the "other" computer?
Like TrueCrypt.

I installed it on a USB key and it said it would erase EVERYTHING from my key. Are you kidding? I have all a bunch of programs on that key and I certainly don't want to lose them for the sake of encrypting the USB key! So thanks but no thanks!!!

I know this question will probably be mentioned many times today but I’ll ask it anyways. If for some reason I have a memory lapse and forget my password how would I recover my data? Would there possibly be support from the developers, or because it’s a give away would there be no help. I wasn’t actually going to ask this because for some reason none of my comments ever show up (deleted, whatever?), so I’m not really expecting a response, but for one last final time I’ll comment. I consider this software very convenient but without the possibility of losing my data. Thanks for your time.

If any software lets you recover the plaintext without the key (or a stored keyfile) then it isn't doing its job. Even with a keyfile, if it isn't password protected - you might as well store your unencrypted data whereever you're storing your keyfile because if someone can get access to it, they have your data anyway. And if the keyfile _is_ password encrypted... well, little fleas have lesser fleas and so ad infinitum.

There's only one practical solution and it depends on the degree to which you trust your friends/lawyers etc. Split your keyfile (or password) using Shamir Secret Sharing into M files, built such that it requires any N of them to be brought together in order to reconsititute the original keyfile. (N of M rather than all M in case someone is unavailable when you want to recover your key). This scheme requires at least N people to collude in order to access your data without your permission. Use a sensible N and M (such as 7 of 10) and if you can't be sure that at least 4 of 10 friends won't sell you out[*], you probably would be better off hiding a USB stick in the hollow tree at the foot of your garden :-)

Here are a couple of implementations:

http://point-at-infinity.org/ssss/

[*: i.e. six people colluding would not be able to recover your key. It would take 7. So you need (10-7+1 = 4) holdouts who you can completely rely on, in order to keep your key safe. You do however need 7 of those 10 who you can trust to hand over their part of the secret to you when you ask for it back, so a denial of service is a possibility if you don't choose N and M well. And have a lot of fair-weather friends...]

Can I use this in cross platform? In other words, can i use it on a PC and MAC? Thanks

where is the data that was on the card prior to installing this software? I do not see any files on my flash card now. Please help/

Great to see Gilisoft on the boards answering questions.

Regarding password retrieval. I know a computer security expert and his advice is to have a small address book (kept well away from your computer) with website addresses, programs and passwords written down. Update it as you change passwords. Keeping a list of passwords on file in your computer is not a good idea and trusting your memory (password email addresses or answers to retrieval questions) does not always work.

I have one website account I could not access because the email address they send the 'lost password' message to is no longer functional. I had to open a new account under a new name...

@#17

I wondered about the password issue also. And although remembering the password is of course the ideal situation, the response: "A> Please keep your password in mind before the new version release. Thanks for your question" really does not answer the question fully.

So before I download and try this, please what password retrieval system, if any, is there? Do you (1) save a copy of passwords, (2) save an encrypted copy, or (3) have no password retrieval system

Had no luck getting it to work on my PC so tried it on my netbook. Installed ok. The when installing to USB it got half way through then reported an access violation and crashed. Tried again and it completed. This is flakey!

I am going to revert to using FlashCrypt and AxCrypt which are both robust, have never given me any cause for concern and are FREE!

response to # 14

Even if it will work for an SD card, it is highly unlikely that your primary device such as camera will have an option to enter password so that it can write to the drive.

Q>I know this question will probably be mentioned many times today but I’ll ask it anyways. If for some reason I have a memory lapse and forget my password how would I recover my data? Would there possibly be support from the developers, or because it’s a give away would there be no help. I wasn’t actually going to ask this because for some reason none of my comments ever show up (deleted, whatever?), so I’m not really expecting a response, but for one last final time I’ll comment. I consider this software very convenient but without the possibility of losing my data. Thanks for your time.
A> Please keep your password in mind before the new version release. Thanks for your question.

Q>This may be a silly question, if so I apologize, but would this work for SD cards? I checked the Gilli site but nothing was mentioned. Thanks!
A>
It works for USB SD cards.

Quite disappointed.

Installed fine on XP SP2. Activated purrfectly.

After clicking on Agent and typing password I was given a Registration window stating '29 times remaining' and requiring registration.

I rebooted but same thing recurred.

Anyone else had this trouble? Some help from the Gilisoft support person here would be appreciated.

This may be a silly question, if so I apologize, but would this work for SD cards? I checked the Gilli site but nothing was mentioned. Thanks!

Suggestion: Axcrypt -- Freeware, versatile, portable, Government strength encryption. And very easy to use!

A better freeware alternative is
USB Safeguard > http://usbsafeguard.altervista.org/ < and it doesn't require installation to your h/d, just the usb device being encrypted:)

After an initial trial run, the software seems easy to use - it's worth a try. I'll probably keep using it.

I know this question will probably be mentioned many times today but I'll ask it anyways. If for some reason I have a memory lapse and forget my password how would I recover my data? Would there possibly be support from the developers, or because it's a give away would there be no help. I wasn't actually going to ask this because for some reason none of my comments ever show up (deleted, whatever?), so I'm not really expecting a response, but for one last final time I'll comment. I consider this software very convenient but without the possibility of losing my data. Thanks for your time.

#6-the giveaway is only active for 24 hours, ergo "Giveaway of the Day";
the home page has this written in red right above the Download Page button.

Have a great day all!

Q> I\'ve got this message:
Failed to install! Error Code:0x000080020
A>

It failed because that your usb stick can not be formated as a NTFS file system.
Please change a USB stick or try to format it to NTFS manually.

If your usb stick does not support NTFS file system,you can try GiliSoft Private Disk.

A very simple statement that I'm sure will be parried around today is " This isn't as good as truecrypt"

Although for the technical user this is true USB Stick Encryption does the job without fuss and, as far as I can tell, securely.

The installation to your USB device is simple and painless with the sole exception of deleting the whole disk no matter how small a partition you use. So remember to back up your data.

I'd suggest that if you want to encrypt your data and can't be bothered or with understand the installation of truecrypt give this a try.
I know this will be recommended to my family.

Hi Gurus,

So, if I download the softwares from GOTD, do I need to install them the same day for free access, or can I install them anytime in the future....

Thanks
2pac

Installed the software on PC ok, but when creating secure USB drive it failed: failed to install code 0x000080020.

I have XP Pro sp3 with Fujifilm usb flash drive. ???

@ #2, I DL'd the USBCrypt program from GAOTD week or 2 back. .so far that program has been great. no issues thus far..

to answer your question, if it works like mine. it installs a "portable" type version of the program on the usb device so when you go and plug it in to any other PC, it will make it so you can use your password and be able to unlock it and still work with the files even though that program isn't fully installed. It puts the needed files on their pc to allow you to do what you need.. hopefully this program does the same thing as I think it would/does.

Q>hi,i wanna use the USB stick encryption,so how i can use it?what are the special features of this software?
A>
How to use it:
Please visit http://www.gilisoft.com/how-usb-stick-encryption.htm

The special features of this software:
http://www.gilisoft.com/product-usb-stick-encryption.htm

Q>To create the password on the USB Stick you load the program into your PC but what happens when you take your USB stick to your office will it work in a different PC that does not have your program?
A>
Yes,it works in windows 2000/xp/2003/vista/7 ( 32 or 64).

Downloaded installed on Vista. Works fine. Thanks GOTD.