FreeCrypt FAQ
Many emails have been received with questions regarding FreeCrypt and most of them are similar in nature. So, we have decided to put up this FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page in hopes of providing a single point for FreeCrypt users to look for answers to their questions. Since FreeCrypt is Free (that’s why it’s called FreeCrypt), the only technical support for it will be found here. All further requests for information and support of the product will be directed here. Please understand that we do care about the product and want to hear your feedback, but we are no longer able to provide individual responses to questions or requests for help. Any new questions that come up will be promptly added to this FAQ and the originator of the new question will be notified.
Q. I forgot my password and now I can’t decrypt my encrypted files, can you help?
A. No. Not because we don’t want to, but that is the nature of encryption products. While it is not impossible to crack any encryption scheme, it often takes skill, quite a bit of time, and a lot of computer horsepower to do it. Besides, how safe would you feel about your data if it could be easily accessed.
Q. How much does it cost to register FreeCrypt?
A. As the name implies, it is free, unless used for government or commercial purposes. For those desiring technical support, beyond this FAQ, registration may be obtained as well. See the registration information that comes with the products zip file.
Commercial, Government Agencies and other organizations, please send email to: info@bat-soft.com with contact information and the number of licenses desired. Site and Corporate Licenses are available.
Q. Do you plan to add any new features to FreeCrypt, if so, when?
A. Yes and No. No in that FreeCrypt will remain as it is with no further changes unless significant bugs are found. (This is unlikely as the program has been tested extensively and no bugs have been found or reported by users. That isn’t to say that there aren’t any, it’s just that none have been found). On the Yes Side, we are planning a shareware or commercial version that will be fully compatible but with many enhancements as well as additional and more secure encryption options. Check back to this site often for new announcements regarding FreeCrypt and other Bat-Soft products.
Q. Is there any limit on the size of a file that FreeCrypt can handle?
There should be no limit to the size of a file that can be processed by FreeCrypt other than what the OS can handle. In other words, if it is a legal file size in windows, it should be for FreeCrypt as well. We have tested FreeCrypt on files up to just over 100 megabytes in size with no problems. The reason there is no limit is because the program only works on small portions of the file at a time. If you do find problems in this area, we would very much like to know about them.
Q. Are FreeCrypt passwords case sensitive?
A. Yes. This provides for better security as more choices are possible with passwords.
Q. How secure is FreeCrypt and what encryption algorithm does it use?
A. FreeCrypt should be plenty safe for most users, here is why. In order to decrypt any file for which you don’t have the password and/or key to, you must know that a file is encrypted (some data files might look like they encrypted when in reality, they aren’t), you must know what type of encryption algorithm was used, you need to know what you are looking for, and you must have the skill, time, tools to crack an encrypted file. It is much easier to steal a password or key than go through the trouble to attempt cracking it. If you do manage to find a way to crack FreeCrypt encrypted files, we’d like to know. As far as what encryption algorithm is used in FreeCrypt, we choose not to provide that information because we see no reason to make it easier for would be hackers to crack files encrypted with it. Suffice it to say, that we used a somewhat simple algorithm adding a few twists of our own to improve the security. In other words, it’s just unique enough that it’s unlikely you will find a program out on the net designed to crack FreeCrypt. However, you never know, things change fast in the computer world. And hey, what do expect for free…the tool is for private use, not industrial strength data security.
Q. Is Bat-Soft willing to modify FreeCrypt to fit my needs?
A. Possibly. Bat-Soft offers consulting services and we may be willing to modify and register the product to fit your needs if we can come to an equitable license agreement.
Q. FreeCrypt doesn’t seem to be working properly. I can’t read files I used it on. Can you help?
A. We have had a many questions like this and after working with the users, we found that FreeCrypt was working properly. The problem was a combination of forgotten passwords and user confusion regarding encryption. Remember, once a file is encrypted, it must be decrypted with the same password. So, if you forget the password or didn’t type it correctly, you will not be able to recover the file. Also, since FreeCrypt can encrypt a file again with a different password, if you keep trying different passwords, you are locking up the file tighter with each new password you enter. Here is a tip to help you test FreeCrypt to see if it is working correctly:
- Create a text file with notepad or other text editor.
- Encrypt the file with using the word “test” (don’t type the quotes) as a password. (hint. If you leave FreeCrypt running for this test, you won’t have to retype the password to decrypt it and you make sure the same password is used).
- View it with notepad and you should see a bunch of unreadable text and characters.
- Decrypt the file using the same password.
- View the file again and you should see it as it was originally.
Note: Until you are fully comfortable with FreeCrypt, it might be a good idea to work on a copy of the original file instead of the original. Remember, you use FreeCrypt at your own risk.
Q. Can I Encrypt Folders/Directories or Disks With FreeCrypt?
A. No. Sorry, but FreeCrypt is only designed to work with individual files.
Q. Do I need FreeCrypt to decrypt files on another computer?
A. Yes. Just put a copy of FreeCrypt on all computers you want to be able to access the files.
Q. My encrypted file was modified and now I can’t read it after it is decrypted.
A. You should never modify any file that has been encrypted by FreeCrypt or any encryption program as it confuses the encryption/decryption routine often times making portions or all of the file unreadable.
Q. Freecrypt Windows Compatibility
A. Freecrypt has been tested with several versions of Windows through XP and Windows 7 and works fine. There have been no bug reports with these Operating Systems. Because of the design methods used on this product, we anticipate that Freecrypt will continue to work on Future versions of the Windows Operating Systems as long as Microsoft maintains a reasonable level of backward compatiblity. We did not incorporate OS version checking or use techniques that would make Freecrypt dependant on any one version of Windows.