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27-Oct-2014
FREE product - PhoneCrypt v.2.9.18
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26-Oct-2014
DriveCrypt v.5.7 released
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09-Sep-2014
PhoneCrypt version 2.9.18 released
[...more]
Q: Has the DriveCrypt encryption ever been broken/hacked?
A: No! In the past, we have also launched several contests offering up to 100,000 US$ for the first person able to open a DriveCrypt encrypted disk
Nobody succeeded! (See our press section for more details)
Q: We are from the "Police" "Tax authority" "Security Company". and are investigating on someone whose computer is protected with your DriveCrypt software. Since we were not able to break into the protected computer ourselves, could you please assist us getting access to the encrypted data? If requested, we can provide you with a court order.
A: Sorry, but our software has been designed to be the most secure in the industry, and as such not even our programmers are able to break into a DriveCrypt encrypted computer.
The only way to get access to the protected data is by entering the correct password known only by the legitimate user.
Q: Is there a back door in your software?
A: No. There is no back door in our sof
tware, and there is no point in making one as we might risk losing the good reputation of our products. Besides this, today there is no law in Germany that can force us to make one in our software.
Q: Have you ever been asked by any government to add a "back door" to your software?
Is there any law anywhere, which has forced you to include any kind of back door, so, any authority can read the encrypted files?
A: We have never been asked by any government to add a back door into our software, and we have no interest in making one. In any case, no country in the world, other than Germany (where SecurStar is incorporated), can force us to put a back door in our software. Please note that we incorporated SecurStar in Germany, because Germany is one of the few governments in the world that actively promotes strong cryptography while other countries are more restrictive on this subject matter. If laws in Germany should change in the future, we are prepared to move the company accordingly.
Q: Is the source code of your software available?
A: With our former products Scramdisk and E4M we had a long tradition of open source software. With these products, millions of people all over the world could verify the software security and review how the encryption functions. Unfortunately our competitors had nothing better to do but to steal our source code to add routines and functionalities to their (closed source) products. Some also just cloned our software and only changed the user interface.
Since we want to avoid spending a tremendous amount of money and time in research and development to see competitors stealing our work, we decided to release the source code only to selected customers after they placed a substantial order and signed a non-disclosure agreement.
We are open to other ways of releasing the source code to the public, but need to find a solution that can also protect our interests. One idea we had was to release a basic version of our software together with its source code. This way, the most paranoid can use that software to encrypt/ decrypt the data. Please let us know if this would be acceptable for you, or if you have any other interesting idea that covers the above problematic. We would be more than happy to listen to you. Please write to contact@securstar.de
Q: Is DriveCrypt Windows XP compatible ?
A: YES, DriveCrypt 3.03a and above is Windows XP compatible !
We suggest to all our customers to upgrade their program regardless of the Operating System in use, as further enhancements has been done in the new
3.03 version.
Q: What are the advantages of DriveCrypt over its predecesor products ScramDisk and E4M ?
There are large numbers of new features we believe we have the most feature rich disk encryption product available, here are some of the exciting new features
- Increased security through the implementation of 1344 bit encryption and SHA 256
- Handles up to 16 Terabytes of encrypted data
- Hotkey support (fast mount/ dismount all your disks)
- Lockout console to protect your machine when you leave it alone
- Resizable encrypted volumes
- Red Screen Password mode now works also on Windows NT / 2000 & XP
- State of the art steganography ( files can be hidden into music files)
- Optional registry changes to make file associations
- Hardware Support ( USB token and SmartCards)
- Unified "InstallShield" style installation procedure.
- Fragmentation problem on Win9x version largely solved.
- Network support
- Works on Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 and Windows XP
- And much more
Q: Is it possible to stop our employees encrypting data if they have not given access to our administrator, or to management ?
A: Yes, during the installation of DriveCrypt on a Windows NT 4/ 2000 /XP machine, you have the possibility to choose that all new containers must be created by the system administrator.
To make sure that users do not install containers created on other machines, you can also force users to mount encrypted containers only through KeyFiles which you retain control over.
Q: Can i expand a container if mounted as a invisible disk?
A: NO. If would create a new container which has no longer invisible containers, and overwrite the "main" part of it.
Q: What is the minimum size of a container, in order to be able to add an invisible disk?
A: Disks less than 3 MB in size cannot have"invisible" parts.
Q: How do I delete my unwanted ''.DRC'' container file ?
A: Go to options and CHECK [x] Disable DRC FILE DELETE protection, Delete the container file, and empty your recycle bin straight away if you are using one. You could also rename the extension from ''.DRC'' (to say ''.DEL'') and then just delete it.
Q: How do I dismount individual DriveCrypt containers ?
A: Click on a mounted DriveCrypt icon with the right mouse button and select ''Dismount'' from the context menu. Note that there are also other useful options available from this menu.
Q: Is FAT32 supported on Windows 95, 98, 98 SE and Windows 2000 /XP ?
A: Yes for DriveCrypt containers with a capacity of 500 MB or more, as is normal for FAT32. Do not try to use FAT32 on Windows NT 4 or the original Windows 95 as these operating systems do not support FAT 32.
Q: Is NTFS supported on Windows NT4 and Windows 2000 /XP ?
A: Yes.
Q: Can I create DriveCrypt containers less than 1 Mbyte in size ?
A: Yes. You can now specify containers in Kbytes from 250K upwards.
Q: Can I ''defrag'' or ''Scandisk'' my DriveCrypt containers ?
A: Yes
Q: Can I create DriveCrypt containers without the wizard ?
A: No, on this version you must use the wizard to create new DriveCrypt containers.
Q: What is the default password for the local console Lock-Out screen ?
A: For old versions (before version 3.01a) the Default password is: securstar.
For newer versions there is no defauld password.
Please make sure that you change this password, as soon as possible.
Q: Why all that mouse waddling/button clicking when I''m creating DriveCrypt containers ?
A: DriveCrypt needs lots of random numbers, and this is the best way to get them.
Q: What is the maximum size DriveCrypt container I can make ?
A: Files on Windows 95/98 can be no more than 4 GigaBytes and so file based DriveCrypt containers can be no larger than this. Dedicated Partitions can be up to 2047 GigaBytes in size. On Windows NT 4 /2000 and XP, file containers can have a size of 64 GB, while partitions can have a size up to 2047 GigaBytes. A future version will allow a DriveCrypt to span several container files.
Q: Why do I need to enable my old ''Summer'' format disks ?
A: Summer requires the password text to be posted to the driver. It is better that the software doesn''t send the password text unless you need the compatibility of Summer for your old DriveCrypt containers. Summer isn''t recommended for new containers. Note that enabling ''Summer'' will cause the password texts to be cached in the drivers locked memory. ''Summer'' IS NOT CURRENTLY SUPPORTED ON WINDOWS NT 4, 2000 and XP.
Q: Does DriveCrypt work on Windows NT4 / 2000 and XP?
A: Yes
Q: How do I mount containers after creating them ?
A: There are three ways to do this:
1) Use the menu file mount container option
2) Drag the container file to the DriveCrypt window
3) Create an association with DriveCrypt for the DRC file (Always open with and you can then simply double click on the container file
Q: Why is my .WAV audio file not suitable for DriveCrypt''s steganography feature ?
A: DriveCrypt needs 16 bit stereo .WAV files. Suitable files can be created with programs such as ''WinDac'' or ''Cool Edit''. Do not use wav files with pure silence at the beginning of the music file.
Q: Can I store DriveCrypt volumes on recordable CD disks and CD-RW disks ?
A: Yes you can. Create the container file on your hard drive, and burn it onto the CD Please note that in all cases (even on CD-RW) the DriveCrypt volumes will be read only.
Q: Can I store my containers on DVD RAM disks ?
A: Yes you can. Please note that the DVD RAM disk has to be formatted as UDF rather than FAT16, and you may need to use the UDF filesystem that came with your drive. DriveCrypt containers on this optical media will be seen as normal read write disks.
Q: What about Zip and Jaz disks ?
A: You can store your containers on these disks. You can also use partitions on them.
Q: What does ''brutal dismount'' mean ?
A: Brutal dismount allows DriveCrypt containers to be dismounted even when programs have files open on them. This option is really only there for emergency use as Windows may crash with a blue screen message when using this option.
Q: Does this version of DriveCrypt still have ''backup'' key data information ?
A: Yes but it is encrypted more than once, to prevent automatic identification of DriveCrypt container files. Utilities are now built in to use this backup data. Changing passwords will convert the format of your old containers to this new specification automatically.
Q: What is the new ''traveller mode'' which can be installed ?
A: Traveller mode, is a way of installing DriveCrypt so you can access containers without having to permanently install DriveCrypt on the relevant Windows system. Dedicated hard disk partitions need DriveCrypt to be fully installed to be accessed on Windows 95/98. Traveller mode installs only onto removable media such as floppy disks etc.
Q: Can I mount a DriveCrypt volume over a network?
A: Yes.
Q: Couldn''t I just use Microsoft''s new EFS filesystem in Windows 2000?
A: Yes, but remember the encryption is limited by U.S export regulations to weak encryption only; and it is not complete drive encryption, it's transparent directory or file encryption, plus you can''t use it with any other operating system.
Q: Microsoft uses "public key cryptography" in EFS to protect my keys, isn''t this stronger encryption than what is available in DriveCrypt ?
A: No, in this case it''s a different way of protecting the actual directory/file encryption keys.
Q: Isn''t encryption/steganography illegal ?
A: Maybe, it depends on where in the world you live, please check your own laws and regulations before using DriveCrypt.
Windows 95 /98 /Me /NT /2000 /XP are Registered Trademarks of Microsoft, Inc.
All trademarks are property of their respective owners.
A: No! In the past, we have also launched several contests offering up to 100,000 US$ for the first person able to open a DriveCrypt encrypted disk
Nobody succeeded! (See our press section for more details)
Q: We are from the "Police" "Tax authority" "Security Company". and are investigating on someone whose computer is protected with your DriveCrypt software. Since we were not able to break into the protected computer ourselves, could you please assist us getting access to the encrypted data? If requested, we can provide you with a court order.
A: Sorry, but our software has been designed to be the most secure in the industry, and as such not even our programmers are able to break into a DriveCrypt encrypted computer.
The only way to get access to the protected data is by entering the correct password known only by the legitimate user.
Q: Is there a back door in your software?
A: No. There is no back door in our sof
tware, and there is no point in making one as we might risk losing the good reputation of our products. Besides this, today there is no law in Germany that can force us to make one in our software.
Q: Have you ever been asked by any government to add a "back door" to your software?
Is there any law anywhere, which has forced you to include any kind of back door, so, any authority can read the encrypted files?
A: We have never been asked by any government to add a back door into our software, and we have no interest in making one. In any case, no country in the world, other than Germany (where SecurStar is incorporated), can force us to put a back door in our software. Please note that we incorporated SecurStar in Germany, because Germany is one of the few governments in the world that actively promotes strong cryptography while other countries are more restrictive on this subject matter. If laws in Germany should change in the future, we are prepared to move the company accordingly.
Q: Is the source code of your software available?
A: With our former products Scramdisk and E4M we had a long tradition of open source software. With these products, millions of people all over the world could verify the software security and review how the encryption functions. Unfortunately our competitors had nothing better to do but to steal our source code to add routines and functionalities to their (closed source) products. Some also just cloned our software and only changed the user interface.
Since we want to avoid spending a tremendous amount of money and time in research and development to see competitors stealing our work, we decided to release the source code only to selected customers after they placed a substantial order and signed a non-disclosure agreement.
We are open to other ways of releasing the source code to the public, but need to find a solution that can also protect our interests. One idea we had was to release a basic version of our software together with its source code. This way, the most paranoid can use that software to encrypt/ decrypt the data. Please let us know if this would be acceptable for you, or if you have any other interesting idea that covers the above problematic. We would be more than happy to listen to you. Please write to contact@securstar.de
Q: Is DriveCrypt Windows XP compatible ?
A: YES, DriveCrypt 3.03a and above is Windows XP compatible !
We suggest to all our customers to upgrade their program regardless of the Operating System in use, as further enhancements has been done in the new
3.03 version.
Q: What are the advantages of DriveCrypt over its predecesor products ScramDisk and E4M ?
There are large numbers of new features we believe we have the most feature rich disk encryption product available, here are some of the exciting new features
- Increased security through the implementation of 1344 bit encryption and SHA 256
- Handles up to 16 Terabytes of encrypted data
- Hotkey support (fast mount/ dismount all your disks)
- Lockout console to protect your machine when you leave it alone
- Resizable encrypted volumes
- Red Screen Password mode now works also on Windows NT / 2000 & XP
- State of the art steganography ( files can be hidden into music files)
- Optional registry changes to make file associations
- Hardware Support ( USB token and SmartCards)
- Unified "InstallShield" style installation procedure.
- Fragmentation problem on Win9x version largely solved.
- Network support
- Works on Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 and Windows XP
- And much more
Q: Is it possible to stop our employees encrypting data if they have not given access to our administrator, or to management ?
A: Yes, during the installation of DriveCrypt on a Windows NT 4/ 2000 /XP machine, you have the possibility to choose that all new containers must be created by the system administrator.
To make sure that users do not install containers created on other machines, you can also force users to mount encrypted containers only through KeyFiles which you retain control over.
Q: Can i expand a container if mounted as a invisible disk?
A: NO. If would create a new container which has no longer invisible containers, and overwrite the "main" part of it.
Q: What is the minimum size of a container, in order to be able to add an invisible disk?
A: Disks less than 3 MB in size cannot have"invisible" parts.
Q: How do I delete my unwanted ''.DRC'' container file ?
A: Go to options and CHECK [x] Disable DRC FILE DELETE protection, Delete the container file, and empty your recycle bin straight away if you are using one. You could also rename the extension from ''.DRC'' (to say ''.DEL'') and then just delete it.
Q: How do I dismount individual DriveCrypt containers ?
A: Click on a mounted DriveCrypt icon with the right mouse button and select ''Dismount'' from the context menu. Note that there are also other useful options available from this menu.
Q: Is FAT32 supported on Windows 95, 98, 98 SE and Windows 2000 /XP ?
A: Yes for DriveCrypt containers with a capacity of 500 MB or more, as is normal for FAT32. Do not try to use FAT32 on Windows NT 4 or the original Windows 95 as these operating systems do not support FAT 32.
Q: Is NTFS supported on Windows NT4 and Windows 2000 /XP ?
A: Yes.
Q: Can I create DriveCrypt containers less than 1 Mbyte in size ?
A: Yes. You can now specify containers in Kbytes from 250K upwards.
Q: Can I ''defrag'' or ''Scandisk'' my DriveCrypt containers ?
A: Yes
Q: Can I create DriveCrypt containers without the wizard ?
A: No, on this version you must use the wizard to create new DriveCrypt containers.
Q: What is the default password for the local console Lock-Out screen ?
A: For old versions (before version 3.01a) the Default password is: securstar.
For newer versions there is no defauld password.
Please make sure that you change this password, as soon as possible.
Q: Why all that mouse waddling/button clicking when I''m creating DriveCrypt containers ?
A: DriveCrypt needs lots of random numbers, and this is the best way to get them.
Q: What is the maximum size DriveCrypt container I can make ?
A: Files on Windows 95/98 can be no more than 4 GigaBytes and so file based DriveCrypt containers can be no larger than this. Dedicated Partitions can be up to 2047 GigaBytes in size. On Windows NT 4 /2000 and XP, file containers can have a size of 64 GB, while partitions can have a size up to 2047 GigaBytes. A future version will allow a DriveCrypt to span several container files.
Q: Why do I need to enable my old ''Summer'' format disks ?
A: Summer requires the password text to be posted to the driver. It is better that the software doesn''t send the password text unless you need the compatibility of Summer for your old DriveCrypt containers. Summer isn''t recommended for new containers. Note that enabling ''Summer'' will cause the password texts to be cached in the drivers locked memory. ''Summer'' IS NOT CURRENTLY SUPPORTED ON WINDOWS NT 4, 2000 and XP.
Q: Does DriveCrypt work on Windows NT4 / 2000 and XP?
A: Yes
Q: How do I mount containers after creating them ?
A: There are three ways to do this:
1) Use the menu file mount container option
2) Drag the container file to the DriveCrypt window
3) Create an association with DriveCrypt for the DRC file (Always open with and you can then simply double click on the container file
Q: Why is my .WAV audio file not suitable for DriveCrypt''s steganography feature ?
A: DriveCrypt needs 16 bit stereo .WAV files. Suitable files can be created with programs such as ''WinDac'' or ''Cool Edit''. Do not use wav files with pure silence at the beginning of the music file.
Q: Can I store DriveCrypt volumes on recordable CD disks and CD-RW disks ?
A: Yes you can. Create the container file on your hard drive, and burn it onto the CD Please note that in all cases (even on CD-RW) the DriveCrypt volumes will be read only.
Q: Can I store my containers on DVD RAM disks ?
A: Yes you can. Please note that the DVD RAM disk has to be formatted as UDF rather than FAT16, and you may need to use the UDF filesystem that came with your drive. DriveCrypt containers on this optical media will be seen as normal read write disks.
Q: What about Zip and Jaz disks ?
A: You can store your containers on these disks. You can also use partitions on them.
Q: What does ''brutal dismount'' mean ?
A: Brutal dismount allows DriveCrypt containers to be dismounted even when programs have files open on them. This option is really only there for emergency use as Windows may crash with a blue screen message when using this option.
Q: Does this version of DriveCrypt still have ''backup'' key data information ?
A: Yes but it is encrypted more than once, to prevent automatic identification of DriveCrypt container files. Utilities are now built in to use this backup data. Changing passwords will convert the format of your old containers to this new specification automatically.
Q: What is the new ''traveller mode'' which can be installed ?
A: Traveller mode, is a way of installing DriveCrypt so you can access containers without having to permanently install DriveCrypt on the relevant Windows system. Dedicated hard disk partitions need DriveCrypt to be fully installed to be accessed on Windows 95/98. Traveller mode installs only onto removable media such as floppy disks etc.
Q: Can I mount a DriveCrypt volume over a network?
A: Yes.
Q: Couldn''t I just use Microsoft''s new EFS filesystem in Windows 2000?
A: Yes, but remember the encryption is limited by U.S export regulations to weak encryption only; and it is not complete drive encryption, it's transparent directory or file encryption, plus you can''t use it with any other operating system.
Q: Microsoft uses "public key cryptography" in EFS to protect my keys, isn''t this stronger encryption than what is available in DriveCrypt ?
A: No, in this case it''s a different way of protecting the actual directory/file encryption keys.
Q: Isn''t encryption/steganography illegal ?
A: Maybe, it depends on where in the world you live, please check your own laws and regulations before using DriveCrypt.
Windows 95 /98 /Me /NT /2000 /XP are Registered Trademarks of Microsoft, Inc.
All trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Awarded worldwide:
