CryptoExpert Lite

Although many people keep valuables or sensitive information in a safe or locked filing cabinet, people aren't always so careful with what's on their computers. CryptoExpert Lite makes it easy to create the electronic equivalent of a safe, giving users a secure place to store sensitive documents of all sorts.

The program's interface is fairly intuitive and easy to navigate. It's split into three panes that let users navigate to drives, folders, and individual files. To create a new encrypted drive image file, simply click New, and the program opens a wizard that walks you through each step of the process. You can select CAST, Blowfish, 3DES, or AES encryption, as well as HMAC SHA1 or HMAC RIPEMD 160 hash function. You can also choose between NTFS or FAT file systems for the container file. If all these options just look like a jumble of senseless letters to you, don't worry; while advanced users will appreciate this level of customization, novices can get by with just choosing the options suggested by the program. Although other versions of the program allow you to customize the size of the new drive, the Lite version limits you to 50MB. Once the new container file is created, you can work with it just as you would any other drive. It's a lot like using a USB flash drive, except there's nothing to plug in; you simply mount the virtual drive to get access to files, which are now safely encrypted and accessible only with a password, and unmount the drive when you're done. CryptoExpert Lite also lets you e-mail or shred files, a nice touch. The program's built-in Help file is well-written and thorough. Overall, we think that CryptoExpert Lite is a great option for creating a safe place to keep sensitive files.

CryptoExpert Lite installs and uninstalls without issues. We recommend this program to everyone.