Freeware Files: Your Secret is Safe with Your PC

Posted 08/17/2009 at 1:00pm | by David Murphy

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Sometimes, private just isn't private enough.

I'm speaking, of course, of the privacy features that come native to the Windows operating system. Sure, you can tuck your special documents away in a private user folder, but that doesn't mean that your files have been secreted away forever. An industrious user with physical access to your machine can wreak havoc on your personal files, regardless of how much Windows tells you that they're safe from external abuse.

Change that. Beyond the cut of this week's freeware update are five applications that will enhance your ability to secret away that-which-you-don't-want-anyone-else-seeing. Does that involve encryption? Yes. But that's not the end-all be-all technique for hiding things on your computer. Depending on the amount of privacy you need, there are faster and easier solutions than merely locking down your entire drive using a 128-bit cipher.

Winrar

"Winrar?" you're thinking. Yes, good ol' Winrar. This archiving program skirts the line of freeware, as it does nag you after a certain period of time to purchase a registration for the software. You can safely ignore this without any repercussion to your operating habits. As for the privacy part, Winrar is the first line of defense (and also, the easiest) against would-be file finders. Simply take the files or folders you want to shield and place them into an archive. Assign the archive a password and select the option to encrypt file names--short of breaking through the archive itself, nobody but you will be able to tell what's in the .rar archive. And, heck, you can even rename that to a completely different extension for ultra-super security.

Download it here!

Eraser

You threw your files in the recycle bin and emptied it. You're in the clear, right? Wrong. It should be common knowledge to any Maximum PC user or RIAA defendant that the standard process of removing files from your hard drive--the Windows way--is hardly an acceptable or safe deletion solution. Enter Eraser. One run of this program on the files you want to toss, and you'll make it extremely difficult for off-the-shelf file restoration software to be able to piece together your unwanted information. I'm not suggesting that this open-source app could somehow survive the scrutiny of a government-level scan merely because I have not been able to test that claim out, er, first-hand. Send me a note from the slammer if you have any results you'd like to share!

Download it here!

Rohos Mini Drive

The best way to preserve your critical files is to keep them with you at all times. But don't expect to be able to run a powerful encryption program like TrueCrypt on the drive (see below)--or, rather, you can encrypt the contents of your USB drive, but you'll have no way of accessing these files on a different PC if you lack the administrator access to run TrueCrypt. Rohos solves this problem by providing you the perfect portable launcher for accessing the volumes it encrypts. Stick the drive in any PC you want, type in your password, and your files are yours to manipulate. Just don't forget to grab your flash key on the way out, eh?

Download it here!

Hide In Picture

It hurts to have to explain this one, but here goes. This awesome, open-source program lets you hide files inside of pictures. And no, I'm not talking about some secret, Da Vinci Code-wannabe quest that forces your archenemies to look through shots of your cats for a hidden file in the background or something. Hide In Picture literally hides the code of your files into the code for .bmp or .gif pictures you select. Here's a secret though: File size matters. Don't expect to be able to toss 100MB installer applications into your favorite animated gif. This application is best used things like text files of passwords.

Download it here!

TrueCrypt

Ahh, the reigning champion. There simply is no greater choice for encrypting the contents of a hard drive or portable device, provided you have administrator access to retrieve your protected files off said products. Where to begin, however? TrueCrypt allows you to create container files that can be titled as anything you want. When you load this file into TrueCrypt, the program mounts the container as a mapped drive in Windows explorer. Drag and drop files back and forth; the program performs all of the encryptions and decryptions on-the-fly. You can even run encrypted files from your protected container--there's no need to copy and decrypt your movies to another folder on your hard drive. Unmount the volume when you're done and your secrets will stay with you.

Download it here!

David Murphy (@ Acererak) is a technology journalist and former Maximum PC editor. He writes weekly columns about the wide world of open-source as well as weekly roundups of awesome, freebie software. Befriend him on Twitter, especially if you have an awesome app or game you're dying to recommend!