Encrypto
$0.00/month
Pros
- 256-bit AES encryption
- Client-Side encryption
- Zero knowledge Privacy
- Easy to use
- Free
Cons
- No Filename encryption
- No on-the-fly encryption
- No cloud storage platform integration
- No advanced features
- No mobile application programs
Encrypto Review
Encrypto is one of the most reliable encryption software application programs that have been developed in the market in recent years. It is primarily being used by the people in order to keep their confidential information private from the prying eyes of hackers and intelligence gathering agencies. This particular encryption software application program has actually been created and released in the market by MacPaw Inc. in May 2015. In case you are still not aware of, MacPaw Inc. was organized 7 years prior to the development of the Encrypto encryption software program. This basically means that MacPaw Inc. was formed earlier in 2008. You will know more about the details upon reading the entirety of this Encrypto Review.
The company was actually founded by Oleksandr Kosovan while he was still a college student at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in Ukraine. He decided to name the company after the word “Mac” which is the name of the computer operating system that Apple Inc. uses. This might probably due to the fact that the original software product of MacPaw is called “CleanMyMac” which is a software designed to clean the MacBook created by Apple Inc. Oleksandr Kosovan together with his team launched several software products first before being able to create Encrypto in 2015.
As of this moment, Oleksandr Kosovan serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. He has also recruited Vera Tkachenko to become the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of MacPaw Inc. Aside from being the CTO of the company, Vera Tkachenko is also currently the Chief Innovation Officer. Throughout the years, MacPaw Inc. has become successful in penetrating the cybersecurity industry.
From a small team, MacPaw Inc. has grown to approximately more than 200 employees. Based on the information I found online, MacPaw Inc. has a corporate headquarters located at Velyka Vasylkivska St, 100, Kyiv, Kyivska oblast, Ukraine, 03150. Aside from that, the company expanded in the United States of America and established an office at 601 Montgomery Street, Suite 1400, San Francisco, CA 94111.
Read the full Encrypto Review to learn more about this particular encryption software program created by MacPaw Inc.
Pricing & Subscription Plans
Based on my research, I can use the Encrypto encryption software application program absolutely for free. All I have to do is to download the desktop client version of Encrypto from the website of MacPaw Inc. There are no monthly subscription plans to deal with. Aside from that, there are also no annual subscription plans to choose from. I also don’t need to purchase to purchase this particular encryption software application program for a one-time fee. This basically means that Encrypto is entirely free. Moreover, it is like getting an unlimited free trial of the encryption software application program. The proceeds of sales coming from other software products of MacPaw Inc. is already good enough to sustain the development of its free software application programs it is offering.
Who is it for?
Encrypto encryption software application program is best suited for people who wants to protect their most important files and confidential information with the use of 256-bit AES encryption. Everybody I know who are very obsessed with cybersecurity would really want to get their hands on this type of data encryption simply because this encryption is unbreakable.
Aside from that, if you are the type of person who are constantly backing up document files as well as pictures and videos online through a cloud storage service provider, it is best to maximize your protection by getting the Encrypto software application program. It is in your best interest to encrypt your data and information first before even sending it to the cloud.
Ease of Use
It is very easy to download the desktop client version of Encrypto to my local computer. All I have to do is to go to the official website of MacPaw Inc. I then need to scroll down the home page of the website to see the list of software products the company is offering. After that, I need to click the icon of the “Encrypto” file encryption app as displayed on the screen. Once I do that, I will be redirected to a page where the desktop client version installer files are located.
There will be 2 options to choose from. I can either download the desktop client version for Windows or download the Mac version. In my case, I need to choose the desktop client version installer file for the Windows computer operating system. In order for me to do that, I have to click the “Download For Windows” button displayed on the web page. Once I do that, the Encrypto encryption software application program will be immediately downloaded to my computer. I just need to run the installer file on my computer so that I can proceed with the installation process for the software program.
After that, I need to accept the Terms of Service of the Encrypto software application program in order to pursue the installation. I can do this by actually clicking the small circular button stating “I accept the Terms of Service” as displayed on the installation screen of Encrypto and click the “Next” button.
After that, I have the option to customize my Encrypto installation. Since I want the full installation package, I will just click the “Install Now” button right away. Once I do that, the installation process will proceed and will be finished immediately.
Since the encryption software application program is now installed, I can now click the icon of Encrypto in order to run the program. The graphic user interface of Encrypto will immediately be displayed on my computer screen. A notification will also appear stating that I can drop or add files or folders to get started. I tried selecting a file by dragging it towards the graphic user interface and by dropping it there but the method doesn’t work. I tried an alternative process instead to be able to successfully encrypt a file or folder.
I hovered my computer mouse on the graphic user interface of Encrypto and then clicked the “Add file” menu button.
Once I do that, another screen will appear that will enable me to manually choose a file from any location on my local computer.
After that, I need to create a password to be able to encrypt the file and decrypt it later. The password will be created by typing it in the space provided for in the graphic user interface. The next thing I need to do is to actually click the “Encrypt” button in order to proceed. Once I do that, the encryption process will start.
In order to be able to have the encrypted file, I need to click the ‘Save As” button.
After that, I then need to select the location where I want to store the encrypted file. After selecting the location, I just need to click the “Save” button. Based on my observation, the encrypted file has a filename extension called “crypto.”
After that, all I have to do is to double-click the encrypted file in order to start the decryption process. The graphic user interface will immediately display a blank box wherein I can type the password that I need to have to decrypt the encrypted file. The password that I should type on the box provided should match the password that was used to encrypt the file. Only then will I be able to have a copy of the decrypted file.
Once the decrypted file is available, I need to click the ‘Save As” button in order to store a decrypted copy of the file on my local computer.
Another application screen will immediately appear which enables me to select the location were the decrypted copy of the file will be stored. After that, I need to click the “Save” button.
There will be a message notification that will immediately appear saying that the file is decrypted and saved. The same process can actually be applied in encrypting and decrypting a folder.
Another method I can use to encrypt a file or folder it to actually right-click a certain file or folder that is stored in my local computer. Once I do that, menu option will appear on my computer screen. I need to click the “Encrypt with Encrypto” menu option so that I can smoothly start the encryption process. The same process will be applied in this type of encryption method.
I need to manually create a password and type it in the box provided so that the “Encrypt” button will be activated and become clickable. I then need to click the ‘Encrypt” button. After that, I need to click the “Save As” button and select the location where the encrypted file will be stored. I then need to hit and click the “Save” button so that the encrypted version of the file will be stored in my computer. I have to manually delete the original unencrypted file on my computer since the original version will remain visible and vulnerable to breach of privacy. This situation can be addressed by deleting the unencrypted file permanently and just retain the encrypted copy.
In order to decrypt an encrypted file using the same method, I need to right right-click the file itself so that menu options will appear. After that, I have to click the “Decrypt with Encrypto” menu option. I just have to repeat the same process as I did with the previous decryption method cited above.
For Windows computer operating system, I need to make sure that Windows XP or a higher version of Windows OS is installed in my computer to be able to use the Encrypto encryption software application program. This means that the software program is also compatible with Windows 7 & Windows 10. The Windows version of the desktop client application program was actually last updated on May 2018. It is currently the latest version of the Encrypto software application program.
For the Mac computer operating system, I need to make sure that the macOS 10.9 or a higher version is installed in my Apple device as this is the minimum requirement in order to be able to use the software application program. The Mac version was also last updated on May 2018.
Privacy & Security
Encrypto is more than enough in order to protect the privacy and security of all of your data and information. This is due to the fact that Encrypto uses the 256-bit AES encryption. It would really be foolish for hackers even just to attempt to break this type of data encryption as it would take billions of years just to crack the code. Even with the help of the fastest supercomputers, it would actually be impossible to crack the 256-bit AES encryption through a massive brute-force attack. This is the reason why the 256-bit AES is the type of encryption that is being used by banks, business and government agencies all over the world to protect their respective confidential data and information. If these respectable institutions believe that the 256-bit AES encryption is impenetrable, then everyone else will.
Another thing, that make me comfortable to use this particular encryption software application program is that it is entirely run offline. I don’t need internet connection to run the program. This means that the private keys are stored offline. In the same manner, I can confidently say that the Encrypto encryption software application program uses client-side encryption that respects the value of zero-knowledge privacy.
This situation is actually a two-edged sword. It can be used as a protection of breach of privacy and data security from malicious hackers as well as from from people conducting illegal surveillance and intelligence gathering activities. However, it can also be used to protect the files and the folders from myself. This means that if I forget the password used to encrypt an individual file or encrypt an entire folder, I would forever lose access to all of these files and folders.
Even if I try to contact the customer support representative of MacPaw Inc., I will not be able to restore my access to these encrypted files and folders. They don’t hold my private key nor my password. I’m the only one who can help myself. I need to make sure to write my password used to encrypt a file or folder in a piece of paper or in a notebook so that I have a backup copy of the password just in case I forgot it.
I also would not store a copy of my password on my computer as this might lead to potential breach of privacy and data security if people can get access to the document file where all of the passwords for the encrypted folders and encrypted files are stored.
While Encrypto uses a very strong encryption method, it still has lots of things to improve on. This is primarily due to the fact that it doesn’t use the on-the-fly type of encryption. This basically means that I still need to manually decrypt every file before it can be accessed. In the same manner, I need to also manually encrypt every file that is inside an encrypted folder. Even if I already have encrypted a folder, the 256-bit AES encryption is not passed on to every file that is stored in it. Only the encrypted folder is protected but not the contents on it. This is something that the management of MacPaw Inc. and the developers of Encrypto encryption software application program need to work on.
Aside from that, Encrypto does not have the filename encryption technology and capability. This means that I have no way of hiding the true nature of the data set that I have stored in an encrypted folder.
Additional Features
I am very sad to announce that the Encrypto software application program of MacPaw Inc. actually lacks lots of useful features. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t even have mobile application programs available for both Android and iOS devices. This is quite a disappointment since I will not be able to encrypt files and folders in my mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. It also doesn’t have an online backup feature since it doesn’t have its own cloud storage platform. Aside from that, it also doesn’t have a built-in cloud storage detection and integration capability.
Because of this, I regret to announce that the Encrypto encryption software application program also doesn’t have a built-in file sharing feature. The only way that I will be able to share an encrypted folder or an encrypted file to someone else is to actually upload the file or folder manually in a shared folder of a particular cloud storage provider. I also need to share the password manually to a person whom I want to share the encrypted file or encrypted folder with. As an alternative, I can also attach an encrypted file on an e-mail and share the password with the recipient of such e-mail. There’s no easy way to deal with this since there’s no built-in file sharing feature.
I also found out that Encrypto doesn’t also have a secure delete feature or otherwise known as the secure file shredding feature. This means that I have to manually delete the original file or original folder that is unencrypted in order to prevent any possible breach of data privacy. Aside from that, even if I have already deleted the original unencrypted version of a file or folder, there will still be fragments of it that might exist on my computer.
Online Support
Based on my research, I have found out that Encrypto doesn’t have a dedicated user manual or knowledgebase on the website of MacPaw Inc. This might be attributed to the fact that the encryption software application program is very basic and is very easy to use. It also doesn’t have a dedicated frequently asked questions (FAQs) page for the Encrypto software application program. On top of that, I also found out that there is no phone customer support deployed.
However, I’m still happy to announce that I can contact a customer support representative of MacPaw Inc. to address my questions and valid concerns regarding the Encrypto software application by filling up an online contact form. The message that I have written in the online contact form will be sent as an e-mail.
As an alternative, I can also directly send a message to one of the customer support representatives of MacPaw Inc. through e-mail at support@macpaw.com. Aside from that, there is a live chat customer support that is readily available on the website.
Conclusion
The Encrypto software application program is very easy to use. Aside from that, it is very affordable since I can use it absolutely for free. While there are no user manuals, no knowledgebase and no compilation of the frequently asked questions (FAQs), the overall online customer support of Encrypto is still quite satisfactory. This is primarily because there is e-mail support and live chat support on top of the customer support ticket that can be created through an online form.
The privacy and security of Encrypto software application program is also very satisfactory due to the 256-bit AES encryption that is being used. Aside from that, the client-side encryption that abides with the concept of zero-knowledge privacy is being used by this particular software application program. However, I suggest that the developers of Encrypto should integrate on-the-fly encryption in the near future as it is not yet available.
On top of that, I have observed that it lacks critical features such as the file sharing capability, online backup technology, built-in cloud storage detection and integration, as well as the secure delete and the file shredder feature. Moreover, Encrypto doesn’t currently have mobile application programs which I can use to encrypt my files and folders in my mobile devices. While Encrypto is quite satisfactory in general, I will still opt to use other encryption software application programs as there are plenty of alternative encryption software programs that are available for free. On the other hand, I can still use Encrypto as it is still quite satisfactory.
I hope I answered all your questions within this Encrypto Review. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section down below!
