Tag Archives | secure encryption software

Lacie Private-Public AES256 encryption based on Truecrypt

/ 31 January, 2012 / Encryption Software / Permalink

Truecrypt alternative

Lacie Private-Public is a multilingual free encryption program for Windows and Mac computers based on Truecrypt, it comes with Truecrypt license included. What makes it different from Truecrypt is its simplicity of use, while Truecrypt will give you many encryption algorithms and options this tool sticks to the standard AES256 encryption and does not give the user any kind of option, you can create an encrypted virtual drive with just three clicks without reading the manual, which is available online. Encrypted containers are saved with the .lc extension and automatically named “La-Private” inside a folder bearing the same name, the software does not need installation you can carry it with you on a USB thumbdrive, however, administrator rights are still needed.

Encrypted containers larger than 4GB can not be created in FAT32 drives, to achieve this you will have to reformat to NTFS (Windows) or HFS+ (Mac). Anyone familiar with virtual drive encryption software will instantly know how to use this program, after creating an encrypted container you will see a new drive letter appear next to your C: hard drive, anything you store in there will be automatically encrypted.

Lacie Private-Public AES256 encryption

Lacie Private-Public AES256 encryption

To lock the container right click on Lacie’s logo in Windows toolbar and select dismount, to access the data again execute the program and enter the password. The only possible settings are password change, mount encrypted volume as read-only and timed self-dismounting, Lacie Private-Public appears to be directed towards the 100% newbie person that knows nothing about encryption products and is not interested in learning about them or customization options.

The company claims that there is no backdoor, if you forget your password that is it. Full disk encryption has been eliminated, to use this capability you will have to look for something else, the only advantage Lacie Private-Public seems to have over Truecrypt is that it is extremely simple to use and it should not frighten off computer ignorant people.

Note: This software can not run if you have Truecrypt installed, they both use the same drivers.

Visit Lacie Private-Public encryption tool

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DiskCryptor vs Truecrypt comparison

/ 14 October, 2011 / Encryption Software / Permalink

Full disk encryption review

DiskCryptor download is a tiny 750Kb, after installing it you will need to reboot the computer, you might notice that its 64bit drivers come signed by the ReactOS foundation a non for profit organization assisting open source projects not able to acquire an expensive signing certificate to distribute Windows 64bit drivers.

Encrypting my Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OS, with a fairly powerful Intel i5 2200Hz (quad core) absorbed very low CPU, a steady 7% of the available resources, it took me 20 hours to encrypt a 1TB hard drive, it would have been considerably quicker using just the AES algorithm instead of the cascade algorithm I selected.

DiskCryptor lets you know how long it will take to encrypt your operating system, you can still work with your computer while it is being encrypted, I advice you to temporarily disable power management in Windows and set it to always on, Windows will not notice the hard disk being encrypted and send the OS into hibernation mode believing the computer is inactive, if this happens full disk encryption will stop and only resume once you switch the computer back on, I have found this problem to occur with both DiskCryptor and Truecrypt, more of a Windows problem than to do with the full disk encryption software.

Diskcryptor lets you benchmark the encryption ciphers (Tools>Benchmark) if you have a low spec CPU and are in a hurry you can choose the cipher that performs best in your system,  AES was the quickest for me, by quite a lot of difference in contrast with Twofish and Serpent, once the OS has been encrypted it doesn’t matter what cipher you used to encrypt it, performance will be the same. You can benchmark ciphers in Truecrypt too but since only AES can be used for full disk encryption there is no point in doing it.

DiskCryptor encryption keyfile

DiskCryptor encryption keyfile

Truecrypt will ask you to enter your password after rebooting your computer before encrypting your operating system, DiskCryptor will not, it assumes you entered the passphrase correctly twice as asked and did not make any mistake. When using special signs in your password be aware that in booting up your computer the keyboard has a US layout that will not correspond with a non US keyboard, I searched for a photograph of US keyboard layout on the Internet to make sure there would be no mistakes about what keys to pres.

Unlike Truecrypt, DiskCryptor bootloader is highly configurable, I have my own (Ascii) logo at logon and I instructed DiskCryptor to time out after 30 seconds of inactivity at which point the computer reboots, other options like halt and exit to BIOS are possible. Using DiskCryptor keyfile for full disk encryption is something possible and not supported by Truecrypt, a keyfile will thwart dictionary attacks on your passphrase but this keyfile can not consist of anything it has to be a 64 byte file generated by DiskCryptor.

 Windows 7 FDE specific problem

Unlike Vista, XP and lower Windows versions, when you use a whole disk encryption product on Windows 7, or installing a dual boot, you will notice that Windows 7 automatically creates a 100MB system reserved partition, 24MB contains actual data the rest is there for future use like Bitlocker or system restore, this partition is hidden by Windows and only visible using a live CD or through DiskCryptor or Truecrypt interface.

Windows 7 100MB hidden system partition

Windows 7 100MB hidden system partition

Windows 7 system reserved partition contains some necessary boot files, do not attempt to encrypt Windows 7 system reserved partition like I did because the computer will not boot! There are hacks around to merge that partition with the main Windows 7 operating system, I managed to do it partioning the hard disk with PartedMagic before installing Windows 7 and ignoring Windows installation DVD asking me to create the system reserved partition, everything worked fine until I fully encrypted Windows 7 without the system reserved space and the computer refused to boot.

If you would like to use whole disk encryption in Windows 7 there is no choice but to give in and allow Windows to create the unencrypted 100MB system partition, this shouldn’t be a problem regarding data leakage, you can view the files it contains with a live CD, I managed to see a bootsect.bak file, bootmgr, and System Volume Information folder and a few others with no obvious danger.

Truecrypt vs DiskCryptor comparison table

TRUECRYPT DISKCRYPTOR
Open source license Truecrypt own license Standard Linux GPL license
Forces you to burn a recovery CD YES NO (optional)
Works with RAID volumes YES YES
Hidden operating system YES NO (pseudo)
Cross platform (Windows, Linux and MAC) YES NO
Option of cipher for full disk encryption AES,Twofish,Serpent & cascades AES,Twofish,Serpent & cascades
Supports keyfiles for full disk encryption NO YES
Can place bootloader on external device NO YES
Can create single encrypted containers YES NO
Portable mode YES (admin rights) NO
Encryption of external devices (USB,etc) YES YES

 

Plausible deniability

DiskCryptor does not support the hidden operating system feature that Truecrypt has but allows you to install the bootloader on an external device, ie. USB thumbdrive or CD-Rom, that is where the files giving away that the operating system has been encrypted and what software has been used for that are stored, if anyone seized your hard drive it would be possible to claim that it has been wiped clean as no identifiable information can be extracted from the HDD other than random data and there is no boot loader.

Plausible deniability appears more sound than Truecrypt hidden operating system, if you give away the password for the non hidden OS in Truecrypt, the timestamps and las activities could give away that the computer has not been used for a long time.

DiskCryptor full disk encryption

DiskCryptor full disk encryption

A computer with no operating system and a wiped hard disk will look very suspicious, claims that it was wiped the day before would be held with incredulity but hard to prove it didn’t happen. Even better, I came across a thread in DiskCryptor forums to have a dual OS system where one of the Windows OS will only boot with the USB thumbdrive plugged in and when not present the other OS will boot, this set up makes one of the partitions look like random data and not like 2 operating systems on one hard disk.

Conclusion Truecrypt vs Diskcryptor

If you have a tablet or netbook without a CD-drive go for DiskCryptor because Truecrypt forces you to burn a recovery CD (there is a work around using CD-drive virtualization software, i.e. Alcohol 120% or using the command line /noisocheck).

If you would like to be able to open encrypted external devices using Linux or MAC go for Truecrypt as DiskCryptor is a Windows only program, if you want to create single encrypted containers go for Truecrypt as DiskCryptor can’t do that.

Something in which Truecrypt beats DiskCryptor is in documentation, Truecrypt manual is very complete and DiskCryptor consists of an incomplete online Wiki, DiskCryptor can make up for this showing off the ‘Blue Screen’ feature, a way to quickly crash your fully encrypted computer allowing you to set the quick emergency shutdown to any hotkey shortcut you like.

Security wise, both Truecrypt and DiskCryptor have the same credentials with their source code open to scrutiny and none of them reviewed by any qualified cryptographer, overall, DiskCryptor has more configuration features than Truecrypt, and Truecrypt is better at cross platform compatibility.

Truecrypt: http://www.truecrypt.org

DiskCryptor: http://diskcryptor.net/wiki/Main_Page/en

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Encrypt and compress files with Secure Archive

/ 6 October, 2011 / Encryption Software / Permalink

File compression alternative to WinZip and WinRar

Secure Archive is a file encryption, data compression and file wiping utility suitable for individuals and businesses alike, it is simple and easy to use with right click integration and drag and drop, unlike other compression programs with encryption, like WinZip or WinRar, Secure Archive allows for high customization of encryption, you can choose to secure your files with Advanced Encryption System (AES), aka Rijndael, Blowfish, a patent free encryption algorithm, or NASCLL which appeared to be a proprietary encryption cipher of which the help file did not included any information at all, you will be better off using one of first two ciphers as they are tried and tested.

This free file encryption program options allow you to choose by how much data should be compressed (none, low,high), I failed to see its usefulness as I would imagine everyone wants it set at a high compression, the default setting, but no harm in including that. When you encrypt a file Secure Archive will let you know the password key strength in bits as you type together with a message saying if it is an acceptable password or not, in advanced options you can select what metadata should be saved together with the encrypted file, for example, time stamps, file attributes, CRC file integrity, you can choose to wipe the original file after encryption too.

Secure Archive encryption file utility

Secure Archive encryption file utility

The only shortcomings I found in Secure Archive is that the help manual failed to mention anything about their NASCLL encryption method, the secure wipe window could not be resized and it did not have a progress bar, it puzzled me that the developers claim that file wiping is being implemented using the standard US Department of Defense 5220. 22-M method which consists of a three wipe pass, but Secure Archive data wiping window indicates a single secure delete pass by default, my wild guess here is that it could mean a 1 time US DoD 5220.22-M data wiping pass but I can’t really be sure.

Secure Archive encrypted file properties

Secure Archive encrypted file properties

Secure Archive can be a good alternative to AxCrypt, useful for anyone in need of a free program to secure single files before emailing them, the .SAef file extension will confuse the other end, you both will have to be using the same software unless you create an encrypted self-extracting file which Secure Archive can do, data compression appeared to perform well, it managed to reduce my the seize of my WordPerfect document by 70%, I compressed the same file using WinZip .zip method and it compressed it by 71%, pretty much the same result.

If you are afraid that someone can guess your password using a brute force attack, Secure Archive lets you create what they call a HardKey, called keyfile in other software like Truecrypt, you can secure your compressed file with a password and a HardKey needing both to open it, something you know and something you have, but this HardKey can not be anything you like, it needs to have been created with the Secure Archive and anyone coming across it will know what it is for but it can enhance your security when emailing confidential documents if these happen to get intercepted or end up in the wrong inbox.

Visit Secure Archive homepage

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Encrypt text files using the AES cipher with Scrambled Egg

/ 8 September, 2011 / Encryption Software / Permalink

Text encryption software freeware

This open source cross platform program will encrypt text messages using a wide range of algorithms to choose from, AES, Blowfish, ARC2, CAST, 3DES or RSA using your own public encryption key, text compression with Zlib or Bz2 can be performed before encryption.

Scramble-Egg has a portable version to take it with you in a USB thumbdrive, needing 20MB of space, the software doesn’t need any administrator rights or special plug ins to run, it is an ideal portable encryption tool, the resulting encrypted text can be saved as XML, Json, UU or a .png image, a “No tags” option can be turned on and off depending on if you want the receiving end to know algorithm combination has been used leaving an attacker intercepting the encrypted message wondering what kind of file it is as it doesn’t have any identifying sign giving away what tool has been used for encryption, in order for someone to decrypt the message, besides the password, they will also need to know the cipher combination, if you eliminate tags you will have to inform the receiver about the used combination.

You can copy the ciphered text and send it by email, paste in a document or post it to a Usenet group, encryption is performed in real time slowing down your computer as you type with the CPU load spiking implementing the encryption algorithm, as soon as you add a character or change some setting you will see the resulting ciphered text straight away on the second pane.

Scrambled-Egg text encryption software

Scrambled Egg text encryption software

For covert communications you could easily embed a small encrypted text message in a webpage HTML code and in the event that anyone looked at the source code, which few people do, they would not be able to work out what the message says or what has been used to cipher it, the advantage of embedding an encrypted message on a website as opposed to sending it is that if the website has lots of traffic, it becomes impossible to know who received/read it.

The help file is very basic and it could be improved, Scrambled Egg is easy to use but it appears to assume that people using it already understand what each one of the compression and encryption algorithms mean as the instructions do not explain anything about them, I would recommend you use AES for encryption as it is a standard algorithm widely reviewed by cryptographers and regularly tested for weaknesses. My favourite feature is that Scrambled Egg works in Windows, Linux and Mac, this makes it easy for your friends to use this encryption tool regardless of their operating system.

Visit Scrambled Egg homepage

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Easy to use file encryption software Lazar Crypter

/ 23 August, 2011 / Encryption Software / Permalink

Windows file encryption

This small free open source software will encrypt single files using using Windows context menu, it uses AES256bit algorithm for encryption and it is very easy to use. You only need to select a file, or multiple files, right click and select “Encryt” or “Decrypt” from the context menu, you can also decrypt a file by double clicking on it.

Lazar Crypter Windows file encryption

Lazar Crypter Windows file encryption

Lazar Crypter will save encrypted files with its own file extension, .icr, encryption of multiple files at once is possible, but no multiple file decryption, this could be because each single file should have its own unique password. This program is lightweight on resources, only 400Kb in size, there is no helpfile and you don’t need one, encryption can not get any easier than this, if you know how to copy and paste a file then you know how to encrypt and decrypt.

Lazar Crypter could come in handy to email an encrypted file to someone who also has the program but it is not very useful to store encrypted files in your hard disk because temporary and original data is not wiped, you will need a data wiper if you are going to use this program to guard stored files in your hard disk from unwanted eyes.

Visit Lazar Crypter homepage

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Top 5 programs for full disk encryption

/ 15 June, 2011 / Encryption Software / Permalink

Why use full disk encryption

If you encrypt your whole hard drive including your operating system you will not have to worry about wiping data, clearing the Internet browser cache, deleting temporary files and encrypting individual files, all you will have to worry about is choosing a strong passphrase that can not be broken using a brute force attack (trying dictionary words).

The only way to access a fully encrypted operating system is by getting access to the computer while it is switched on (decrytped), you will save lots of time if you decide to encrypt your full operating system, it is not difficult and there is free software for that. Windows Vista and 7 come with BitLocker Drive Encryption for full disk encryption but only the more expensive business high end editions do and it has been designed for businesses with few home user features.

Full disk encryption software without backdoor

Truecrypt (Free): It’s wizard driven menu will guide you through the whole encryption process, there are many algorithm choices, if you do not understand what they mean leave all of the default choices on, they are secure enough for everyone. Truecrypt can encrypt external devices, create virtual encrypted drives and create a hidden encrypted operating system, to be used if you are forced to give up the password.

You will find it easy to find support for Truecrypt at computer security forums and Usenet groups as it is one of the most used full disk encryption programs.

Truecrypt encryption algorithm

Truecrypt encryption algorithm

DiskCryptor (Free): Open source encryption software, it can encrypt partitions that have already data on them, it supports AES, Twofish and Serpent encryption algorithms, allows you to encrypt USB flash drives and external hard disks with automatic mounting, support for key files, option to place the boot loader on an external device.

DiskCryptor full disk encryption

DiskCryptor full disk encryption

ZoneAlarm Datalock (Under $50):  There is no backdoor in this encryption software but it is possible for ZoneAlarm to reset your password if you choose to upload a security file to their site during installation, you can opt out to make sure they can never be forced to give it out to anyone. Datalock uses 256-bit AES and it supports Trusted Module Platform hardware encryption, when a computer has a TMP chip the encryption keys and digital certificates can be stored within it for protection from external attacks.

ZoneAlarm Datalock encryption

ZoneAlarm Datalock encryption

DriveCrypt Plus Pack: (Over $100): Whole operating system encryption with AES256-bit, no backdoor, it can hide an undetectable operating system in the hard drive free space, this is useful if someone forces you give up your password, they would not be able to prove a second operating system exists, it can be used in conjunction with USB tokens for preboot authentication, login preboot screen can be changed, you can create your own.

DriveCrypt Plus Pack encryption

DriveCrypt Plus Pack encryption

SecureDoc WinMagic (Over $100): Encryption of laptops, USB devices and desktop computers using AES 256 bit, certified FIPS 140-2 Level 2, it supports multifactor authentication at preboot level, no backdoor but password recovery is possible if you set it up, available in various languages, extended audit logging make SecureDoc a good option for businesses.

SecureDoc WinMagic full disk encryption

SecureDoc WinMagic full disk encryption

Full disk encryption performance

I have been using full disk encryption for over 5 years, I have used DiskCryptor, Truecrypt and DriveCrypt Plus Pack, in all cases there has been no computer slowdown while I was using full disk encryption, even using it on a low performance netbook with an Intel Atom CPU showed no noticeable performance issue.

If you are a home user you do not need to worry about full disk encryption slowing down your computer activities, the software normally needs very low resources to run on.

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Digital certificate email encrytion with Comodo SecureEmail

/ 12 June, 2011 / Encryption Software / Permalink

Email encryption with digital certificate

Sending email via Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail it is like sending a postcard, anyone who comes across it can read its contents, that includes your ISP and your email provider, Gmail even scans your email contents to introduce what they call relevant publicity, encrypting email messages is the only way to make sure that no third party can eavesdrop on your communications.

There are a few specialist webmail providers that use encryption end to end but you are trusting them with your encryption keys, in security you must trust as few people as it is possible, the more people has access to your private encryption keys the easier a data leakage will be.

Comodo SecureEmail works locally in your computer to send, receive and store encrypted emails, including attachments, it is easy to use and deploy, and free, you can digitally sign emails to confirming the sender’s identity, a digital signature is even harder to fake than a real life pen and paper signature. The software is compatible with Windows Live Mail, Thunderbird, Eudora and other IMAP and SMTP email clients. Comodo SecureEmail comes with a wizard to easily import a Comodo email certificate for encryption and digital signing, or just choose to import someone’s public encryption key instead.

Comodo SecureEmail encryption software

Comodo SecureEmail encryption software

If the receiver of the emails does not use Comodo SecureEmail he can still read the encrypted messages using a web based reader, the messages will be encrypted using a single use session digital certificate.

Comodo SecureEmail main features

  • Easy to use for newbies with automatic encryption and decryption of emails
  • It supports most email clients even if they haven’t got built-in encryption
  • Wizard to install the necessary digital certificates to encrypt and digital sign messages
  • Web reader service to decrypt messages encrypted using a single use digital certificate (aka session certificate)

This email encryption software is light in resources, a small 6.5MB download and it is very flexible, you will not have to swap email software, once the digital certificates have been installed the whole encryption process is automated without having to exchange public encryption keys, encrypting emails using a digital certificate is as secure as using PGP keys to secure messages and easier to use for newbies.

Visit Comodo SecureEmail homepage

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AES encryption algorithm security explained

/ 18 May, 2011 / Encryption Software / Permalink

AES encryption explained

The Advanced Encryption Standard, aka AES, was selected by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) after a 5 year process in search of an encryption algorithm capable of protecting sensitive government information well into the next century and to replace the obsolete and ageing Data Encryption Standard (DES) used until then.

The AES cipher is now the standard symmetric-key encryption algorithm for the US Government, this encryption cipher was not only chosen for it’s security, AES arithmetic is based on XOR operations and bit shifts making it fast.

AES is sometimes referred to as Rijndael, a wordplay based on the names of the two Belgian cryptographers who invented AES, Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen, strictly speaking Rijndael it is not the same because AES has a fixed block size of 128 bits and a key size of 128, 192, or 256 bits and Rijndael can be specified with key and block sizes in any multiple of 32 bits, with a minimum of 128 bits and a maximum of 256 bits.

Encrypted data

Encrypted data

The AES cipher has been approved by the NSA for encryption of TOP SECRET information but just using AES is not enough to make sure nobody can crack it, the implemention of the algorithm is important too, that is why the US Government announced that “The implementation of AES in products intended to protect national security systems and/or information must be reviewed and certified by NSA prior to their acquisition and use“.

Encryption algorithm used by the US Government

The US Government established that information classified as SECRET could be safeguarded using AES with key lengths of 128, 192 and 256 bits while TOP SECRET data must use AES with 192 or 256 bits key length, AES offers a sufficiently large number of possible key combinations to make a brute force attack – trying every possible key-  impractical for many decades.

Technological advances, roughly, double the speed of computing processors every year, in a scenario where encryption software using the AES cipher has been correctly implemented, if the attacker were to be someone owning state sponsored resources, i.e. a large network of supercomputers, in theory, cracking AES encrypted data might be possible in around approximately 50 years at the earliest.

Technical reading: NIST Computer Security Division

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File compression and encryption software BCArchive

/ 17 May, 2011 / Encryption Software / Permalink

WinZip and WinRar free alternative

When you compress files you will be saving computer hard disk space, bandwidth and speeding up data transfers, file compression is useful to get around email maximum file attachments size too. Commendable file compression tools will allow for password protecting of compressed files, the most popular file compression software, WinZip and WinRar both have sound uncrackable file encryption protection, but they are not free, they show you a nagging screen asking you to buy the software.

BCArchive is %100 free from day one and its encryption features beat WinZip and WinRar hands down, this file compression and encryption tool is multilingual, available in Arabic, Chinese, German, Farsi, Russian, Spanish and Turkish, it creates its own .bca compressed encrypted file or a self extracting .exe for people without BCArchive installed to be able to decrypt it.

BCArchive encryption key manager

BCArchive encryption key manager

BCArchive integrates nicely with Windows shell right click, encryption and compression of a file can be done using two mouse clicks, if you use a password that is too short the software will not allow you to encrypt the file forcing you to use a better passphrase, when using symmetric encryption you can choose what encryption algorithm to use, some of the available ones are IDEA, Blowfish 448, AES Rijndael, Serpent, Gost, Cast5 and 3DES, you can choose the hashing algorithm as well SHA1, SHA256, RIPEMD160 or MD5. BCArchive symetric encryption ciphers are all well known in the cryptography community and considered sound, the best is to stick to the defaults if you don’t know which one to use.

It is possible to use asymmetric encryption with public and private secret encryption keys, you can create standard PKCS #12, X.509 public encryption keys within BCArchive key manager or import your own PGP keys created elsewhere, BC Keymanager allows you to import your PGP encryption keys directly from the Internet connecting to a PGP public key server.

To encrypt files use the interface or drag and drop files inside the BCArchive window,  you can compress and encrypted files of up to 2 Terabytes in size. When you view files these are extrated to a temporary folder and securely wiped when the archive is closed, for those who are geeky, BCArchive can be run from the command line.

BCArchive main features

  • Self-extracting of encrypted files
  • Drag and drop of files and Windows shell integration
  • PGP compatible asymmetric public/private encryption keys, RSA, ElGamal / Diffie-Hellman
  • Symmetric encryption ciphers, AES, Blowfish-448, IDEA, CAST5, GOST 28147-89 and 3DES
  • Secure hashing algorithms SHA-256, SHA-1, MD5 and RIPEMD-160
  • Data securely wiped from temporary folder after viewing


Visit BCArchive homepage

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