Encrypting with Axcrypt

Here's a good way, IMO

Example.

1 - Create a folder called Test.

2 - Place whatever you want inside.

3 - Zip ALL the contents ONLY, not the folder, with your favourite Zipper. I PW protect it too, & it could be a different PW, or the same as for the next operation.

4 - Encrypt the Test folder with Axcrypt.

All you will see from the outside is this



& inside this



You could disguise the file name, as it allows that, & also the extension name if you desire. There is, or used to be, an extra little file you could download from them, which would do this. Also naming the Zip to something unrelated to the contents won't hurt

The thing with Axcrypt is that individually encrypts files, not folders ! So encrypting the contents can take a while, if you have lots, and/or BIG files.

My way makes it quite simple, & Fast =

 

CloneRanger,

thanks - I am trying to follow your steps using 7Zip but still can't get it to work as I like. My idea is to have one folder uploaded into the cloud, encrypted with Axcrypt in a way that does not give away what's in there. However, while I can choose a non-descript folder name with all the files in there encrypted, the individual file names still appear in plain sight. I can use the function to change the name (if I can remember where to find it) but this means even to me opening the folder, I am greeted by a jumble of files not knowing which to go for unless I fully decrypt everything.
I was hoping for a way to encrypt the folder so that you cannot even open it to look at what's in there without the password.

 

7zip allows you to encrypt both contents and file names, make sure you select when creating an archive the .7z format and you should be able to check the "Encrypt File Names" option. Same functionality, less hassle.

 

@ beethoven

Let me try again.

First off, if you select a Folder to encrypt, Axcrypt will excrypt ALL files in that Folder, but NOT the folder, from 1 - infinity/ish depending how many are in. Unless you go into the folder & selectively encrypt one by one, or encrypt multiple files at a time by highlighting them.

So let's start from scratch, like this.



People can see the Flowers Folder & the Axcrypted Stuff Folder inside it. But they can NOT see the contents, ie Secrets, because it has been PW Zipped & then PW Acrypted. The Secrets have NOT been Axcrypted, Only the Zipped Stuff Folder.

So if you Decrypt the Stuff & then Unzip it, All the files are there for you to peruse/add/delete/copy etc, at your leasure.



To Auto re-Zip & re-Crypt, all you need to do is Exit 7-Zip, it's that simple & convenient, ALL at once =

Experiment until it clicks, you should soon get the hang of it. Once it does you'll be smiling

@ EncryptedBytes

I'm only doing ALL this, as he stated he wanted to use Axcrypt

 

What happens to Temp files? Is that true that AXcrypt leave a trace of the unencrypted files in a Temp folder?

Anyway, using 7z with AES seems more simple.

 

I created a New Folder & put in a .png file. Encrypted it with 7Zip like this



The 7Zip file name is visable



Double clicked on the 7Zip & chose CANCEL.



Immediately it opened & i could see the .png File name



What gives ?

 

@ dogbite

Just tried it.



Here's what FileAlyzer shows



I only showed part of it, but ALL the data "appear" to be Zero's

 

thanks for our test.

Maybe you can "hash" hotty.png if you encrypt also the file names within the 7z archive.

 

You mean mine

I encrypted another .png with 7Zip & "Encrypt File Names" checked. Then used FA to peek inside



LOTS of data to be viewed there Whether it's of any use ? But i'd rather see Zero's any day

 

When you open an AxCrypt-encrypted file, AxCrypt creates an unencrypted temporary 'working' copy of the file in a temp folder and redirects whatever program needs to access the file to that folder. When you view/edit the file, you are actually working with that copy. If you save any changes then the temp file will be encrypted and used to replace the original. AxCrypt normally wipes this temp file as soon as you're done working with it. However, if your OS crashes or you experience a sudden shutdown (e.g. power failure, hardware failure, etc.) while an AxCrypt-encrypted file is open then AxCrypt will be unable to wipe the temp file, so a plaintext copy of the file will remain in the temp folder.

It's easy to test this. Open an AxCrypt-encrypted file, locate the temp file, notice that it's unencrypted, then pull the plug (or whatever) on your computer. How can AxCrypt possibly wipe that file now? Reboot and see if it's still there. Mine was. Fully unencrypted.

I'm not an AxCrypt developer so I can't guarantee that the above information is 100% correct, but that's sure how it looks to me.

 

@ dantz

.

Confirmed

I expect any such software would need to do that, otherwise we wouldn't be able to see it etc

Well if your comp crashes, or you lose power etc, highly unlikely, but possible, i suppose it's to be expected ! What encryption soft would prevent that ?

 

File or folder encryption programs (AXCrypt, WinZip, 7Zip, etc.) typically store unencrypted temp files on disk. On-the-fly volume or disk encryption programs (BestCrypt, TrueCrypt, PGP disk encryption, BitLocker, etc.) work differently and they don't need to do this. Unencrypted data is stored only in RAM.

 

None of the compressed/self-extracting programs (like Axcrypt). That's a big reason I like the hardware encrypted flash drives to open and close protected documents.
On edit: What Dantz said above is absolutely correct. I just like the added security of all encryption and decryption being done on the crypto processor.

 

True & i use TrueCrypt volumes but i also like Axcrypt

That's what i thought. Still having chioces & options is nice

 

Of course the "7Zip file name" is visible. If it wasn't, you would have no file on your hard drive to even view. The same is true of any program that creates files, including axcrypt, the file name of the file creatd by the program is visible.

Wrong, unless you are using a broken/hacked version. The official version does not do this. You cannot open a 7z file containing encrypted file names without providing the password. And you cannot view the file names in a hex editor.

What are you even talking about? Of course there is data inside of your 7zip encrypted file, same goes for there being data inside of you axcrypted file. If the data was all 0's, your file would be empty and useless. There would be no data to decompress/decrypt.

 

I'm talking about the Actual FILE Name being Encrypted in 7Zip, which i thought it meant, not the extention eg .ZIP. See my "Add to Archive" screenie in Post# 6 were it shows i checked "Encrypt File Names" So Secrets.zip would appear as g6$h-kR4x9.zip for eg. If that's not correct, please explain.

.

It's not cracked, but it is v4.23 Well i did both of those things, so i'm NOT wrong.

.

You misunderstood what i showed That was about the Axcrypt .TMP file which had ALL Zero's.

 

It doesn't encrypt the file name. You can name the actual file anything you want, just like you can with an axcrypt file or any other type of file. That option in 7zip, encrypts the file names inside of the archive so that they cannot be viewed without the password.

That version is almost 8 years old. Even so, what you say does not happen. If you encrypt and password protect a file with the option for "encrypt file names" checked, you cannot open the archive and view it's contents without providing the password.

You showed a screenshot of the 7zip file in a hex editor and then talked about it showing lot's of data and then said you'd rather see zeros.

 

@ tateu

I realised what happened now. It appears i had the hotty.png & hotty.7z in the same folder, so when i went to open it but cancelled the decrypting, the folder opened to show those names. In my haste putting together the post at the time i acknowledge it was an error

 

I usually erase/overwrite (not delete the file as that just puts the file in freespace) the origin file to avoid confusion.

 

One thing 7zip does not do is erase temp files created if you open a compressed and or encrypted file directly by double clicking on it from the 7zip GUI. It will extract to your temp folder and then just plain delete it when done. I usually extract the files first, so no temp files are created and then I can be responsible for securely deleting them when done.

I don't know how axcrypt handles that. I won't I install anything with open candy crap

 

thanks guys - that was very helpful

I would like to ask a follow-up question. Assuming we ignore some finer details like file name encryption, special features or convenience of use and only consider the encryption part - Using either Axcrypt or 7zip with AES256 and passwords (no keyfile) for cloud storage, is one or the other safer during upload or in the cloud?

 

Why double encrypting something that has already been encrypted with AES256 (7z archive)? If you also encrypt filenames i see very little point in using AxCrypt later...

 

Rejzor - that's not the point anymore - I am wondering if using Axcrypt or 7zip has advantages securitywise when using for cloud storage. Initially I had not considered 7Zip for the purpose of encryption and cloneranger had addressed my original query which started out with Axcrypt.

 

I did some Recuva experiments with axcrypt a while back. Recuva found copies of images of axcrypt encrypted files. So in my opinion, if it's something really sensitive, the best approach is to first copy the files over to a truecrypt container, wipe the originals, encrypt the files from within the TC container, and then move them to wherever you want them.

I am pretty sure that when you put a password on a rar file it is encrypted....and you can also encrypt file names with winrar.

But here is another option. Right click on a folder with files in it and enrcypt with axcrypt.

You can still see the files names.



Then highlight all of the files, right click and choose rename, then just type in a bunch of random characters.



When you decrypt the axcrypt files, the originals names will return. Same with a rar file.

So by moving the files to a TC container first (it can be a throw away container just for this purpose), wiping the files from the hard drive or other media, encypting the files with axcrypt inside of the tc container, and then changing the file names, then you should be able to run some kind of cleaner and be good to go.

But then again, if you have Shadow Defender enabled, I don't think any file names can be found after reboot. In fact, I challenge anyone here to prove me wrong.

 

Try this:

Extract the Axcrypt Installer with OpenCandy Offer using 7-Zip.
Open the folder and delete $PLUGINSDIR.

This should remove the OpenCandy junk from the installer.