HexaCrypt

File security on a computer is of utmost importance, and an antivirus solution isn’t capable of fully keeping you and your files safe. However, developers came out with various techniques to target confidential files and encrypt them so that only you and the receiver know what it’s all about, and HexaCrypt is a suitable example in this regard.

Considering it’s a personal security option, portability comes as a major advantage here, giving you the possibility to carry the encryption and decryption tool with you on a USB flash drive. What’s more, registry entries are not modified in the process, which means the target PC’s health status is not affected.

The main window shows up on launch in its compact window. Sadly, it can’t be resized, which can be a little frustrating, because it also includes a file browser and you’re not clearly able to see files with long names. Even so, the general layout doesn’t pose any accommodation problems, quickly getting you up and running.

There are two requirements to the whole operation, besides the file in question. On the one hand, a password needs to be written down in a dedicated field. On the other hand, a key is also required for the cipher to work. For this second field you can use a built-in MD5 checksum generator as a key, but it only generates the hash code for the application itself, even if a different file is selected.

Encryption is done on the spot, with the new file delivered in the same folder. Note that you need to remove the original yourself, and there’s a wipe utility to use in this regard, just to make sure it can’t be recovered through specialized applications. Decrypting is done in a similar manner.

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that HexaCrypt is a straightforward approach on file encryption. It uses only one algorithm, while the MD5 generator is of little to no use since it can’t target anything but the application’s executable. It feels a little rough around the edges, but it does put some strain on anyone who might attempt to decipher your files.