MakeUseOf Directory » encrypt

Off-The-Record-Messaging: Secure & Encrypt Conversations On Any AIM Client

TehseenBaweja — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:01:13 +0000

Security is a feature usually built in each software. However, users often have to give up software that is pretty useful otherwise but don’t provide adequate security and privacy features. OTRProxy solves this problem by letting you make your IM tool secure. Once installed and configured, all your messages communicated through your IM client pass through the OTRProxy where they are encrypted and authenticated.

It works on Windows and OSX and supports SOCKS5, HTTPS and HTTP proxies. You do have to manually add a proxy to each IM client and if your IM client is already using a proxy or behind a firewall then OTRProxy won’t work. Users are authenticated by generating private keys but if you ever lose them, none of your previous conversations would be compromised. OTR also has plugins created specifically for clients including Pidgin and Miranda.

Features:

Encryptes conversations made through any IM client.
Ensures authenticity through private keys.
Works on Windows and OS X.
Similar tools: CryptoCat,OneTimeSecret, Encipher.It, File-Encryptor and Encodor.
Also read related article: Five Online Encryption Tools to Protect Your Privacy.

Download from @ www.cypherpunks.ca/otr

CryptoCat: Provides Private & Encrypted Chatting Within Your Web Browser

Umar — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:01:53 +0000

If you are unsure about the level of protection that native messaging applications such as Facebook Chat have to offer, it is time you switched to encrypted communication. An app called “CryptoCat” could be exactly what you are looking for.

CryptoCat is a free to use web app that offers users an encrypted chat interface. The site is quite easy to use: the chat host creates a room by naming it. He is then taking to the room’s URL and picks a nickname for himself. Next he shares the room’s URL with friends who then join the room by choosing nicknames for themselves.

Your messages are encrypted inside your own browser using AES-256 and 4096-bit asymmetric keys. After one hour of inactivity, conversations are automatically wiped by the site.

Features:

A user-friendly web service
Offers secure chatting interface
Encrypts your chats
Deletes messages after 1 hour of inactivity
Similar sites: OneTimeSecret, Encipher.It, File-Encryptor and Encodor.
Also read related article: Five Online Encryption Tools to Protect Your Privacy.

Check out CryptoCat @ www.crypto.cat (By Umar from AllThatIsApple)

OneTimeSecret: Share Sensitive Info Via Encrypted Links

abhijeet — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 01:08:35 +0000

You probably know that the information you share over email or instant messages isn’t impregnable, meaning it can be viewed by individuals or agencies with malicious intent. So how do you go about sharing really confidential info over the web? There are a few ways to do that but if you need a quick solution, you can try this web service called One Time Secret. Paste your sensitive text, and encrypt it with a password. It generates a secret link that is automatically destroyed in 2 days.

The link generated can only be seen one time. That means once the link is seen by the concerned person, it is automatically rendered unusable. So you can be sure that your link stays safe from prying eyes. Overall, a quick and easy way to share secret information easily online.

Features

Share confidential text online
Links generated can only be seen one time
Password based encryption available
Similar tools: Encipher.It, File-Encryptor and Encodor.
Also read related article: Five Online Encryption Tools to Protect Your Privacy.

Check out One Time Secret@ www.onetimesecret.com (By Abhijeet from GT Mobiles)

Safebox: Encrypt Files That Are Uploaded To Your Dropbox Account

MOin — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 01:01:35 +0000

While file storage sites such as Dropbox provide a wonderful convenience, you have to be cautious while uploading sensitive files to such services. Although these sites take strict security measures, your file still has a chance of being accessed by somebody other than yourself. To ensure that files are only viewable to you or people you approve of, Safebox encrypts the files you upload to Dropbox.

Safebox is a tool that helps makes your Dropbox files harder to hack. This is accomplished by encrypting your files with a Safebox-generated key or a key that you provide. Your files are uploaded to a new Safebox folder in your Dropbox account and only people who have the encryption key will be able to view the contents of your files. This way your files remain secure. Safebox works as a desktop app for Mac and Windows and comes with a price tag of $0.99.

Features:

A user-friendly desktop app.
Compatible with Mac and Windows.
Encrypts files before uploading them to Dropbox.
Lets you type in encryption key.
Also read related article: How To Encrypt Your Dropbox Data With ENCFS [Linux].

Check out Safebox @ safebox.fabulasolutions.com (via Red Ferret) (by MOin from Thumb Press)

Encipher.It: Encipher Your Text Before Emailing It

MOin — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 23:01:52 +0000

If you send emails through an unsecure channel, it would be a wise move to encrypt them. This can be done through simply encoding the text contained within your email. Such a text-encryption can be performed using a tool called Encipher It.

You can encode your text using the tool’s website or use its bookmarklet for better accessibility. All you have to do is highlight the text you are about to send and click on the bookmarklet. You will be asked to enter an encryption key. After entering this key your text will be enciphered into code. The reader of this coded text must use Encipher It along with your encryption key to decode the text.

Features:

A user-friendly web service.
Lets you encipher text.
Helps sends emails more securely.
Readers cannot decode text without your encryption key.
Similar tools: File-Encryptor and Encodor.
Also read related article: Five Online Encryption Tools to Protect Your Privacy.

Check out Encipher It @ www.encipher.it (by MOin from ThumbPress)

WhisperCore: Encrypt Data On Android Device

Umar — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 01:01:50 +0000

The security of your data on your smartphone has become an issue of increasing importance. Various applications let you lock your data on your smartphone but if you are an Android phone user looking for a data encryption app, then check out WhisperCore.

WhisperCore is a free to use smartphone application for Android devices. It integrates with the underlying Android OS to protect everything you keep on your phone. In addition to protecting the phone’s core data, the app’s encryption can be extended to the phone’s memory card as well. The app uses 256-bit AES encryption; encryption is done through a passphrase you enter.

Currently the app is in beta and offers full disk encryption and basic platform management tools only for Nexus S phones; support for other Android phones is to be added soon.

Features:

A user-friendly smartphone application.
Compatible with Android phones.
Encrypts data on the phone for security.
Offers full disk encryption.
Offers basic platform management tools.
Encryption can be extended to phone’s memory card.

Check out WhisperCore @ www.whispersys.com/whispercore.html (By Umar from TechCityInc)

uProtect.it: Extra Protection For Facebook Comments & Photos

abhijeet — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 01:01:06 +0000

uProtect.it is an application for Facebook that aims to make your Facebook comments and photos more secure in a number of ways. First, it hides your comments and status updates from Facebook itself. How does it do that? Simple, it encrypts them. So you have full control over who can see your comments. The same can be achieved with your photos, each of which has a public URL on Facebook. You can also set expiration date for messages, and change permissions.

The main problem here is that it seems a bit too far fetched for a public platform like Facebook. Your comments don’t even appear normally. There will be a message from uProtect.it with a link to the encrypted comment which only people you allow can see. Only for the privacy paranoid I guess.

Features

Extra layer of protection for your Facebook comments and photos.
Set expiration dates for messages.
Change permission settings.
Comments are encrypted.

Check out uProtect.it @ www.uprotect.it ( by Abhijeet from GT Mobiles)

PDFProtect: Password Protect Your PDF Files

TehseenBaweja — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 23:01:58 +0000

PDFs are one of the most popular document formats but securing your PDFs is usually not that easy. You wouldn’t want to purchase the expensive Adobe Acrobat software just to encrypt few documents. This is where PDFProtect comes in. It is a free online tool that lets you easily password protect PDF files online.

Simply upload your PDF document and specify the password you need to assign to the document. The tool also asks you to retype the assigned password to avoid mistyping. You can also specify a low or high encryption strength. A low strength would not make your PDF the most secure document but will allow it to be read on older readers. A high strength, on the other hand, will add increased security but make your document incompatible with older PDF readers.

Features:

Add password protection to pdf files online.
No restrictions to length/type of password.
Choose a low or high encryption setting.
No registration required.

Visit PDFProtect @ www.pdfrotect.net

ePostal: Send & Track Secure E-mails From Your Desktop

Israel Nicolas — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 03:01:11 +0000

E-mail serves as the primary medium of communication on the internet especially among our business and professional contacts. However, the easy access to the internet has given us the false sense of security against people that can do harm and steal our data and identity.

ePostal is an online service that provides an extra layer of security for your enterprise e-mails. Working with your Outlook account, you can send and receive encrypted letters, tag them by priority, track them, and monitor the integrity of your e-mails from a single desktop interface.

ePostal has four approaches to organize and secure your e-mail. First, the ePS Privacy provides a two-way global standard encryption for your e-mail and attachments. The ePS Security feature offers various processes to keep your e-mail secure such as sender tracking, notarization for sender and receiver, monitoring for viruses, protection against tampering, and storage encryption.

ePS Tracking gives you different ways to monitor your sent e-mails. It tells you when your e-mail has been received and when it was opened. This way, you do not have to follow-up to make sure that your e-mail was received and read.

ePS Differentiation is a neat feature that lets you send e-mails that are visually different compared to other mails in the inbox. This way, the e-mail can stand out from other similar e-mails.

You need to download desktop software that attaches to your desktop mail client like Outlook to use ePostal. The desktop client lets you configure all the things that you need.

The software is free for download, at the starts you get enough credits to send out 10 free encrypted letters. Then you have to pay (Standard eLetter cost $0.15) for more credits to continue using the service.

The service provides low cost pay as you go system that you can use as often as you need. This way you do not have to pay large bills, and avoid hiring expensive IT expert to secure your business e-mails.

Features:

Lets you send and receiver encrypted e-mails.
Desktop version works with your desktop e-mail client.
Free and Paid Options available.
Pay-as-you-use system.
Sender and recipient certification.
Notification of receipt opening.
Send out priority e-mails with visual differentiation.

Check out ePostal @ www.epostalservices.com

Encrypt Easy: Easy Text Encryption and Decryption Tool

MOin — Mon, 31 May 2010 17:01:58 +0000

Emailing is a relatively secure mode of transferring information. But you cannot be fully sure that the recipient will be the only person reading the email. To protect your message from such interceptions, you can employ text encryption and decryption tool Encrypt Easy.

Encrypt Easy is a very simple text encryption tool that does a remarkable job of protecting your textual message. The tool has a user friendly interface and requires no payments to be used. You will find password field on top of the page. Here you enter a password which will act as a key for encryption / decryption. Next you enter the to-be-encrypted text in the big box below. After typing your message, simply click on the “˜Encrypt’ button. The text box will now show the encrypted text. Copy this entire text and mail it to the recipient. Send him the password / key through some other means (e.g. text message on cellphone). He can then use the same procedure to decrypt the “˜code’ and read the original text.

Features:

Ultra secure your confidential text content.
User friendly interface and easy operation.
Makes use the highly secure Blowfish encryption algorithm.
Similar tools: Safebox, SafeMess, Crypo, EncryptIt, InfoEncrypt and File-Encryptor.
Also read related articles: Five Online Encryption Tools to Protect Your Privacy, Encrypt Gmail Messages with FireGPG and How To Secure & Encrypt Your Instant Messaging Chats.

Check out Encrypt Easy @ www.encrypt-easy.com/encrypt-text.aspx