Forums › Help & support › Getting Around AxCrypt
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AmirHi
I’m a new AxCrypt user. I found AxCrypt from online reviews and I thought of giving it a try. That’s why I’m currently on the 30-day free trial of the Premium version. I plan to buy the Premium version but before that, I need to really understand how it works. Since I’m new to it, so there are some issues which I need explanations or clarifications. I’ve watched the tutorial videos, read through the FAQs and some of the Information links, Blog posts and Forum questions that are related to my concerns.
My concerns are as follows:
1) Password(s)
a. For a personal use, does AxCrypt have more than one passwords? I mean, apart from Sign In password, is there a File / Folder password or passphrase?
2) Encrypted file
a. When I encrypt a file and edit it, does the file really get edited? Because I had an issue where when I encrypted a file, edited it and decrypted it, the file reverted to its original (at the time when it was encrypted). All my edits were lost.
3) Secured folder
a. What is “Secured folder” really? Is it “encrypted folder”? Does “Secured folder” mean the files in the folder are encrypted by automatic?
b. When I encrypt a folder, does it become a “Secured folder”? Because in my experience, when I encrypted a folder, the files in it got encrypted, but when I checked in the AxCrypt application, the folder was not listed under “Secured folder”
4) Decrypt a file
a. Why can’t I decrypt a file? I had an issue where a window came up saying that the file was opened in another location when actually it was not because I already closed all applications before trying to decrypt it. In fact I did able to decrypt if but only after I restarted Windows.
5) Default secured folders in OneDrive and DropBox
a. Can I move the default secured folders in OneDrive and DropBox to another drive? If can, how to do it.
b. If I keep ‘un’encrypted files in these default “Secured” folders, do they got encrypted “automatically” (since the name of the folder is “Secured”)? Or what I’m trying to ask is, can somebody open the files in a “Secured” folder in OneDrive and DropBox if I didn’t encrypt those files “manually”?
Thank you very much. I really hope someone could help me so that I confidently use this software and buy the Premium version.
Hello Amir,
Quite a few questions and I actually think all of them are answered by the information on the site – but since they are rather detailed and specific, it may require some searching.
1) Password(s)
a. For a personal use, does AxCrypt have more than one passwords? I mean, apart from Sign In password, is there a File / Folder password or passphrase?
No, the whole idea of AxCrypt is to have one, strong password for all your files (and optionally all your passwords if you decide to use the password manager).
2) Encrypted file
a. When I encrypt a file and edit it, does the file really get edited? Because I had an issue where when I encrypted a file, edited it and decrypted it, the file reverted to its original (at the time when it was encrypted). All my edits were lost.
The process, simplified is:
1) The file is decrypted to a temporary location, and then opened from there in the application.
2) You work and save your work to the temporary location.
3) When you are done, in some cases AxCrypt can detect that you closed the app, in other cases you need to click the red broom icon to clean up.
4) When AxCrypt knows you are done, the file (if changed) is re-encrypted to the original location and the temporary copy is wiped.3) Secured folder
a. What is “Secured folder” really? Is it “encrypted folder”? Does “Secured folder” mean the files in the folder are encrypted by automatic?
A secured folder is a folder that AxCrypt monitors and keeps track of files to make it easier to keep all the files in the folder encrypted.
b. When I encrypt a folder, does it become a “Secured folder”? Because in my experience, when I encrypted a folder, the files in it got encrypted, but when I checked in the AxCrypt application, the folder was not listed under “Secured folder”
No, it does not become a secured folder if you encrypt the files in the folder. You need to designate it as secured in AxCrypt.
4) Decrypt a file
a. Why can’t I decrypt a file? I had an issue where a window came up saying that the file was opened in another location when actually it was not because I already closed all applications before trying to decrypt it. In fact I did able to decrypt if but only after I restarted Windows.
There are many reasons why it may be locked, or AxCrypt can’t safely determine that it’s not. For example, if you open a file in notepad, notepad does not lock the file. All AxCrypt knows is that some instance of Notepad may be using it. So AxCrypt will not treat it as done until all instances of Notepad are closed, regardless of what is open in them. Also, the operating system and anti-virus may at times keep files open. If it is a recurring problem, you can check what processes are keeping a file open with either resource monitor or 3rd party utilities like wholockme. You can also contact support.
5) Default secured folders in OneDrive and DropBox
a. Can I move the default secured folders in OneDrive and DropBox to another drive? If can, how to do it.
The default is just that, a default. You can delete it and use some other folder.
b. If I keep ‘un’encrypted files in these default “Secured” folders, do they got encrypted “automatically” (since the name of the folder is “Secured”)? Or what I’m trying to ask is, can somebody open the files in a “Secured” folder in OneDrive and DropBox if I didn’t encrypt those files “manually”?
The encryption of new files is semi-automatic, i.e. requires a click on the red broom clean up icon. This is because automatic encryption of files don’t sit well with many applications such as Microsoft Office.
If you create a file in a synchronized folder, and the synchronizing agent synchronizes to the cloud before you have AxCrypt encrypt it, it can be exposed for a brief time. Safest is to either disable sync when doing that, or encrypting the file locally before moving it to the synchronized folder.
AmirHello Svante
Thank you very much for your quick and helpful answer. My confusion has been cleared up!
I’m sure will subscribe to the Premium version once the trial period ends and will contact you or your amazing team if I encounter any problem in future.
Cheers!
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