Encryption software

now that companies are starting to require encryption files when scanning, anyone have any experience with encryption software…PC reviews list three recommended. AxCrypt, Certain safe Digital , and folder lock.

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I use the free Primo PDF for Windows. After being installed, it has an icon on the desktop. Right-click the icon to set a password. Then drag & drop an unencrypted PDF on to it. Primo PDF will encrypt it with the password you set, and prompt you to choose a place to save the encrypted PDF. The unencrypted PDF will remain untouched on your system too. So then you email the encrypted PDF to whoever needs it.

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I took a glance at the encryption programs mentioned by LindaKauffman. My evaluation is superficial, based on the vendor’s description on the vendor’s website.

AxCrypt doesn’t require the user to enter passwords, meaning AxCrypt holds the password. Since they don’t make it clear where the secret infomation is kept, I assume the worst and assume they keep the secrets, and they can read my files. Also, if they go out of business, I won’t be able to recover my files. Furthermore, to share a file with someone else, the recipient would have to download and install AxCrypt. Most corporate users are not allowed to install software on the computers issued to them by their corporations, so this program goes down in flames.

Certainsafe is cloud-based. So you have to trust Certainsafe. Also, if they go out of business your documents would be lost, and perhaps turned over to whoever buys their assets at a bankruptcy auction. The receipient of files would have to long into Certainsafe. This might disturb a recipient who just want the document emailed.

Folder Lock is for protecting folders or USB drives on a particular PC. It is not for encrypting files that are to be emailed.

'I finally got the right primo pdf installed and it does work great. can’t thank you enough. Linda

Awesome research! Thanks, your findings are incredibly helpful.

I use the paid version of Genius Scan (iPhone user here) and I’ve been using it to encrypt my files for over 3 years now. I choose the password and will typically use the zipcode for the property. I let the companies I work with know this in advance. This allows me to encrypt small things directly from the closing table. HOWEVER this is not for a large batch of scan backs. If you get much more than 20 pages in your scan the file size is huge. For those I fall back to my paid version of Adobe.

Ashton, thanks for the info, this is usable information. One question on Primo…Am I to understand that it gets decrypted when the receiver opens it? No password? It stays encrypted until received?

Primo creates a document opening password. Primo makes a copy of the document encrypted with the password you choose. Anyone who wants to open that copy, you, the person you send it to, anyone else, must supply the password or else the document won’t open. You can try to open it with any program that can show PDFs, whether it’s Adobe Reader, Nitro PDF, Adobe Acrobat, Firefox browser; if you don’t know the password, you can’t open it.

This process is compatible with Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat. The free Adobe Reader won’t let you create a password, but if you spend hundreds of $ on Adobe Acrobat, you can create the same kind of passwords as Primo.

Since the password-protected PDF is a copy you still have your original file, which has not been changed by Primo and so does not have a password.