View Full Version : Best free encryption sofware?
View Full Version : Best free encryption sofware?
Jelsoft
July 7th, 2003, 07:13 AM
I'm looking to use an encryption software to protect my files.
What is the best free encryption software out there?
x71us
July 7th, 2003, 08:18 AM
Cryptomathic file2file.
Jelsoft
July 7th, 2003, 08:39 AM
Is P2P 8.0 or Shellcrypt any good?
Sephiroth
July 7th, 2003, 08:47 AM
PGP is pretty good.
Heres the link to the free verison
http://www.pgp.com/products/freeware.html
Malakai1911
July 7th, 2003, 09:51 AM
PGP is of course the "big" name in encryption. The freeware version, unfortunately, does not provide outlook encryption, or PGPdisk.
I'd suggest buying at least a personal license. It's worth it if you are really paranoid.
Jelsoft
July 7th, 2003, 10:27 AM
Originally posted by Malakai1911
PGP is of course the "big" name in encryption. The freeware version, unfortunately, does not provide outlook encryption, or PGPdisk.
I'd suggest buying at least a personal license. It's worth it if you are really paranoid.
I just tried PGP. It's hard to use.
PGP seems to be based on keys rather than password protection.
cpugeniusmv
July 7th, 2003, 04:46 PM
a key is like a giant password.
isus
July 7th, 2003, 05:35 PM
haha cpugenius. that's a new way to put it :-P
a giant, impossible to memorize password.
Malakai1911
July 7th, 2003, 06:10 PM
Tough, bah.
Key management is nothing. And when you use PGP properly, you are virtually guaranteed security. When you mess with no-name software, you dont know what kind of snake oil you are getting.
Like, if you use Winzip or MS Word's "password protection"... notice how there are password crackers?
With PGP, it could take many lifetimes to crack.
Let me reiterate. If you are serious about security, you will use PGP.
Jelsoft
July 7th, 2003, 08:45 PM
Originally posted by Malakai1911
Tough, bah.
Key management is nothing. And when you use PGP properly, you are virtually guaranteed security. When you mess with no-name software, you dont know what kind of snake oil you are getting.
What do you mean by snake oil?
Malakai1911
July 7th, 2003, 09:28 PM
"snake oil" refers to cryptography products that have big claims, but no delivery.
http://www.counterpane.com/crypto-gram-9902.html#snakeoil
"Snake Oil
The problem with bad security is that it looks just like good security. You can't tell the difference by looking at the finished product. Both make the same security claims; both have the same functionality. Both might even use the same algorithms: triple-DES, 1024-bit RSA, etc. Both might use the same protocols, implement the same standards, and have been endorsed by the same industry groups. Yet one is secure and the other is insecure. " (an excerpt from my above link)
Trust me. If you arent careful with what software you choose... you will have no security at all.
Rickio
July 8th, 2003, 09:26 AM
Originally posted by Jelsoft
What do you mean by snake oil?
I recommend you do a google search on encryption and read up a bit.
Simple does not equal safe all the time , but perhaps a simple solution is all you need.
Still a little bit of reading would inform you better.
Here is a long list of freeware apps you might want to peruse.
http://www.webattack.com/freeware/security/fwencrypt.shtml
peace