State-of-the-art Disk Encryption with Comodo

Comodo Disk Encryption 1.2 has very little RAM and free hard disk requirements. The encryption software can be installed on Windows 2000 as well as on 32 and 64-bit editions of Windows XP, Vista and Microsoft Windows Server 2003.The CDE 1.2 interface is logically organized and easy to use. Yet, the GUI, as is the software, is not the latest generation. I wouldn’t be surprised if Comodo released a new Windows 7 compatible version of Comodo Disk Encryption with a more appealing interface in the near future.

As a best practice consider taking an unencrypted backup before touching encryption software. The install of Comodo Disk Encryption is easy and follows standard steps. After the welcome screen will you be presented the EULA which then leads over to the installation path, followed by the CDE ready-to-install summary. When the install has completed can you optionally subscribe to Comodo’s newsletter; clicking Next does in any case activate the free license of Comodo Disk Encryption. Finally, you have to restart your computer.

Comodo lets you encrypt entire partition or drives with a right-click on the item in the Drives view. To make use virtual disk encryption change to the Virtual Drives view, right-click the empty pane and select Mount to create a new virtual drive or to mount an existing virtual drive.

When you create a new virtual drive you have to specify the size in MB. On the next screen you have to select as password as well as a hash algorithm such as MD5. Then you must choose an encryption algorithm. In case you are not familiar with them use AES or Twofish. You have then to answer the question whether you want File Drive or Memory Drive encryption. As the later is volatile File Drive, which creates an encrypted container on your disk, is probably the right choice in almost any circumstances.

Then, on the Save location screen indicate a path and specify a file name. The next step demands that you choose a drive letter. Clicking Finish prepares and mounts your virtual drive which might take some time depending on the size of the container. To make use of your newly created virtual disk use the format command located in the CDE context menu.

Comodo Disk Encryption 1.2 performs as any other drive encryption software - the time it takes to prepare a disk or virtual disk for storing encrypted objects is proportional to your storage capacity, a fast computer is an asset. After drive encryption or virtual drive encryption has been set up files and folders can be encrypted/decrypted on the fly with little performance overhead.

Comodo Disk Encryption comes with a fairly explanatory user guide which can be found in the GUI’s Help menu or be downloaded from the vendor’s website. Frequently asked question can also be found in Comodo’s forums, further assistance can be obtained writing an email to support.

Comodo Disk Encryption 1.2 is absolutely free without any catch.