Best free encryption tools
Random password generator
This site will generate 64 character cryptographic strength passwords for you. If you don't need a password this long just take as many characters as you need, such as the first 10. Thanks to subscriber Todd Johnson for the link.
https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm
Encrypted USB drive works on limited rights PCs
If you carry around sensitive information on your USB flash drive then you had better make sure that your data is securely encrypted because one day you are going to lose your drive, that's for certain.
Unfortunately, most data encryption programs don't work well on USB drives because they require administrator rights on the host PC in order to work, and this is not commonly the case. Indeed, if you work with sensitive data then almost certainly any PC you use, apart from your own, will not give you admin rights.
The IronKey is a physically toughened USB drive that uses hardware encryption to protect your data, yet allows you to use the drive on any PC, even one without admin rights.
This flash drive in no toy. It has been designed from scratch with security in mind and has passed an impressive range of certification tests. The drive has a strong metal case and a fully epoxy filled interior that is tamperproof. Key storage areas are according to the vendor "protected with thin-film metal shielding. The chip itself defends against power attacks and other invasive attacks such as using an electron microscope to scan the onboard memory." It even has a self-destruct feature!
It also comes with Firefox set up with a speed accelerated version of the Tor anonymizing network.
This thing isn't cheap - a 4GB version costs $149, but if you have data that you simply must protect, it's a good investment. And to put things in perspective, that's the price you would have paid a year ago for an unprotected, plastic drive. Thanks to subscriber John Bingham for letting me know about this product.
http://www.ironkey.comThe best free folder hiding utility
The program I have been recommending for some time as the best in this category is Free Hide Folder [1] but subscriber Alexander Powell has come up with something better. That program is called My Lockbox, and it overcomes one of the main weaknesses in Free Hide Folder, namely that the contents of hidden folders may be still accessible to Windows Search and other programs. In other words, the folder is hidden but the contents are not.
The feature list on the My Lockbox website is impressive:
- Almost any folder on your computer can be password protected
- Instant protection - no file scrambling or moving to another place
- Lockbox folder is inaccessible even by the system administrators
- Lockbox folder is inaccessible both locally and remotely.
- Lockbox folder can be protected in Windows safe mode
- Windows XP x64 support
- Hotkeys support - you can popup Control Panel with a simple keystroke.
- Skinned user interface
I tried it on a test machine and it performed as advertised. I would, however, suggest that you read the Quick-start Guide on the website and be careful setting up this program, otherwise you might find yourself in deep trouble.
Another note of caution: don't protect important Windows folders such as "My Documents", otherwise you will really cause problems. Just password protect folders you have created that are located outside of standard Windows folders.
If you set up this program carefully and follow my advice on the folders you protect, you will be rewarded with an outstanding product. Freeware, Windows 2000->Vista, 1.26MB
http://www.fspro.net/folder-lock-box/Free utility hides folders
I'm not sure why subscribers keep asking me for a free program that will hide Windows folders. Maybe it's because most of the utilities on the market are expensive commercial products. Maybe it's because my readers have a lot to hide :>)
I suspect the real reason is simplicity and convenience. Folder hiding is a concept that's easily understood and it's a really straight forward way of keeping your private information away from casually prying eyes.
I only know of one free utility that does the job: Free Hide Folder [1].
Usage is simple, you just nominate the folders you want to hide and they immediately disappear from view. Un-hiding requires the use of a password.
Like most folder-hiding utilities the level of secrecy is minimal. That's because your information is hidden but not encrypted. Indeed I had no problem locating a file in a hidden folder by using Windows search. Then again you have to know what you are searching for.
I should also note that every time I used the program it nagged me for a donation. That's OK we all have to eat but it's still an annoyance.
In summary Free Hide Folder is a convenient and useful way of providing simple privacy protection. Don't depend on it though to hide anything of real importance. If you want real security consider using the free open source program TrueCrypt [3] instead. It creates a virtual disk in which you can store your confidential data as opposed to a folder. It's not quite as convenient to use but unlike "folder hiding" programs, it is totally secure.
[1] http://www.cleanersoft.com/hidefolder/free_hide_folder.htm
[2] http://techsupportalert.com/issues/issue137.htm#Section_5.1
[3] http://www.truecrypt.org/
Free utility allows voice based logon
Here's something a bit different; a free utility that allows you to logon to Windows, encrypt and decrypt files, access password protected files and more, by simply using your voice. The product, WinDentify, is actually a full fledged commercial biometric identification program that handles voice, face and fingerprint recognition, but the free lite version handles voice only and with a lesser level of security than the full version. I don't have a decent mike at the moment so I haven't tried it but it sounds like a real neat way to logon to Windows. Thanks to regular contributor JW for letting me know about this. Free beta, Windows 2000 and later, 8.8MB
http://www.research-lab.com/speech/windentify/windentify.htm
http://www.research-lab.com/winsvs01read.htm <=download
Free utility improves your Wi-Fi security
Public Wi-Fi networks are notoriously insecure; so insecure that I wont use them. The classic way to improve your Wi-Fi security is to set up a virtual private network (VPN) connection but this isn't easy to do. A new and simpler alternative is to use TorPark, a pre-configured version of the anonymizing program Tor, combined with the Firefox browser, that's setup for operation from a USB Flash drive. I tried it out on my laptop and found it surprisingly easy to use though, as with all anonymizing services, my browsing speed through the network of chained Tor servers was slowed considerably. Another restriction is that TorPark won't currently help with your email security. That apparently is planned for an upcoming version. Overall, it's a very useful free security product that is well worth trying. A warning: please don't use a TorPark Flash drive at Internet Cafes or public terminals with the expectation that it will protect you from hardware keyloggers. It won't, simple as that. Freeware, Windows 95 and later, 8MB
http://www.freehaven.net/%7Earrakis/torpark.html
VPN the easy way
Hamachi [1] is a free Virtual Private Network system that's getting a lot of attention because it's relatively easy to set up. It's even easier if you use this guide [2].
[1] http://www.hamachi.cc/
[2] http://www.itsatechworld.com/2006/01/17/hamachi-vpn-solution/