S.S.E. File Encryptor for PC 15.0.6

Overview

Privacy matters. If your files and folders are important, then it’s your duty to protect them. First rule is, always have a backup in a secure place (the Cloud is a good idea). Then you must also add protection to the important files/folders themselves. This can be done by any encryption software, some however are better than others. Let’s take a look at S.S.E File Encryptor for PC by Paranoia Works, a company specializing in encryption software for multiple platforms.

Installation

No installation is required for this program. Just run it and you’re good to go. The only requirement here, however, is that it needs Java 6 or later in order to work (download here, Download3K mirror).

No viruses, trojans, spyware or other kinds of malware are included in the application. 3^rd-party advertised apps are not included either.

This program can be run under any operating system that has Java installed. This can mean Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and others. There’s also a CMD-line version of it available in the developer’s website.

Interface

If you’re a programmer who knows Java, then it’s easy for you to tell that S.S.E. File Encryptor was created in Java, since it uses Java GUI.

The program’s main window has a textbox on the top left side, where you enter the password you want to use in order to encrypt/decrypt the files/folders. Next to it is a drop-down menu for selecting an encryption algorithm, and below is the area where you drag and drop the items you want to encrypt/decrypt. At the bottom are two progress bars, one for displaying the progress of the file that's currently being processed and one for the total progress of all files. At the bottom right corner is a button which stops the process.

Pros

You can get familiar with the interface very quickly, since it is very uncomplicated and organized.

All you have to do in order to encrypt items you just have to pick a password to be used as the encryption key, select an encryption algorithm and then drop the items in the red bordered area. The encryption process will begin automatically (will give a warning if you haven’t entered a password) and the file will be encrypted when the process is complete.

The available encryption methods are AES (256 bit), RC6 (256 bit), Serpent (256 bit), Twofish (256 bit), GOST28147 (256 bit) and Blowfish (448 bit). Once you have encrypted an item with a password and one of the encryption algorithms, then you do the same to decrypt it: you must enter the same password and encryption technique, and then drop the file in the program; this will get it decrypted.

S.S.E File Encryptor is portable, which is a huge advantage over other encryption software. But it is also cross-platform, since it only needs a Java Virtual Machine to run (or Java, simply put). Plus, there is a command line version which can be used instead of the GUI version.

Cons

No cons here.

Alternatives

Several alternatives are available: Folder Lock (paid), Axcrypt (free), AES Crypt (free), Easy File Locker (free), My Lockbox (freemium) and many others.

Conclusion

S.S.E. File Encryptor for PC is a cross-platform application that does a perfect work in encrypting and decrypting files/folders. It is a fine piece of software, deserves 5 stars.