Data Backup Digest

For those of us who are not security professionals or IT experts, it can often be difficult to evaluate the quality of new software packages. But when it comes to choosing encryption software, there’s a very easy criteria to check: if it’s good enough to protect U.S. military secrets, then it’s probably good enough for your business or personal use.

Encryption Wizard (EW) easily meets that criteria. EW was developed by the military for the military, but it’s also freely available to the public. Encryption Wizard is made in Java, which means it’s cross-platform. It works on Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows, which means you can use it within your organization even if recipients run different systems than the senders of the encrypted media. It is very portable: it consists of a single .jar file that can be run without installation or elevated administrator privileges.

Encryption Wizard uses 128-bit AES encryption (an industry standard) and also comes in a FIPS 140-2 validated version. FIPS stands for Federal Information Processing Standards, and it essentially means that Encryption Wizard meets a number of government requirements for security. This means you can use Encryption Wizard for storing sensitive information (data at rest) and transmitting information over email, the Internet, or on removable media (data in motion) while working with federal government agencies and subcontractors.

Encryption Wizard has a dead simple interface. You can drag-and-drop files to be encrypted into the window, automatically generate a strong encryption key, and encrypt your files in seconds. Encryption Wizard supports encrypted archives as well as single encrypted files. You can also encrypt files using a PKI certificate.

Encryption Wizard also has a number of more advanced features, including a number of command line tools, archive compression, CAC/PIV support, file metadata, keychain support, and hash tools. These advanced features can easily be ignored if all you need is basic encryption functionality.

Encryption Wizard is free, secure, easy-to-use and cross platform. Some examples of those using Encryption Wizard are:

Military agencies. This is the target market that Encryption Wizard was initially developed for. But the Air National Guard also uses Encryption Wizard for emailing potentially sensitive information to people’s home email accounts. The military also uses Encryption Wizard for medical information in order to meet HIPAA requirements.

Home users protecting financial data. If you have tax records, password lists or other personal information you store on a home computer, you can use Encryption Wizard to protect it.

Corporations and engineering companies. Encryption Wizard can be used to protect proprietary information and technical documents.

Clubs and organizations. Cub Scout packs, sports teams, and other clubs can use Encryption Wizard to send out records, rosters, and other group information via email or websites without exposing the information to non-members.

In summary, Encryption Wizard is free, easy-to-use, cross-platform, and certified by the military as a secure encryption tool. If you are considering implementing an encryption software into your workflow, give Encryption Wizard a try.