If you want to keep your personal data private, then one way to achieve the privacy is by encrypting your personal files. It is not very much different from locking all your personal or sensitive documents inside a safe box – whenever you need the documents, you punch in the code and open the safe. Encrypting files on your computer is similar – whenever you need your encrypted files, you can decrypt them by supplying the same password as you used while encrypting them. And if you are looking for a free file encryption tool then PowerCryptor can do the job for you.
Unfortunately PowerCryptor is not available in a portable version. In my opinion all the encryption tools should also have a portable version whenever possible. During the installation, it gives you option to install three components – PowerCryptor, Text Encrypt and the Password Generator. There is no need to explain what all of these do as you can guess from their names.
PowerCryptor presents a very old style interface where you have to add various files and folders that you wish to encrypt. You can click on Encrypt Files button to encrypt them after entering a password. Similarly, if you want to decrypt the files, then add the encrypted files to the list and click on the Decrypt Files button. You can even change the password used for encryption from the toolbar.
The Text Encrypt tool basically encrypts the text that you enter in is text box in very much the same manner as the PowerCryptor encrypts the files – enter the text (or copy-paste it), click on the Encrypt button, supply the password and it is done. The decryption process works in the same fashion.
The third tool included in the package is a password generator that is able to generate a large number of strong passwords in a fraction of second. You have to specify the length of the password and the number of passwords required. You can also choose the character sets – upper case, lower case, numerals, special characters etc. These passwords can be saved to a file or copied to the clipboard.
Conclusion: PowerCryptor gives a number of basic tools that could be used in everyday computing life to encrypt files, text and generate passwords. But the interface of all these tools is a bit tacky and could be better.
You can download the free edition of PowerCryptor from http://www.powercryptor.com/powercryptor-free-edition/.