Re: What to use for file encryption?

"Brett" <no@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:uQiAvf9eFHA.3028@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'd like to encrypt and password protect certain text files. What is a good free program for doing this or is there a way to do it in Windows?

There are several free encrypting tools available on download.com but I wasn't sure how safe they are.


EFS (Encrypting File System) is available in Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP Professional (but NOT the Home version). Because EFS is based on the cert used by the logged on user, there is a vulnerability to EFS based on the vulnerability of login credentials (i.e., there are several methods used to hack passwords to allow a user to get back into their account or hack into someone else's, and once logged in as that user then you can use their EFS certificate to read and even unprotect the EFS-protected files). It would help if you actually mentioned WHICH version of Windows that you have.

I've heard of PGP's encryption for drives, DriveCrypt, and SafeBoot but they all cost money. http://www.truecrypt.org/ is free but I haven't used it (I've always had the Pro version of Windows to give me EFS).

Regardless of what method you use, make sure to export the security certificate to a floppy or CD and lock it up somewhere. You will need it when (not if) you reinstall Windows and restore your encrypted data from backups. 

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Relevant Pages

  • Re: EFS Certificate Needed
    ... Backup and save on non-degrading media the EFS DRA .pfx file ... Foe sure I will follow "Windows Recommendations". ... that recovery agent will only have ... Best practices for the Encrypting File System ...
    (microsoft.public.security)
  • Re: EFS Decryption Problem
    ... hard drive is running the old instance of Windows under which the EFS ... Or did you install a new instance of Windows ... The username is irrelevant to EFS. ... the EFS certificate and save it on removable media (floppy, CD, thumb ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin)
  • Re: Getting back my encrypted directory
    ... Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP ... > If you start to use NTFS Encrypting File System (EFS), ... > Q241201 How to Back Up Your Encrypting File System Private Key ... > Q242296 How to Restore an EFS Private Key for Encrypted Data Recovery ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin)
  • Re: Encrypting files on a CD
    ... I have also found this line in the help pages of Windows XP ... Does encrypting a file with EFS and then moving/copying ... >You cannot use EFS directly as CDs do not have NTFS, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin)
  • Re: recovering documents from old hardrive please help
    ... If they are encrypted with EFS, then no, unless you saved a copy of the encryption certificate and/or designated a recovery agent. ... How to back up the recovery agent Encrypting File System private key in Windows Server 2003, in Windows 2000, and in Windows XP ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)