USB Encryption 12.3

Overview

GiliSoft USB Stick Encryption is a useful security program for people who wish to secure USB flash drives, USB hard drives, memory sticks, memory cards, and other suitable storage mediums. The package can allocate a user-determined amount of secure storage without the storage medium which is controlled using a slider. Then save files directly into this space which is protected both by data encryption and password access. Should the user accidentally leave their drive or memory card behind in a hotel room or an internet café then their data cannot be accessed by a third party.

Installation

The installation takes up 18.7 MB to install. The setup progress goes by quickly enough and the user is prompted to acknowledge the creation of a Start menu item, desktop icon and Quick Launch icon. No extra software was added during installation to bug the user or cause an issue later.

The software is limited to a total of 10 uses before it will prevent further use without registration. The software can be purchased at any time and the licence key entered to unlock the installed version so a second full version won't need to be downloaded as part of any purchase of the software.

Interface

The interface shows the USB drive at the top. This is a drop down box which includes USB connected hard drives, USB flash drives, memory cards, memory sticks, and any other USB devices or media that the program believes it can use. The list can be opened or refreshed if a new storage card or USB device has just been plugged in via plug and play in Windows.

Disc information for the selected media or drive is shown in the next section below. A red information line is included if the software discovered that the selected media or drive has not been encrypted yet. There are buttons for FAT2NTFS conversion, Password access, Uninstall, and Recover.

There is a section below this where a secure area slider is presented. The slider can be moved to determine what portion of the drive or media selected will be used to create an encrypted location for data to be stored. This flexibility is nice to see. Both the total space available and the suggested space allocated for secure access, as denoted by the slider, are shown.

A large Install button is then shown at the bottom to deploy an encrypted solution to a USB device or memory card.

Pros

• Create an encrypted and locked USB hard drive, USB flash drive, memory stick, memory card or other suitable storage medium
• Lock the data via a password and data encryption to protect against loss or theft
• FAT2NTFS transfer facility
• Protects against a user who leaves the USB device plugged into an Internet café computer or elsewhere for other people to grab

Cons

• Limited to 10 uses before locks out.

Alternatives

Rohos Mini Drive and EncryptStick are worth trying out.

Conclusion

GiliSoft USB Stick Encryption is great software to protect USB flash drives, USB hard drives, memory cards, memory sticks, and other media that can easily fall into the wrong hands and be accessed. The software will encrypt a part of the storage so that files can be saved there and password protect the container at the same time.