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Disk Password Protection 5.5: boot protection with any welcome message
Tue, 13 Feb 2018 16:00:00 -0500

The latest version of Disk Password Protection 5.5 allows you to change the welcome message for the boot protection system.

The welcome text can be changed when you install the boot protection.

Exlade Disk Password Protection

Press the “Edit welcome message” button to open a window where you can edit the welcome message.

Exlade Disk Password Protection


Download the latest version of Disk Password Protection from:
www.exlade.com/en/disk-password-protection/download/

Complete list of changes in Disk Password Protection 5.5 is available at:
www.exlade.com/en/disk-password-protection/whatsnew/5.5/

The built-in data encryption vulnerabilities of hard drives
Sat, 31 Oct 2015 17:00:00 -0400

Is hardware disk encryption sufficiently reliable? Is it true that in the case of the theft of an encrypted disk it is impossible to access information on the media? Let’s try to understand the question.

In September 2015, colleagues Gunnar Alendal (Norway) and Christian Kisoni (Germany) published the results of their study entitled “Do you use hardware encryption? On the (in)security of hard drives with hardware encryption”. During the course of the study the authors bought several hard drives that utilized hardware-based encryption, and on the basis of their research results they concluded that hardware encoding was generally unreliable regardless of the drive’s manufacturer. And here’s why.

In some models of drives with hardware-based encryption, data can be access without even a password (since the password protection option is disabled by default). The use of such a default preference calls into question the feasibility of hardware-based encryption: the data are encrypted, but they can be read from the disk by anyone without any difficulties.

If the password protection option is activated, the researchers found that the password is encrypted or stored in the memory of the disk controller or in one of its hidden sectors. This would be OK, but an attacker can still retrieve the password from either of these storage locations and decrypt it using a series of technically trivial steps that require only standard software search tools.

Drive controllers with hardware encryption deserve special attention. The test drives came with several types of controllers, and some of them turned out to be potentially vulnerable to hacking. The researchers were able to obtain the encrypted password from one type of controller just by placing it into firmware update mode. Another type of controller used encryption keys with 32-bit instead of the advertised 256-bit encryption (it is a trivial matter to crack a 32-bit key). In another type of controller the encryption key is stored in plain text, making it possible to access information without a password at all.

The study also published information about other hardware disk encryption vulnerabilities, but it is possible to make one obvious conclusion from the above findings: buying disks with built-in hardware encryption alone cannot guarantee you the absolute safety of your data, and you should also seek additional software protection. Such protection does exist. Due to its status as software, it is at least as good, and often much more efficient and more reliable, than hardware protection.

Software encryption does not store passwords directly on the hard drive. It allows you to encrypt only that information on the disk that requires encryption (and not simply everything), and it allows you to encrypt both physical disks and virtual ones, that is, it completely eliminates the need for a hard drive with hardware protection. Our company sells a product that provides software file protection software: the advanced professional encryption software Cryptic Disk.

You can download and install a fully functional version of Cryptic Disk absolutely free for up to 30 days. The program allows you to protect not only local user files, but also files that are in cloud storage, such as on Dropbox.

In conclusion, we can say that if the valuable information you store on your hard drive consists only of prom photos, then the built-in hardware encryption will be more than enough. But if we are talking about the safety of really valuable information, the loss of which could lead to irreparable consequences or damage, then think about to whom you should entrust your data protection: the manufacturers of hard drives or software vendors.

Cryptic Disk 5.1: Support of the Notification Center in Windows 8/10 and Multiple Bugfixes
Thu, 15 Oct 2015 17:00:00 -0400

Our new Exlade Cryptic Disk 5.1 features lots of bugfixes and improvements.

Automatic unmounting upon user session lock

Though many users lock the current working sessions by pressing Win + L when they are away from their PCs, the encrypted data can still remain vulnerable if they forget to disable access to it. The new Cryptic Disk 5.1 supports automatic unmounting of encrypted containers and disks once the user locks the current session. This automatic unmounting works perfect even for locked RDP (remote) sessions. By default, the option is inactive, but you can always turn it on in the program settings.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

Support of the Notification Center in Windows 8/10

Windows 8 is the first Windows-family operating system featuring the built-in Notification Center which is intended to replace the old-style program notifications in the system tray. In Windows 10, these old-style notifications are disabled by default. The new version of Cryptic Disk uses the Notification Center in Windows 8 and Windows 10 to notify users about mounting and unmounting of encrypted disks. However, the old-style notifications are still supported for backward compatibility with Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

The appearance of Cryptic Disk notifications can be set in the program settings.

Support of the exFAT file system

The new version supports the exFAT (Extended FAT) file system in addition to FAT and NTFS when creating a new encrypted container or encrypting the existing physical drive. The exFAT file system is optimized for use with removable media and better suits the encrypted containers and disks thanks to significantly improved capabilities and raised limits in comparison with the legacy FAT system.

Exlade Cryptic Disk


Download the latest version of Cryptic Disk from:
www.exlade.com/en/cryptic-disk/download/

Complete list of changes in Cryptic Disk 5.1 is available at:
www.exlade.com/en/cryptic-disk/whatsnew/5.1/

Disk Password Protection 5.1: hidden boot protection
Thu, 04 Jun 2015 17:00:00 -0400

The main innovation in the Disk Password Protection 5.1 is Hidden mode of operating system boot protection. No password prompt is displayed and the computer appears frozen, the computer will only start Windows (or any other operating system) after the correct password is entered and the Enter key is pressed.

Exlade Disk Password Protection
Password prompt after an ordinary boot protection enabling
Exlade Disk Password Protection
Password prompt when "Hidden protection" is enabled

It is easy to enable Hidden boot protection mode. Just activate the corresponding option upon boot protection enabling.

Exlade Disk Password Protection


Download the latest version of Disk Password Protection from:
www.exlade.com/en/disk-password-protection/download/

Complete list of changes in Disk Password Protection 5.1 is available at:
www.exlade.com/en/disk-password-protection/whatsnew/5.1/

Cryptic Disk 5.0: increased protection security and improved support of TrueCrypt
Wed, 03 Jun 2015 17:00:00 -0400

We’re happy to inform you about a new release of Exlade Cryptic Disk 5.0. We have increased the level of security protection by adding the support of hardware security tokens and smart cards. The support of TrueCrypt keyfiles was also added as well as the user interface was adapted to help people with disabilities more enjoy the power and simplicity of Cryptic Disk.

Support of hardware security tokens and smart cards

Cryptic Disk 5.0 is able to save and use keyfiles on hardware security tokens and smart cards. Such devices are protected with a PIN code while keyfiles are protected from loss, stealing or unauthorized copying.

If you already have such device with keyfiles, select menu item “Add Token Keyfile…” when mounting as it’s displayed on the picture:

Exlade Cryptic Disk

Cryptic Disk will ask for a PIN code to the device and let you choose keyfiles that are to be used when mounting.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

If you entered the PIN code correctly Cryptic Disk will not ask it again as the session with the token will be cached. This behaviour can be changed in the app preferences “Mount Options - Close token session (log out) after a volume is successfully mounted”. One is also able to close all sessions manually via menu “Tools - Close All Security Token Sessions”.

Managing security token keyfiles

Cryptic Disk keyfiles manager lets you control keyfiles on a security token or a smard card. It can be accessed via menu “Tools - Manage Security Token Keyfiles…“.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

The described way of using security tokens and smart cards (and ususal keyfiles) is also applicable to the TrueCrypt container format. Cryptic Disk automatically detects TrueCrypt format, thus no additional actions from a user are required.

Keyfiles generator

Cryptic Disk now contains Keyfiles Generator that can be opened with “Tools - Keyfile Generator” menu. One should move his mouse cursor chaotically to provide the necessary level of randomness for a keyfile contents.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

Cryptic Disk generates keyfiles of 64 Kb size. It’s not possible to brute force a key of such length (524288 bit). Generated keyfiles are much more secure than passwords or ordinary files.


Download the latest version of Cryptic Disk from:
www.exlade.com/en/cryptic-disk/download/

Complete list of changes in Cryptic Disk 5.0 is available at:
www.exlade.com/en/cryptic-disk/whatsnew/5.0/

How to Encrypt a Dropbox folder
Tue, 26 May 2015 17:00:00 -0400

All the Dropbox files are stored open on the computer. Any person can access them. If you have some important documents, photos or other files and you want to limit other persons access to them, you can encrypt all this data.

Here are some ideas on how to store the Dropbox folder on an encrypted virtual volume. It means that the whole Dropbox folder will be stored on the computer encrypted and the password will be required to access it.

If there is no encrypted volume or container it is very easy to create one with the help Cryptic Disk. Just go through the instructions:
How to Create an Encrypted Container
How to Encrypt a Volume

For free accounts Dropbox provides a 2Gb storage space. It means we will need a 2Gb encrypted container. If you have a paid Dropbox account the encrypted volume has to be the same size as the Dropbox account. If you store not much information at Dropbox you can adjust the container size accordingly.

Now there is an encrypted volume (or container). First you need to mount it and move the Dropbox folder there. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

1. Enter the password and mount the encrypted container to any free letter.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

Please remember the letter since Dropbox will be set to store its folder on the volume only with this letter. Select, for example, the letter “P:”.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

After mounting the system will display an encrypted virtual volume under the letter “P:”.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

2. Move the Dropbox folder to the “P:” volume using Dropbox utilities. To do that open the Dropbox settings window. Click the Dropbox icon in the system tray to open the menu and click the gear icon there and select “Parameters…” menu option.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

In the Dropbox settings window go to the “Advanced” tab and click “Move…” button at the Dropbox folder path field. The “Folder List” window is opened. Select the mounted encrypted volume under letter “P:” and click the “OK” button.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

The Dropbox application will ask for confirmation. Click the “OK” button here.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

Dropbox will start moving all the files from the previous location to the encrypted volume. The time needed for the operation is directly dependent of the volume of the files to move.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

3. In the Dropbox settings window go to the “General” tab and untick “Launch Dropbox application upon system start-up” and click “OK” button (you will not need Dropbox settings anymore) to disable this option. You will later configure Dropbox for automated launch upon mounting of the encrypted volume.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

4. Open the encrypted volume settings window. To do that select the mounted encrypted volume with the moved Dropbox folder in the Cryptic Disk main window and open the settings window (the software will ask for the password. Enter the same password as for mounting the volume).

Exlade Cryptic Disk

5. In order to save the effort of constant selection of the “P:” letter for the volume configure the “Save the mounting settings for the volume” option in the container properties and select the “P:” letter there. Now the software will always mount the container to the “P:” letter. Also it is highly recommended to enable the “Mount as removable volume” option.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

Here also you can set hotkeys for mounting/unmounting of the encrypted container.

6. You can set Dropbox to be automatically launched when the encrypted volume is mounted. To do that go to the “Actions” tab in the encrypted container settings window and select the “After Mounting” subtab and click the “Add” button. Select the “Run programm…” option in the drop-down menu.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

You should specify the path to the Dropbox executable file. This file is located in the current user folder but it also can be in the “C:\Program Files\Dropbox” folder. See an example of the file path in the screenshot below. To check the set parameters you can close Dropbox at this stage and then click the “Run” button in this window and see Dropbox being successfully launched.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

Check the file path. Click the “OK” button and the window is closed.

The encrypted volume settings are configured. Click the “OK” button in the settings window.

The Dropbox folder with its files is now secured and protected as it is stored on the encrypted volume. When the system starts Dropbox will not be launched and the encrypted volume will be unmounted. To start working with the Dropbox data you need only to enter the password and mount the encrypted volume. Then the Dropbox folder will be accessible and Dropbox will be launched automatically upon mounting. To block access to the Dropbox files just unmount the encrypted volume. It is highly recommended to close Dropbox or configure its automatic close in the encrypted volume properties menu.

Dropbox is encrypted. Enjoy!

How to Encrypt a Skype Profile
Mon, 25 May 2015 17:00:00 -0400

Skype stores openly all the history of your conversation on your computer. It is quite easy to steal the history files and with the help of some special software one can view all the history without your Skype password.

It is not always convenient to stop saving Skype histories as sometimes you might need to search for some important information there. Besides even if you stop saving Skype history the program will still write all the messages to its database and will delete them only upon quitting. And the events history (who and when you talked to) is never deleted from the database.

Here are some ideas on how to protect a Skype profile (including all the histories) by encrypting the profile, i.e. storing profile files on the encrypted volume or in the encrypted container.

If there is no encrypted volume or container it is very easy to create one with the help Cryptic Disk. Just go through the instructions:
How to Create an Encrypted Container
How to Encrypt a Volume

If you are using a portable Skype version check the section:
How to Encrypt PortableApps

This section tells how to move a Skype profile to an encrypted volume and all the options that “teach” Skype to work with the encrypted profile.

So there is an encrypted volume (or container).

1. First disable the automatic start up for Skype upon system start-up (later you will set Skype to launch automatically upon mounting the encrypted volume). Go to the main menu “Tools” -> “Options” for Skype settings configuration window. Untick “Start Skype when I start Windows” in the “General settings” tab.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

2. Enter the password and mount the encrypted volume to any free letter. Please remember the letter to always mount the volume to it since the Skype profile will be set to work with this volume letter (later you will set the encrypted volume to mount to this letter automatically). For example, select the “M:” letter.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

3. Quit Skype (right-click on the Skype icon in the system tray and choose “Quit Skype” in the menu).

4. Find the Skype profile folder. By default it is stored in the current user folder and is called “Skype”, e.g. “C:\Users\p.smitt\AppData\Roaming\Skype” (specify your profile name in “p.smitt”). Move the folder to the mounted encrypted volume (to move it use Cut command in the explorer window and Paste command in the mounted encrypted volume).

Now the Skype profile folder is on the encrypted volume and secured and protected by the state-of-art cryptographic algorithms.

5. Now you set a path to the Skype profile on the encrypted volume. The thing is that upon next launch Skype will not find the profile folder in its place (where you’ve moved it out) and will close. To resolve this you have to create a symbolic link where the Skype profile folder was stored so that the symbolic link will refer to the encrypted volume.

To create a symbolic link you need the command line. Press “Win+R” keys and enter “cmd” in the opened window. To create a link in the command line, enter a specific command of the following format:

mklink /D "C:\Users\p.smitt\AppData\Roaming\Skype" "M:\Skype"
mklink - a command for creating a symbolic link
         (/D parameter identifies the folder link creation);
"C:\Users\p.smitt\AppData\Roaming\Skype" - 
         is an absolute path to the original Skype profile folder,
         which we moved in step 4.
"M:\Skype" -
         is an absolute path to the new place
         where Skype profile folder is stored.

Press “Enter” key and check that the symbolic link is successfully created.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

mklink command is available in Windows 7 and higher. If your operating system is older you need to download and install some software for creating symbolic links (i.e. Junction by Mark Russinovich).

Now your Skype profile is secured and protected as it is stored on the encrypted volume and accessible only when the encrypted volume is mounted (connected to the system). If you launch Skype but do not mount the encrypted volume then Skype won’t be able to access your profile.

For more convenient work you need to configure some advanced settings.

6. Open the encrypted volume properties (in the context menu of the encrypted volume, Cryptic Disk main window).

Exlade Cryptic Disk

7. In order to save the effort of constant selection of the “M:” letter for the volume configure the “Save the mounting settings for the volume” option in the container properties and select the “M:” letter there. Now the software will always mount the container to the “M:” letter. Also it is highly recommended to enable the “Mount as removable volume” option.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

Here also you can configure hotkeys for mounting/unmounting of the encrypted container.

8. You can set Skype to be automatically launched when the encrypted volume is mounted. To do that go to the “Actions” tab in the encrypted container settings window and select the “After Mounting” subtab and click the “Add” button. Select the “Run programm…” option in the drop-down menu.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

You should specify the path to the Skype executable file in the window.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

In 64bit operating systems Skype is stored at “C:\Program Files (x86)”, in 32bit ones at “C:\Program Files”.

Click the “OK” button in the launch settings window.

9. It is highly recommended to close Skype and quit it before unmounting the encrypted volume i.e. before stopping access to the encrypted Skype profile. Cryptic Disk enables you to set Skype to automatically quit before unmounting the encrypted volume. To do that go to the “Actions” tab in the encrypted container settings window and select the “After Mounting” subtab and click the “Add” button. Select the “Run programm…” option in the drop-down menu.

You should specify the path to the Skype executable file in the window with the “/shutdown” parameter. You can also enable the “Wait for completion” option so that the software will wait for Skype to shutdown and only then proceed to unmounting.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

Note that the path to the executable file has to be with “ (quotation mark) since it has spaces.

Now your profile and its whole history and contact lists are secured and encrypted. To start Skype just enter the password and mount the encrypted volume. The encrypted Skype profile will connect to the system and the Skype application itself will start. To close Skype (or block access to the profile) just unmount the encrypted disk and Skype will quit automatically. Upon system shutdown (even an incorrect one) all the encrypted volumes will be automatically unmounted.

Enjoy your safe communication over Skype!

How to Encrypt PortableApps
Sun, 24 May 2015 17:00:00 -0400

The section tells how to encrypt all your portable software (and their data) that are controlled by PortableApps. It is very easy to encrypt them. You should only place the PortableApps folder with the portable software on the encrypted volume (or in the container).

If there is no encrypted volume or container it is very easy to create one with the help Cryptic Disk. Just go through the instructions:
How to Create an Encrypted Container
How to Encrypt a Volume

1. Mount the encrypted volume to any free letter.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

Exlade Cryptic Disk

2. Find the PortableApps folder in the Explorer and move it to the mounted encrypted volume (to move it use the “Cut” command in the Explorer window and the “Paste” command in the mounted encrypted volume window).

Now the whole PortableApps folder with all its contents (portable software) is safely encrypted. To access the portable software, enter the password and mount the encrypted volume. To block the access just, unmount the encrypted volume. Upon system shutdown all the encrypted volumes are automatically unmounted.

3. Set the PortableApps software to automatically run when the encrypted volume is mounted. To set it, open the encrypted volume (or container) properties window (in the Cryptic Disk context menu).

Go to the “Actions” tab, select the “After Mounting” subtab and click the Add button. Select the “Run programm…” option in the drop-down menu.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

You should specify the path to the executable file of the PortableApps software in the window. Click the “…” button and select the Start.exe file in the PortableApps folder on the mounted encrypted volume.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

The software will automatically change the volume letter to %CRDISK_MOUNT% macro. This macros means that the software is launched from the encrypted volume, no matter which letter or folder the encrypted volume is mounted to.

Click the “OK” button in the software settings window and properties settings of the encrypted volume window.

All the portable software, its data and the PortableApps application itself are encrypted. To access it just enter the password and mount the encrypted volume. So the PortableApps software will be launched automatically. To block access just unmount the encrypted volume.

It is highly recommended to close it including the PortableApps application before unmounting the encrypted volume with the portable software, otherwise it may perform incorrectly. Also you can set up an automatic shutdown of all the applications upon umounting the encrypted volume (in the Encrypted Volume Properties window).

How to Create a Hidden Encrypted Volume
Sat, 23 May 2015 17:00:00 -0400

You have created and encrypted a volume or container and want to create a hidden encrypted volume within it. You should remember that it is impossible to prove that such a volume exists.

If there is no encrypted volume or container it is very easy to create one with the help Cryptic Disk. Just go through the instructions:
How to Create an Encrypted Container
How to Encrypt a Volume

Now there is an encrypted volume (or a container). It has to be unmounted before turning it into a hidden encrypted volume.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

Choose the encrypted volume (or container. Note: further the guide will deal with the volume) in the main window. Start the hidden encrypted volume creation wizard.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

In the first step specify the access parameters (a password and/or key files) for the encrypted volume inside which the wizard will create a hidden encrypted volume.

The software will analyze the file system of the encrypted volume and spot the unused volume sections (not used by files), then calculate their maximum volume (total size of the free sections) of the hidden encrypted volume.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

You can decrease the size of the hidden encrypted volume to be created. But let’s leave the proposed volume as is and proceed.

All the rest of the wizard steps are the same as for the encrypted container or physical volumes creation wizards. You can check the guide for them at How to Create an Encrypted Volume.

The hidden encrypted volume is successfully created!

Exlade Cryptic Disk

It is very easy to work with the hidden encrypted volumes. After mounting you can work with it as with an ordinary volume.

To mount a hidden encrypted volume, enter the password that you specified when creating it.

To mount an encrypted volume (or a container) inside which there is a hidden encrypted volume enter the password that was used for this “external” (unhidden) encrypted volume (or a container). It means that you enter one password and one encrypted volume is mounted or you enter the other password and the other encrypted volume is mounted. So it depends on the entered password which encrypted volume is a hidden one. Sometimes it is quite convenient.

When working with the mounted encrypted volumes inside which there are hidden encrypted volumes you should take up some precautions. The thing is that the software is not aware of any hidden encrypted volumes (that is the essence of hiding them encrypted so that it is not possible to prove their existence). So the software is not aware what sections of the mounted encrypted volume contain a hidden encrypted volume. When writing files to this volume they can overwrite these sections and damage the hidden encrypted volume.

To protect the hidden encrypted volume against any damage go to the advanced options (the “More…” button in the mounting window) and enable the “Protect nested hidden volumes from damage when writing to mounted volumes” option when mounting an “external” encrypted volume (with the nested hidden one).

Exlade Cryptic Disk

Enter the password to the hidden encrypted volume. In this case the software will detect all the taken sections of the hidden encrypted volume and block all the attempts to write in them. It means that the hidden encrypted volume in this case will remain intact.

How to Encrypt a Volume
Fri, 22 May 2015 17:00:00 -0400

All the files on the encrypted volumes are protected against unauthorized access in any type of situation - loss, thievery, computer/laptop withdrawal or an unwanted user by the computer. And, as we say, it is better to be on the safe side.

First you will need special software for encrypting volumes. This section tells about Cryptic Disk. To download Cryptic Disk go to:
www.exlade.com/en/cryptic-disk/download

1. Launch Cryptic Disk (in the “Start” menu or by clicking the desktop label). The main window of the software and the list of all the volumes and partitions are displayed.

The software is able not only to encrypt physical volumes but also to create encrypted containers. If you are interested in this option you should check the section “How to Create an Encrypted Container”.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

2. Select a volume partition that you want to encrypt in the main window (left-click). It is highly recommended to make a backup copy of all the important files stored in the partition. The backup copy will not only secure the data against all the system failures but also helps to start working with the encrypted volume faster.

So the partition is selected and the backup copy is made. Select the “Encrypt Volume…” option in the main window (for example, in the partition context menu).

Exlade Cryptic Disk

The software will launch the volumes encryption wizard.

3. First select the volume encryption method. Since there is a backup copy of all the data, the data on the volume can be erased. Select the method “Don’t save information during encryption of the volume”. If there is no backup copy you will have to select the other method, i.e. “Encrypt the volume without information loss” (it will take more time, but also depends on the size of the volume to be encrypted).

Exlade Cryptic Disk

If you don’t enable the “Write a marker in the encrypted volume header” option no one will be able to prove that the volume is an encrypted one. If you are not going to prove to anyone that the volume is an unencrypted one and its contents is just some unsorted “garbage” you can tick this box to enable the option. It helps the software to detect that the volume is encrypted and puts a respective sign for it in the interface. This option doesn’t affect the protection reliability.

4. Then you can configure formatting parameters (if you selected “Encrypt the volume without information loss” in the previous step the formatting window will not be displayed). “Quick format” option enables you to format faster since it will not format the whole volume from the beginning to the end but will just create a new file system on it. Also you can select a file system, a cluster size and a volume label which will be displayed for the mounted volume in the Explorer. You can disable the format option. Then the software will not format the encrypted volume at all and you will be able to format it on your own after mounting it.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

5. Now you can set the volume encryption settings. If you are not an expert in cryptography you can just leave this as is and go to the next step. Otherwise you can change the cryptographic algorithms that are to be used for encrypting data on the volume (Click the “Change …” button).

Exlade Cryptic Disk

6. Specify the password and if you want you can specify the key files that are to be used for protecting the access to the encrypted data. To protect against key loggers you can use the virtual keyboard embedded into the software. The software will ask the password upon each mounting of the encrypted volume.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

7. All the encryption parameters are set. Check them out in the wizard window and click the “Start” button.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

8. When the wizard finishes its work a respective message will be displayed and you will be asked if you want to configure the advanced parameters for the encrypted volume, save a backup copy of the header and mount the encrypted volume.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

Mounting

Leave the option “Mount the encrypted volume after closing the wizard” enabled and close the wizard window. The mounting window will be opened. Enter the password specified when encrypting the volume and select any free letter, then click the “OK” button.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

If you enter the correct password the system will display the volume with the letter specified when mounting. You can work with it in the same way as with any normal volume, i.e. copy, modify, replace and delete files. The only difference is that all the data of the volume are actually stored encrypted all the time.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

To block access to the encrypted volume you have to unmount the volume (it will be also automatically unmounted upon system shutdown). You can use the main window of the software or the system tray icon menu.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

The core of the software icon in the system tray is red when the system detects at least one mounted encrypted volume.

Exlade Cryptic Disk

For more convenient work you can configure the encrypted volume “Properties”. Select the encrypted volume in the main window and right-click it, then select the “Properties…” option in the context menu. Here you can configure mounting parameters specifically for this encrypted volume, set hotkeys, add scripts, sounds etc.

The volume is successfully encrypted. Enjoy!