abylon CRYPTDRIVE 23.60.1

Overview

There are several things you can do in order to increase security in your computer and protect your data. What most people do in those cases is use special software that can encrypt their files and hide them from unauthorized access. A program with that kind of functionality is abylon CryptDrive, which creates encrypted virtual drives and stores the data you want to lock in them.

Installation

The installation procedure consists of only a few steps and they contain no difficult settings. Just follow the wizard until you get to the main installation process, which will finish quickly. Afterwards you’ll be asked if you want to share abylon CryptDrive on Facebook and whether you want to adjust additional settings (it’s necessary to do so before using the program).

Supported operating systems are Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8.

Interface

After successfully installing the software (and clicking “Yes” to the message that pops up right after the installation) you will be brought to the main window of the program. There are a few buttons at the top-right corner used for viewing the Help file, displaying info about the program, sharing it on social networks (Facebook, Twitter) but they serve as secondary features.

On the left-side of the window there is a sidebar with 4 selections that can be expanded: CryptDrive, Key-management, Administration and Common. Each one (and its sub-menus) changes the contents of the main screen accordingly, allowing you to view a variety of features and settings.

The first option from those (CryptDrive) is the most important one, as it contains the features you need to create new encrypted virtual disks and activate or deactivate existing ones. Those virtual disks will be used to keep your data safe.

Pros

CryptDrive works by creating virtual drives in the system and encrypting them. Whenever you want to lock a file you just have to go to the program’s settings and mount one of the virtual drives (or create one first, if you haven’t done so yet). Then by entering the password you chose for that drive you can access it, and then start adding, removing, opening or modifying any files in it. When you’re done you can unmount drive and lock it.

The program supports using 256-bit AES and 448-bit Blowfish encryption algorithms, either separately or combined. To access the encrypted virtual drives you can use the SYMM (symmetrical) system or the HYBRID (asymmetrical) system. The first one is based on key management and supports password via keyboard, chip cards, external drives (such as USB flash drives and external hard disks), CDs/DVDs as well as a combination of password and Token (a small image that can be combined with the password). The HYBRID-system, on the other hand, is based purely on certificates and is targeted on more advanced users (you can import/export, check, send and even create your own certificates).

The encrypted virtual drives have a fixed size that you define when you create them, and it can be up to 128 GB (the trial version restricts you to maximum size of only 1 GB). Those drives can also be split into up to 100 partitions.

Settings can be exported and imported.

Cons

The program’s interface is outdated and buggy; it could be greatly improved. The same goes to the included help file.

Alternatives

There are many software with similar features: TrueCrypt (free), AxCrypt (free), FreeOTFE (free), My Lockbox (freemium), Folder Lock (paid), Easy File Locker (free), AES Crypt (free) and others.

Conclusion

A lot of users will find abylon CryptDrive attractive due to the fact that it has many advanced settings. At the same time, a lot of users will hate it for that same exact reason.