4. Encrypting and Decrypting

Transcription

1 4. Encrypting and Decrypting Secure your data! When started for the first time, Boxcryptor doesn't encrypt your files automatically. All set Boxcryptor locations will be displayed unencrypted within the Boxcryptor Drive. You can choose which files and folders to encrypt. Technical information If you want more detailed information please have a look at our website where we describe how encryption in Boxcryptor is realised: AES and RSA encryption Technical Overview Encryption and decryption Place Description Screenshot Encrypt new files and folders Encrypt new files and folders As long as you are working within the Boxcryptor Drive you can encrypt files and folders when you create them. You can save your files direct from the software you use (e. g. Word, Excel) into the location within your Boxcryptor Drive. Another option is to create new files or folders via right-click in the file-explorer and choose New ->_yourdocument_. A dialog will pop up giving you the choice either to save it plain or to encrypt the newly created file/folder. Encrypting files and folders Encrypt existing files and folders Encrypting items is very easy. You just have to do these steps:

2 Select the file/folder you want to encrypt within the Boxcryptor Drive. Right-click the item and select Boxcryptor -> Encrypt in the context-menu. Done! Your file or folder is encrypted now. File-icons of encrypted files and folders contain a green square, not encrypted file a white box without a green square. By encrypting files which are already stored in the cloud, it cannot be ensured that they are completely taken off the internet. Some cloud providers keep back-ups of older versions of files, even if you have deleted (or encrypted) them. If you want to be sure, contact your cloud provider for further information.

3 Renaming of folders If you encrypt a folder, the folder name exte nds by the suffix "_encrypted". After you selected Bo xcryptor -> Encrypt i n the context-menu of the folder, you will see this message that informs you about this suffix.

4 Decrypting files and folders How to decrypt files and folders Decrypting items is as easy as encrypting. You just have to do these steps: Select the encrypted file/folder you want to decrypt via the Boxcryptor Drive. Right-click the item and se lect Boxcryptor -> Decrypt in the context-menu. Done! Your file/folder is decrypted now. Please note: It is not necessary to decrypt your files to work with them. The Boxcryptor Drive decrypts your files on-the-fly! Renaming of folders If you decrypt a folder, the folder name extends by the suffix "_decrypted". After you selected Bo xcryptor -> Decrypt i n the context-menu of the folder, you will see this message that informs you about this suffix.

5 Automatic en- and decryption En- and decrypt your files automatically There are three ways to encrypt files/folders automati cally: Create a new file/folder in an encrypted folder. Copy/move a plaintext-file (a file, that is not encrypted) in an encrypted folder. Encrypt the whole folder. All files in the folder are automatically encrypted. (Encryption inheritance) There are two ways to decrypt files/folders automatically: Copy/move an encrypted file from your Boxcryptor Drive to a location outside the Boxcryptor Drive. Decrypt the whole folder. All files in the folder are automatically decrypted. (Decryption inheritance) Filename encryption This feature is only available for licensed Boxcryptor users. You can also encrypt the file and folder names. Note that filename encryption is inherited just like file / folder encryption. In the following image you see how a file that has been encrypted with filename encryption will look like: The first screen shows the file in your Boxcryptor-Drive. As you can see, the file is marked green, so it is encrypted. In the second screen you see the same file as it will be shown in your Dropbox: The filename is encrypted and nobody can read it. Only you or persons/groups you gave permissions to work with this file can see the filename in plaintext. There are two different approaches to manage filename encryption (FNE): Description Screenshot

6 Manage FNE dir ectly on files / folders Enable or disable FNE per file / folder You can easily enable / disable FNE on files and folders via the context menu: right-click on the desired file or folder select Boxcryptor -> Enable / Disable filename encryption close all open files which may be affected be the filename encryption and select "ok" wait until all filesnames have been (encrypted / decrypted) to avoid synchronisation problems, let your cloud provider sync your changed data first before you start working with it

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8 Manage FNE glo bally Enable or disable FNE globally You can also change the filename encryption default behavior globally. Therefore, open the advanced settings and check / uncheck the check-box a shown in the screenshot. Restriction for free users Free users are not allowed to use filename encryption. If you like to use filename encryption, you can upgrade. Visit our website for more informati Problems and solutions As Boxcryptor is working on the file-system there may appear warnings or error-messages in very special cases. If you get any message you can't find here, please contact our support.

9 Problem Solution Screenshot Error during encryption Problem: You wanted to encrypt an item and this message appears. Solution: Maybe you have tried to encryt a folder and one file of this folder was still opened in a software (e.g. Word, Excel). This message means that the whole data of the folder (also the opened file) were copied and encrypted in a new folder but the old folder couldn't be deleted (e.g. not possible if any files were open). Just delete the old plaintext folder. As this message is a feedback from the file-system, there can be other reasons too, that are special for your system. If this solution didn't help you, please contact our support. Unexpected error Problem: You did some file-operations (maybe creating a new folder in a plaintext-folder) and this message appears. Solution: For these kind of problems it is hard to find a quick solution for. Most of the time a restart of Boxcryptor is necessary and the file-operation you tried before will work now. Location is not available As this message is a feedback from the file-system, there can be other reasons too, that are special for your system. If this solution didn't help you, please contact our support. Problem: You tried to open an encrypted file from your Boxcryptor-Drive and got a message "Access is denied." Solution: This message tells you that you don't have the permissions to work with this encrypted file. Another Boxcryptor-user that has permissions must add you to a group that already has permissions or add you by address.

10 Encryption loss Problem: You copied an encrypted file and you got a message to confirm the encryption loss. Solution: This is an Windows based error message which should not appear. It doesn't matter what you chose, the file will get encrypted anyways, if the destination folder is encrypted with Boxcryptor.