Cryptainer LE 6.0 - User Guide and FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions - Cryptainer LE

1. What is encryption?
   Encryption is a process that scrambles sensitive information. Encryption is generally regarded as the safest method of guarding against accidental or purposeful security breaches. The transformation process is controlled by an algorithm and a key. In order to read the encrypted data, the receiver must have the correct key to decrypt it. It is simply the encoding of data so that it cannot be read by anyone who does not know the password that decodes it.
   
   
2. Why do I need encryption?
   Data on almost every computer is vulnerable. There is no privacy at all on most PC's. Privacy is something that we take for granted in the real world but do not pay much attention to, in the digital world. Your PC is open, vulnerable and totally accessible to any one from your neighbor who shares the cable modem to the proverbial 13 year old! Given the ease with which most computers can be broken into, there is very little one can do, save the obvious - what we do in real life - protect information. This is easiest done by encryption, so that even if it is stolen or accessed without your permission or knowledge, it is useless.
   
   
3. What is Cryptainer LE?
   Cryptainer LE is software that can create multiple encrypted containers. It functions like any other drive (C: or D:) on your computer. Just drag and drop any file into the Cryptainer. It is automatically encrypted. It's that simple! Cryptainer files can only be viewed, accessed, browsed or modified by the user who has the key to open it. At other times it remains invisible.
   
   
4. What do I need to know to use Cryptainer LE?
   If you can use Windows Explorer, you can use Cryptainer LE. There is really nothing you need to learn.
   
   
5. Why do I need Cryptainer LE?
   Because it is the easiest way to ensure privacy of your data. Cryptainer LE guarantees the sanctity of your data by harnessing the power of a 128 bit encryption algorithm that would take all the computers in the world working together more than the age of the universe to decipher. Using Cryptainer LE, you can secure your data, be it in any form textual, graphical, audio or video.
   
   
6. Can I send my confidential data securely over email to my associates?
   Yes, of course. You can simply send encrypted files generated by Cryptainer LE over email. Use any email client like Outlook Express or Netscape mail or any web based email service like Hotmail. The recipient need not even have a copy of Cryptainer LE to view these encrypted files.
   
   
7. What kind of encryption does Cryptainer LE use?
   Cryptainer LE runs as a special Windows device driver. It operates on a 128 bit implementation of the Blowfish algorithm in Cipher Block Chaining mode with a block size of 64 bytes. This ensures that data encrypted using Cryptainer LE is impermeable to all known forms of attack. Statistically, it would be impossible to successfully brute-force crack the Cryptainer LE encryption. Blowfish was designed by Bruce Schneier. It is a block cipher with 64-bit block size and variable length keys (up to 448 bits). Blowfish utilizes the idea of randomized S-boxes: while doing key scheduling, it generates large pseudo-random look-up tables by doing several encryptions. The tables depend on the user supplied key in a very complex way. This approach has been proven to be highly resistant against many attacks such as differential and linear cryptanalysis.