Chiave File Encryption Editor's Review

It's inevitable that sooner or later some sensitive data of yours will be at risk. Who knows, maybe your laptop gets stolen or your memory stick ends up from your pocket in someones hands. One thing is clear, the more portable your data is, the more your data will be at risk. What can we do about this is to encrypt our sensitive data. A dead easy way to do this is by using a program which I recently discovered called Chiave File Encryption.

Chiave is part of the huge list of encryption tools that you can find out there. What's great about it, however, is the powerful encryption method (512-bit Rijndael) which is used by the US Government so said in a simple manner - you encrypted files will remain encrypted even if they get in the hands of an experienced hacker. The second great aspect of this tool is the aesthetic user interface which uses all the potential of Windows Seven - Aero Glass. About the user experience, I can say that is simple and provide the best: right-click context menu integration, file associations with the encrypted files and drag and drop support to populate the list of the files (and folders) that you want to encrypt.

To get started using Chiave File Encryption, just run the executable which you've downloaded and run it. Soon after, you should see the main interface with the options to 'Encrypt', 'Decrypt' and go to the program 'Options'. Let's encrypt some files. To do so, just click on 'Encrypt' and a new window will appear where you'll have to add your files (or folders) that you want to encrypt. You can directly add multiple folders, select files from different locations, or the most important, you can drag your files to populate the encryption list. After you've done adding your files, enter the password. A graphical strength meter bar will help you choose a strong passwords to ensure total protection of your private stuff. After that, just hit the 'Start Encryption' button and the encryption process will start.

To decrypt an earlier encrypted file or folder (*.enf), select 'Decrypt' from the main interface of Chiave, add the files that that you want to decrypt, enter the password and 'Start Decryption'. If you step into the program options, you will find the options to create: file associations for encrypted files, enable Windows Explorer context menu and some more including the option to install/uninstall the application entries (e.g. file associations).

Pluses: Free; incredibly easy to use; graphical password strength meter; super-strength 512-bit encryption; it works under Win XP too.

Drawbacks / flaws: Needs more encryption methods.

In conclusion: A great piece of software that can encrypt your sensitive data with the bullet-proof 512-bit Rijndael encryption method to make sure that your private stuff remain private. I like it!

version reviewed: 0.9.2