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e-Capsule Private Safe HD - Encrypt Your Data, Protect Your Work

Written by:  • Edited by: Aaron R.
Updated Mar 11, 2008 • Related Guides: Dell | Computer Security
5

e-Capsule Private Safe HD is a great way to keep your data safe, even from those who may have physical access to your computer. Let’s face it, data encryption is crucial to keeping your data secure. If you want to easily and seamlessly encrypt your data, e-Capsule Private Safe HD may be your tool.

Introduction

If you buy a new computer today from Dell, the smallest hard drive you can get is 80GB. Drives up to 250GB are not that much more expensive; over time, huge amounts of data are stored there. The question becomes: how do you protect private information stored on these hard drives? The answer is data encyption.

There are many computer security programs that offer data encryption. One of the most powerful applications is Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), but many who are not technically savvy find Pretty Good Privacy cumbersome and difficult to use. e-Capsule Private Safe HD is an easy-to-use data encryption application that lets you easily protect and manage your files and folders.

Data encryption programs like e-Capsule Private Safe HD are critical, given that so many computers lack basic security functionality. Personal firewalls and other computer security tools are often misconfigured and do not add any additional security.

Performance
Rating Excellent

What’s Hot:
  • Strong encryption is executed quickly
  • Quick backup and restore

Installation & Setup
Rating Excellent

What’s Hot:

  • Easy to use, standard Windows installation [See images 1-3]

  • Seamless registration [See images 4-5]
  • Five-step configuration wizard [See images 6-12]

User Interface
Rating Good

What’s Hot:

  • Main user interface is clean [See image 13]
  • Toolbar displays icons with shortcuts to useful operations and features [See image 14]

What’s Not:

  • Interface could be redesigned to be a bit more intuitive

Product Features
Rating Excellent

What’s Hot:

  • Strong data encryption via AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) 256

  • Ability to back up and restore files

  • Ability to store E-Capsule file system on both local and remote (Zip, USB) storage media

  • Login procedure is executed in stealth mode

  • Multiple levels of access control

  • Secure file view and edit

Price to Value
Rating Excellent

$39.95 is a good price for the computer security this product provides.

Security & Privacy
Rating Excellent

What’s Hot:
  • Strong security ensures that the operating system never has access to the files
  • Deletes all temp files; no exploitable trace is left of the session
  • 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption
  • Ability to define up to four levels of functionality (Administrator, Public, Private, and Shred)
  • Virtual keyboard

What’s Not:

  • e-Capsule File System (EFS) proprietary file system (when the term "proprietary" is used in the same sentence as "security," it is generally cause for concern)
  • Calling its proprietary file system "EFS" is confusing, since most people connect EFS with the system-level encryption available in Microsoft Windows
  • e-Capsule claims to use "military-level encryption," but there is no such criteria

Help & Support
Rating Excellent

What’s Hot:

  • F1 key brings up help
  • Email confirmation of submitted technical support ticket [See image 19]
  • Quick response to technical support issues
  • Ability to check for software updates via the application [See image 20]

What’s Not:

  • F1 help does not provide that much information
  • Support hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. central European time, which may be an issue for those on the U.S. West Coast, as the gap in hours may mean support resolution takes longer
  • Website does not provide enough technical information.

Images

Initial install screenComponents to installSuccessful installationActivationActivation serial numberConfiguration step 1Configuration step 2Configuration step 3Configuration step 4Configuration step 5Configuration completionConfiguration file system sizeMain interfaceShortcutsFile managerBackup wizardBackup configurationBackup passwordSupport email confirmSoftware update

Suggested Features

  • Password recovery feature
  • More use of wizards to streamline repetitive tasks
  • More intuitive user interface

Conclusion

It’s 2008, and a user's computer security and privacy needs are greater than ever. Tools such as e-Capsule Private Safe HD provide a great layer of data encryption to create a secure desktop. The use of the e-Capsule's encrypted file system can ensure that the files on your laptop, desktop, or remote storage device are seen only by you and those you approve, rather than the prying eyes of your friends, family, or coworkers.

Related Products

PGP, F-Secure Desktop, PKZip, WinZip, Utimaco SafeGuard, GuardianEdge Hard Disk Encryption, Microsoft EFS
Next Article »
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Comments

Showing all 4 comments
 
Chaucer Jan 19, 2010 11:47 AM
I'm back, and not happy
I have now lost complete access to Private Safe. My files are history. I am linking to pictures of the screen captures that I took so you can see for yourself. Needless to say I will be uninstalling Private Safe and looking for another storage solution. Glad I made this discovery before I shelled out the money.

http://yfrog.com/jbpcmessagej (program had to be ended without shutting down, because it completely jammed).

http://img695.imageshack.us/i/psdead2.jpg/

http://img37.imageshack.us/i/psdead.jpg/
chaucer Jan 19, 2010 11:23 AM
Private Safe
Since posting that comment 3 days ago, I have had a serious problem with Private Safe. The program froze, causing me to shut down my computer in the middle of a session. Today, when I ran Private Safe, I found that an entire folder was gone. I had no backup of the files in that folder, as I am just experimenting with the program. Oddly, another folder now has an exact duplicate. Their created date and times are exactly the same, right down to the second. And I know I did not create two folders with the same name, at exactly the same moment. Fortunately there was nothing in them to lose, but the program is not letting me delete the empty folders. I think the idea of Private Safe is great, but there are too many bugs in the Program to spend money on it, when there are plenty of free options available.
chaucer Jan 15, 2010 7:00 PM
Private Safe
I've used this company's Private Browser for a long time. I just started using Private Safe. They are a good company. I've always had a positive experience with my communications with them. One thing I can't seem to figure out is whether a file can be saved directly to the Private Safe. Right now, it appears that a file has to be transferred from one part of my computer into Private Safe. If this is the case, this puts Private Safe at a disadvantage to "True Crypt." In True Crypt, mounting an encrypted file creates a virtual drive on your computer, enabling you to specify the encrypted folder when downloading a file. In other words, the file goes straight into the encrypted container without ever touching anything else in your computer. An extra step is eliminated and the risk of a sensitive file remaining on your computer is eliminated. The whole point of having files that can be viewed within the encrypted system is leaving no trace of their existence on the host computer. Another advantage of True Crypt is that the encrypted container can be moved to another device. Can Private Safe be moved to another computer or device without having to re-activate it using an activation key? I am currently in the trial version of Private Safe, and not yet convinced that spending money on a product would be better than using a similar product that happens to be free.
Navami Alex Aug 14, 2009 1:11 AM
capsule file
Hello,
can you please say me what a capsule file basically means?
 
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