BestCrypt 8.06

BestCrypt 8.06 is a software that can create and support encrypted virtual disks, which are visible as regular disks with corresponding drive letters (for example, D:, K:, Z:, i.e. with any drive letter that is not used by another system device).

BestCrypt allows encrypting data with many encryption algorithms (AES, Blowfish, Twofish, CAST and others). Every algorithm is implemented with the largest possible key size defined in the algorithm's specification. BestCrypt v.8 can utilize LRW Encryption Mode, which is specially designed for applications working on disk sector level and more secure than other popular modes used earlier, like Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) mode.

The data stored on a BestCrypt disk is stored in the container file. A container is a file, so it is possible to backup a container, move or copy it to other disk (CD-ROM or network, for instance) and continue to access your encrypted data using BestCrypt.

Any free drive letter in the system may be used to mount and to open an encrypted file-container for access. As well, with BestCrypt v.8 you can mount file-container as a subfolder on NTFS disk. When the virtual disk is opened, you can read and write data as if it were a conventional removable disk.

BestCrypt version 8 provides users with a higher security level as well as with a set of new functions. Besides, there are several ways of encrypting data in version 8:

• Storing encrypted data in containers and accessing the data through virtual drives (as earlier versions of the software do); 
• Encrypting set of files into a single compressed and, if needed, self-extracting archive (read more information in BCArchive article);
• Encrypting and accessing transparently whole Windows partitions/volumes (read more information in BestCrypt Volume Encryption article).

BestCrypt is an encryption software with a number of advanced and unique features. To get more information about them, read the General BestCrypt Features article.

Major Features:

1. BestCrypt software is designed for Windows Vista/XP/2003 Server (32-bit and 64-bit versions of operating systems), Windows 2000/NT/ME/98 operating systems. The software satisfies all requirements for 32 and 64-bit software and uses all available advantages of the operating systems.
2. There are no limitations on the number of local physical drives on which a user stores BestCrypt containers. Any type of physical media may be used to store and access the data on the BestCrypt containers: hard drives, removable media, magneto-optical devices, etc.
3. Any network accessible disk may be used by BestCrypt software for creating and accessing file-containers. This network disk may be shared by a server with any operating system, for example UNIX-like operating systems (OSF/1, LINUX, BSD, SunOS, HP/UX, AIX and others), Novell, Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista, Windows 95/98, Windows 3.xx, etc.
4. User may copy (backup) BestCrypt containers from one computer to another in network and continue to access encrypted data without any limitation on the operating system type. For example, a user may copy or move a file-container from a computer with a Windows operating system to a UNIX computer, yet continue access the data (now stored inside the container on the UNIX computer) from the Windows computer. Note that there is a separate version of BestCrypt for the Linux operating system.
5. BCWipe utility. To avoid an unauthorized restoration of deleted files from your disks, you can run BCWipe utility to wipe deleted files from the disk. The utility may also wipe all free space and file slacks on the specified disk.
6. CryptoSwap utility. BestCrypt can encrypt the Windows swap file. The swap file is the Windows system file that is used for virtual memory support, and it can store parts of documents that you are working with in an opened form on a hard drive. Even if an original document is encrypted by some powerful encryption program, Windows can put a whole document or part of it into the swap file in an unencrypted form. Encryption keys, passwords, and other sensitive information can also be swapped to the hard drive. Even if you use all of the security advantages of the latest Windows versions, simply investigating the swap file in DOS mode may allow someone to extract a lot of interesting information from the file. As far as we know, at the moment only BestCrypt allows encryption of the swap file contents.
7. Container Guard utility. This utility prevents users from accidental deleting an encrypted file-container. As well, it prevents from deleting your file-container by an unauthorized person who has network access to your computer. In Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista Container Guard may be disabled only by an administrator.
8. BestCrypt can create Hidden Containers that are not evident to an intruder. You can simply create another (hidden) container inside an already existing (shell) container. Data stored within shell and hidden containers can be completely different, passwords for the containers are also different, and it is impossible to tell whether a shell container is concealing a hidden container or not. Idea of Hidden Containers and its first implementation was invented by our company in 2001, and appeared as so fruitful that now it has been more or less implemented in many other software.
9. BestCrypt has a low-level module (so called Keyboard Filter) that automatically turns on when the user enters password in BestCrypt password edit boxes. Keyboard Filter prevents keyboard monitor utilities (like Microsoft Spy++ ) from intercepting a real password that the user types.
10. Automatic closing options.
    • Timeout: all virtual drives are automatically closed if the user has left computer or simply doesnot touch keyboard and mouse for the specified time (i.e. a "Screen saver" style time-out).
    • Hot Key: all virtual drives are automatically closed if the user presses the Hot Key combination on the keyboard.
11. The main commands to control access to encrypted data may be run from Windows Explorer ("My Computer" window) without starting BestCrypt Control Panel. To run these commands from Explorer, you should use the same method as for creating and opening any other document from Explorer, for example, a Microsoft Word document.
12. BestCrypt has been designed with an extensible architecture: any third-party encryption software or hardware developers can insert security extensions into the BestCrypt software - for example, additional encryption algorithms, proprietary procedures of entering the passwords, or additional hashing algorithms. To get additional information about the architecture, visit the Jetico webpage.
13. The BestCrypt Development Kit (available for downloading from the Jetico, Inc.) contains the source codes of all BestCrypt modules responsible for the security of the software.
14. BestCrypt automatically saves information concerning whether to share BestCrypt logical drives on a network. Now user does not have to share the BestCrypt drives every time he/she reboots operating system.

Enhancements:

1. Security enhancements
   • BestCrypt allows encrypting data with many encryption algorithms. Every algorithm is implemented with the largest possible key size defined in the algorithm's specification:
   • • AES (Rijndael) - 256-bit key.
     • Blowfish - 448-bit key.
     • CAST - 128-bit key.
     • GOST 28147-89 - 256-bit key.
     • RC6 - 256-bit key.
     • Serpent - 256-bit key.
     • Triple-Des - 168-bit key.
     • Twofish - 256-bit key. 
   • BestCrypt v.8 can utilize LRW Encryption Mode with all encryption algorithms listed above. LRW Mode is specially designed for applications working on disk sector level and more secure than other popular modes used earlier (like Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) mode).
   • Version 8 provides enhanced plausible deniability comparing with earlier versions:
   • • BestCrypt v.8 has got Enhanced Hidden Containers functionality , including ability to create several Hidden Containers inside outer container, ability to work with NTFS filesystem in outer container and so on.
     • BestCrypt v.8 can encrypt headers of its container files. As a result, such a container file becomes looking as a file filled with random data, so it is impossible to prove that the file contains encrypted data.
   • BestCrypt v.8 allows choosing Secure Hash Algorithm. At the moment the following hash algorithms are available: SHA-256, SHA-1, RIPEMD-160, MD5.
   • Version 8 allows using Public Key Encryption technology to provide access to encrypted data. The software supports key pairs in standard formats like PKCS #12, X.509, it supports PGP keys. It means, for example, that users can use public key of some other person to allow him/her accessing data inside encrypted container.
   • The software supports Secret Sharing Scheme. The functionality allows a group of persons to create a single encrypted container so that only several members of the group gathered together will be able to access data inside the container.
   • BestCrypt v.8 allows users to remove header of encrypted container from container file. Such a header is stored in a separate file. Without the header it is absolutely impossible to access data inside the container, because the header stores encryption key for the data. The file with container's header can be stored in any place, for example, on a removable device. So even if a user is unable to store large container file in a safe place, he/she can do that with a small file where header of the container is stored.
2. New functionality
   • BestCrypt v.8 supports Windows Vista, including 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating system. Note that old Windows versions, like Windows 98, are still supported too.
   • BestCrypt v.8 allows mounting encrypted containers, created with KG-Ghost key generator, not only as a disk drive with a drive letter (like D:, E: or Z:), but also as a mount point, i.e. as a subfolder on a regular NTFS partition. It is useful, for example, because appearing new drive on a computer is more noticable than appearing some additional data in NTFS subfolder. As well now the user can mount a lot of containers simultaneously, being not limited by a number of free drive letters on his/her computer.
   • Version 8 supports its own database of Public Keys. The user can control the database with Public Key Manager utility. BestCrypt Public Key Manager supports importing public keys from files created by other programs, for example, by PGP program or software that uses X.509 standard.
   • BestCrypt v.8 includes a special module allowing any third-party individual or company easily translate the software to other language. Please contact our technical support department for more information on translating the software.
   • The software now allows mounting BestCrypt virtual drives as removable devices. Sometimes it is useful, for example, if your computer has not so reliable power supply. Windows caches data flow on removable devices in a different way, so accidental power lost causes less consequences for consistency of data stored on removable devices.
   • If BestCrypt virtual drive (for example, E:) is shared for network access, earlier versions of BestCrypt save information about the share and restore it when the user mounts the virtual drive again. But earlier BestCrypt versions cannot save sharing information if subfolders on the virtual drive are shared (for example, E:shared_subfolder_1). Version 8 of the software has no the limitation and all the sharing information for virtual drive is restored when the user mounts the drive.
3. New ways of encrypting data
   • Earlier BestCrypt versions provide the user with access to encrypted data using idea of encrypted containers and virtual drives. For example, the user could create 30 GBytes container file, then mount it as an additional 30 GBytes virtual drive Z: (or E:, F:, or other drive letter). Virtual drive Z: works as any other regular drive and all the data on the drive is stored in encrypted form.
   • BestCrypt v.8 also supports virtual drive technology. Additionally, version 8 allows users to encrypt data in the following ways:
   • • Encrypting a whole disk volume (partition) including boot/system Windows partition. The user can encrypt the old MS-DOS style partition as well as modern volumes residing on a number of physical disk devices, for example Spanned, Striped, Mirrored or RAID-5 volumes. Name of the software from BestCrypt family, which can encrypt whole volumes is BestCrypt Volume Encryption . Read Help documentation for BestCrypt Volume Encryption to get more information on the software.
     • When the user encrypts a whole partition, the only way to move data in encrypted form to other computer is to move a physical hard drive with encrypted partition. When the user creates encrypted container file, he/she can move the file to other computer and after mounting it as a virtual drive the user can access encrypted data.
     • • In all the cases the user must have encryption software installed on the destination computer. In case with encrypted container file, the file stores filesystem structures of virtual drive. Besides, data inside container file is not compressed.
       • BestCrypt v.8 has a special utility allowing the user to compress group of files or folders to encrypted archive (i.e. a single compressed file). Besides, the encrypted archive can be created as a self-extracting program. It means that recipient of the archive may do not have any encryption software installed to access secret data inside the archive. Name of the utility that supports encrypted compressed and self-extracting archives is BCArchive.
       • BCArchive supports password-based encryption and public key encryption, so the user can encrypt files using password or public key of the recipient who will receive the data. BCArchive supports a number of standards existing for public key encryption (like PKCS-12, X.509, RFC 2440), as well as a number of secure hash function and encryption algorithms. Read Help documentation for BCArchive utility to get more information on the software.

Requirements: 12 MB disk space

WareSeeker Editor