Flexcrypt

Flexcrypt is a cryptographic toolkit that is used for encryption/decryption of data for individuals and small businesses, for communication and storage of emails, hard drive, instant messaging text, files, folders and others. Flexcrypt has a very smooth step-wise install where the users have to provide simple and straightforward data about the location of install and other details.

Once the installation is complete, Flexcrypt would automatically open up (when the option in the last step of installation to Launch Flexcrypt is enabled). When Flexcrypt runs on your system, you would see the small lock image in your task pane notifications to indicate that it is running.

Once you have installed Flexcrypt, running it and using it every single time is a piece of cake. This is the easiest installation and usage that I have ever seen in the suite of crypto tools I have used in the past. On double-clicking the icon in desktop or from program files, you could open/start Flexcrypt at any point of time.

Navigation to various functions (Start, Text, Email, IM, File and Shared, Drive, Invite, License and Help) provided by Flexcrypt is pretty simple. Functionalities and specifications for Flexcrypt are as follows (Source: http://www.flexcrypt.com/technology.html ):

Operating systems
� Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit versions)
� Windows XP (32-bit and 64-bit versions)
� Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit versions)

Localization
� English
� German
� Spanish
� Chinese

Email protocols
� POP3
� IMAP
� MAPI
� SMTP

Supported email clients
� All email clients

Email encryption options
� OpenPGP/MIME
� AES 256 bit (as ZIP)
� PkZIP

Hashes
� SHA-2 (up to 512-bit hashes)
� SHA-1
� MD5

Public key algorithm
� Elgamal/DSS (up to 2048)

Supported Instant Message clients
� MSN
� ICQ

Instant message encryption
� AES 256 bit

File encryption
� AES 256 bit

Hard drive encryption
� AES 256 bit

Text encryption
� AES 256 bit

Shredding
� US Department of Defense DoD 5220.22-M(ECE)
� 7 passes

USB encryption
� AES 256 bit

Online services
� SSL connection

Patent
� Patent pending

Security standards
� Encryption components from .NET are FIPS-140 validated


Besides all the various functionalities, the simplicity of the tool is what I love in this. Strength of the crypto toolkit is not only in the algorithm that is being implemented, but the implementation itself. In this review, we looked over the algorithm and tested the implementation to some extent and we determined that this is one among the fastest implementation of the same. We did not do regression testing or load testing on the app though. The general settings button from the main window takes you into simple set of options, where users can Start/Stop client and services, choose to always start Flexcrypt when computer starts (adding to start-up list), choose the Firewall options to be default or ZoneAlarm.

We did not want to include every single setting for the review, since we would like the users to experience the awesomeness of this tool by themselves. Hence, we have considered one sample usage with text encryption. When users choose to encrypt text using Flexcrypt, they can simply click on Text tab, which would take them to a window. In the text window, you can type the text to be encrypted and choose Encrypt/Decrypt by clicking on the button right below the text window.

Once the text to be encrypted is supplied, click on Encrypt/Decrypt button and you would get the password where you could type (and confirm) a password to be used in encryption. Based on what we observed, it looks like a pass-code that is used to generate the secret key for encrypting the input. Once you have entered the password the encrypted cipher is generated. Users can copy this encrypted cipher from the text panel and use it at their convenience. Decryption routine uses the same process flow, with the encrypted cipher being pasted on the text pane and the same password (used for encryption) should be provided to decrypt and get the original text.

Based on testing Flexcrypt in all the different cases that was determined to be the ones used on daily basis, we observed the following pros:

� Navigation between the tabs/functionalities is really simple.

� It is pretty quick for daily use.

� Demo and sample scenarios provided with proper documentation.

� Pretty strong algorithm implemented.

� Well structured and organized with proper direction.

� Simple settings and easier usage.

We did not observe any cons based on the testing we have done, but these are the generic things to remember that we have observed for apps that are similar.

� Closed source implementation of crypto:

� Strength of the implementation can only determined by blackbox testing.

� Unsure of the exact implementation of the algorithm.

� Keep in mind that this is a paid app, with 15 days trial. Hence, testing for the local environment should be done within the given time.

It is recommended that FlexCrypt for its simplicity and explicit functionalities. It is easy to install and run for a pretty quick launch. Definitely recommended for people who have minimal time and require encryption of data.

Source of Information :  Hakin9 November 2010

Tor

The Tor Project
www.torproject.org
Free

Tor (short for The Onion Router) is a combination of client software and a network of encrypted proxies and data routers that effectively defends against most kinds of network surveillance. By using it, you make it very hard for a third party to determine what Web sites you�re visiting and even who you are and where you�re located.

Most Internet communications are easily traceable: Each packet has the IP address of its source (you) and its destination (a Web site) in its header. However, the Tor client encrypts your packets and routes them to a random Tor node, which then routes them to another random Tor node, which then decrypts them and passes them on to their destination. Return communications follow a similarly random path. Yes, the system can be slow, as it relies on the bandwidth of volunteers for the nodes, but its popularity increases your anonymity further: Who can sort through all those packets to find just you?

Source of Information :  CPU Computer Power User November 2010

TrueCrypt 7.0

TrueCrypt Foundation
www.truecrypt.org | Free

If your notebook contains sensitive information you wouldn�t want out in the wild should you lose your notebook, then you need to look into hard drive encryption. Once encrypted, your computer won�t boot without the proper password, and, better still, evildoers can�t even read your hard drive�s contents if they remove it and use another computer to look it over. Some notebooks and hard drives have this type of encryption built in at the hardware level, but for the rest of us, True-Crypt is a great alternative (and maybe even better).

Using AES, Twofish, or other military- grade encryption algorithms, TrueCrypt can encrypt either a �data section� of your hard drive, or if you prefer, the entire hard drive including the Windows boot partition. It can also create a second undetectable (and encrypted bootable) partition within the first, giving you a plausibly deniable area to store really, really secret stuff. Amazingly, there�s almost no slowdown when using TrueCrypt. Even its price is amazing� free.

Source of Information :  CPU Computer Power User November 2010