For RAR and WinRAR END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (EULA) klick here
Advanced File Encryption نرم افزاری قدرتمند ، کم حجم و آسان در استفاده جهت رمز گذاری روی فایل های شما می باشد. با این نرم افزار شما توسط سیستم پیشرفته رمزگذاری 8192-bit قادر به حفاظت از اطلا. There is no crack, serial number, keygen, hack or activation key for Advanced Folder Encryption present here nor we support any illegal way of software activation. If you like software product please consider supporting the author and buying product. Encryption Key Generator. The all-in-one ultimate online toolbox that generates all kind of keys! Every coder needs All Keys Generator in its favorites!
Which encryption technology uses WinRAR?
WinRAR uses 128/256 AES Encryption Technology
Vincent Rijmen and Joan Daemen developed the Advanced Encryption Standard, AES, encryption algorithm, also known as the RijnDael cipher. In 2001 the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology adopted AES as the industry standard for secure data encryption. This method is used worldwide in both hardware and software.
AES Encryption provides a higher security than methods like DES (Data Encryption Standard), which was the standard encryption algorithm for many years and was widely used by both government institutions and banks.
However, previous algorithms were not safe enough, because they did not efficiently prevent hackers from deciphering the code by replacing one byte and looking for the changes this made to the message. This was one of the main reasons for developing a new encryption standard, as these ‘brute force’ attacks were relatively successful in cracking previous encryption algorithms.
Modern AES encryption uses 128 or 256-bit keys. The higher the number of bits in the key is, the more possible key combinations there are, and therefore the harder the code is to crack.
AES-128 Bit: 340.282.366.920.938.463.463.374.607.431.768.211.456 possible key combinations
AES-256 Bit: 115.792.089.237.316.195.423.570.985.008.687.907.853.269.984.665.640. 564. 039. 457. 584.007.913.129.639.936 possible key combinations
WinRAR has changed its encryption standard from AES 128 to AES 256 with its „RAR 5.0“ format. Thus we highly recommend using the RAR 5.0 format in order to use the stronger AES Encryption.
However, the AES – 128 Bit is strong as well and it is used by governments and military installations alike to encrypt secret classified information.
Besides governmental institutions and organizations, WinRAR is used by the World Bank, United Nations and many other non profit organizations.
The WinRAR Encryption Algorithm improved with RAR 5.0
- The password based key derivation function is now based on (PBKDF2) using HMAC-SHA256, the core of the WinRAR security mechanism.
- Special password verification value allows to detect most wrong passwords without the necessity to unpack the entire file.
- If archive headers are not encrypted (“encrypt file names” option is disabled), file checksums for encrypted RAR 5.0 files are modified using a special password dependent algorithm to prevent third parties from guessing file contents based on checksums.
How does WinRAR check a password?
WinRAR does not check a password at all. It passes a password through the hash function to set a 128/256 Bit AES encryption key and then uses this key to encrypt the file data valid until RAR 4.x format. The new RAR 5.x format detects wrong passwords even before starting extraction and does not extract garbage. RAR 5.x stores a special password hash generated by one way hash function. Consequently the knowledge of this hash does not allow to know a password of the encryption key. When password is entered RAR compares its hash to stored hash in case of no match it rejects the wrong password early. This one way hash function is intentionally slow and based on PBKDF2, therefore it does not allow to increase the brute force attack performance noticeably.
What happens if the password is incorrect?
In case you have entered a wrong password, WinRAR will notify you about the wrong password. (screenshot of RAR 5.x wrong password)
What is the 'Encrypt file names' Option?
If you set 'Encrypt file names' option, WinRAR will encrypt not only file data, but all other sensitive archive areas like file names, sizes, attributes, comments and other blocks. It provides a higher security level. If you want to prevent third parties from drawing conclusions about you or the content based on the meta files, you may enable this function. Without a password it is impossible to view even the list of files in the archive encrypted with this option.
How important is the length of the password?
The length is crucial. However, do not use words from dictionaries, combination of words, or birthday dates. Even though they might be long passwords, it does not make them very safe.
The time cost of password exhaustive search attack in WinRAR
![Advanced Advanced](/uploads/1/3/4/7/134764205/957268070.png)
Character | Password Length | Time Cost of Attack WinRAR |
---|---|---|
(0-9) | 6 | 3.9s |
(0-9,a-z) | 6 | 5.8h |
(0-9,a-z,A-Z) | 6 | 152d |
(0-9,a-z,A-Z) | 7 | 26.6y |
(0-9,a-z,A-Z) | 8 | 1610,1y |
More information about exhaustive password search attacks and the security of key derivation functions by Jie Chen, Jun Zhou, Kun Pan, Shuqiang Lin, Cuicui Zhao, Xiaochao Li can be found in 'Journal of Computers, Vol. 8, No. 9, September 2013 – The Security of Key Derivation Functions in WinRAR.'
WinRAR recommends at least 8+ characters password for usual data and super sensitive data at least 12+ charakters. Please note that RAR maximum file encryption password length is 127 characters. Longer passwords are truncated to this length.
What is a good password?
A good password consists of a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. It should have a minimum length of 8 characters. A combination of letters, numbers, and special characters is harder to guess since there are 30,000 times as many possible combinations in comparison to an eight-character password that has only lower case letters.
Since it is hard to remember random alphanumeric passwords, abbreviate a sentence and turn it into a password. Use the words from the sentence and form a password.
Here are some examples by Bruce Schneier, security expert and CTO at Resilient, https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/06/a_really_good_a.html
Before we gave the examples, these passwords were secure:
WIw12,mbtmotr.. = When I was twelve, my brother threw me off the roof.
Puh..thatiaus::ebay.ccoomm = Puh, that is an ugly sweater.
Ou@time-twtlg~! = Once upon a time there were three little girls.
bWGTE,TPw5:bwgte,tpwweresecure = Before we gave the examples these passwords were secure.
Combine a memorable sentence from personal memories and make that sentence into a password that is at least 8 characters long.
Is it true that cryptographic keys can be found in virtual memory?
This is a common issue with most softwares. But since the release of WinRAR 4.20 we take special measures to minimize the intermediate storage of plain text passwords in virtual memory. Unlike plain text passwords, encryption keys are indeed present in virtual memory during extraction, but cleaned once the extraction is done. In order to do that we do use a special Windows API function to encrypt plain text passwords and AES keys in memory, namely CryptProtectMemory by Microsoft.
Malicious persons need full access to a user's computer to make a dump of WinRAR process memory and then extract keys from this dump. If somebody can make memory dumps of a user’s computer at any time and copy such dumps, the user already has a major security leak.
Please be aware the feature and scenario described above is only valid for Microsoft platforms.
Does WinRAR leave artifacts in temp folders that show changes to the archive and files that the user viewed through WinRAR?
Yes, if a user views archived files in other apps, WinRAR unpacks them to temp to pass to other apps. It is required if we wish to pass data to another app.
WinRAR deletes such temp files on following runs when they are at least 1 hour old. WinRAR cannot delete them immediately, because they still can be needed for an external app. If a user does not want WinRAR to unpack files to temp folder, he should not open archived files in external apps while browsing an archive. He can unpack files to a folder manually, process them as he wants and delete that folder manually.
Can an attacker make an educated guess about the content of an encrypted archived file based on the compression of different file types because they will produce distinct compression ratios? Does this knowledge help to identify file types even when a user is renaming the file name with something unrelated?
In other words, can we guess about the file format based on compression ratio? For example, is there a worse compression rate for JPG and better for TXT? If compression ratios are visible, you can also see the file format and file names. Users who have sensitive data can enable the “encrypt file names” option and hide both file names and ratios. Unlike many other archive formats, RAR allows to encrypt not only file data, but also optionally file headers and thus all meta files.
How does the Recovery Record Feature work?
Recovery Record Feature
In addition to the Encryption Feature, WinRAR‘s strength lies in the recovery of data in partially damaged archives. Especially with the new format RAR5, the Recovery Record is based on Reed-Solomon codes. This helps increasing the chance of data recovery significantly.
Imagine a recovery volume contains a certain sum of volumes. If you have a list of numbers, where one is missing, and you know the overall sum, you can reconstruct the missing number.
Imagine you have the numbers 25, 14, 77 and 41. You know that there is one number missing. The overall sum is 181. 25+14+77+41=157. The only number that adds up to 181 is 24.
If you had the 24 and the 77 was missing you would calculate as follows: 24+25+14+41=104. The number that would add up to 181 is 77.
This way the recovery number enables you to find any missing number.
When you compress data, for example music files, into .rar files, you can choose the option add “Recovery Record” to the .rar files. You can choose from 1 to 10 percent. The number indicates the percentage of the Recovery Record size of the archive. In case of RAR 5.0 format the recovery record can be as large as archive itself. If you have a multiple data damage, it might be less. Using Recovery Record slightly increases the size of your .rar files, but it helps recovering data should your file become corrupted for example by viruses, bad disc, etc. WinRAR can help you fix these corrupted files. Larger recovery record allows to restore a larger damaged area, but increases the archive size more and is processed slower. Usually 3 - 10% of archive size is a reasonable choice.
How much should the value of the Recovery Record be?
A value of 3-10% should to be enough. The higher the value the better the chance of recovering the damaged or missing part of an archive. However, the higher the value the bigger the archive size and time of creating and reading the archive. WinRAR sets the recovery record size to 3 % by default.
When is the Recovery Record function useful?
It is particularly useful for long term backups. Optical media such as CD and DVD, flash memory like USB flash drives and magnetic storage like HDD can develop bad blocks after long term storage. CDs and flash drives are even more prone to data errors than HDDs.
So adding 5 -10 % recovery record to backups intended for long term storage provides additional protection against such errors. However, it does not guarantee successful recovery, because every protection has its damage limit. But it significantly increases chances of such recovery.
16 Best Free Software for Folder Lock: – I lost all my data saved in a folder recently, just because my data was not protected. Apart from the fact that none of the Windows version comes with the password lock option for your personal folders, most of us are casual about the data we save on our PC or laptop and would not even consider protecting them.
What we do not understand is that this lets others get access to your privacy which can be either accidentally deleted by friends or family, or even manipulated by someone else. Hence, it is a good practice to keep your folders password protected so that your data is safe and secured.
While you do have the option to hide the folders in Windows operating system, it is of no use as the folder can be searched or unhidden. Hence, those who want to password protect their data they are forced to seek help from third-party software. So if you want to protect all your stuff in a jiffy, you can use some good applications to encrypt them.
Also read: – 16 Free USB encryption tools to password protect your USB
There are many applications out there that help to lock your folder, however, most of them are paid versions. Today we have compiled a list of some of the best free software for folder lock just for you that will help you save your drives on your Windows platform. So let’s get going.
Folder Lock Free
If you have a large quantity of data then you definitely want to secure it, and Folder Lock is one of the tools that helps you to achieve that. It helps you to lock and hide your files, folders, and drives by password protecting them. In addition, it also encrypts files, folders and email attachments, while it safely backs up your data and also safeguards your CD and the USB drives.
It doesn’t stop at that, as you can also create wallets to store your credit card details and other personal information with the help of Folder Lock. It prevents your data to be accessed by even the smartest of hackers and the spies with the hotkey-activated secret mode. Clean history and shred junk files with Folder Lock and try all the benefits for free for the first 30 days post which it costs $39.95.
Download: http://www.newsoftwares.net/folderlock/
Price: Free; $39.95 after free 30 days trial period
Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7/8/10
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IObit Free (Protected Folder)
One of the best choices of a folder locker goes to the IObit’s free Password or Protected Folder which is user-friendly, captures less disk space and offers a solid elementary protection for your files and folders. With IObit you can hide your files and folders from any outside access. While all outsiders are blocked to access your data, they cannot even view it in your absence.
It offers an extremely simple dashboard where you can just drag and drop your preferred data to be locked. Additionally, the program also keeps itself secured by password protecting itself so that no one can uninstall it either. Even though IObit’s Password Folder is a free application it is completely free of malware and viruses.
Download: http://www.iobit.com/en/password-protected-folder.php
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Price: Free
Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7/8/8.1/10
Lock-A-Folder
Even though the developer has shelved the project meaning that there would be no updates to the product, you still have the option to download the archive Lock-A-Folder application for free. It is a user-friendly software that takes up a small disk space and helps you to lock or hide any private folders on your PC or laptop. This action blocks other users to have access to your files and makes your data invisible.
You need to create a master password to select the folder you want to hide or lock. Simply click on the option to make them invisible. You can again enter the password and select the desired folder to unlock it. Even when you need to uninstall the application, you need to enter the master password which means that no one in your absence can uninstall the tool without the password.
Download: http://lock-a-folder.en.softonic.com/
Price: Free
Compatibility: Windows XP/ Windows Vista/ Windows 7/8/10
Safehouse Explore
A free encryption software, Safehouse Explore helps to maintain the privacy of your data by protecting them with passwords. It effectively covers your data from snoopers or anyone else who should not have access to it. With passwords and strong encryption of maximum 256-bit to make your data disappear completely from the outside world.
![Folder Folder](/uploads/1/3/4/7/134764205/446225770.jpg)
From photos, videos, delicate files, spreadsheets etc. to any kind of files, it protects and hides your data completely. It can also defend the data contained in your USB and CD drives, memory cards, iPods and even network servers. It allows you to access your files only when you enter the password, which also makes it safe from external forces.
Download: http://www.safehousesoftware.com/SafeHouseExplorer.aspx
Price: Free
Compatibility: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8
Easy File Locker
Easy File Locker is a free software that is user-friendly and lightweight. Perfect for Windows operating system, this tool helps defend your files and folders from getting lost or stolen. It provides solid protection to your data that is secured from other users and blocks them to view, open, read, change or remove info, copy or even move folders. The files or folders are completely hidden from being seen by any other user or spy program.
Easy File Locker is developed to protect your private files and folders on your private computer. The best part is that it does not slow down the speed of your system, does not modify or damage any data on your protected folders.
Download: http://xoslab.com/efl.html
Price: Free
Compatibility: All Windows OS
Folder Guard
If you have decided upon hiding your private files and folders from outside users, password locks your data, limit access to Control Panel, defend the files in the system from getting destroyed and to control access to files, programs and folders to different Windows resources, then Folder Guard is the right choice for you.
While you can specify to restrict access for which type of file, you can also create “read-only” files with Folder Guard for other users or viruses and restrict them to damage or modify your data.
Driver joystick usb welcome. It is a lightweight application that barely takes up any space and protects your private data efficiently. Moreover, with an extremely user-friendly interface, it makes the entire process super easy for the user.
Download: http://www.folder-guard.com/
Price: Free
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP
Private Folder
With Private Folder, you can effectively hide or lock your private folders using a password. Any folder which is hidden can be accessed only by the owner who can get into the folder manually without even un-hiding it and using a configuration tool. Locked folders can be unlocked only with Private Folder configuration software else it cannot be accessed by unknown users.
When conjoined with the Hide folder option, it will create a robust protection that will hide the folder completely. If you try to find a file in this mode, it will come back with a prompt saying “windows cannot find.” rather than the usual message that says “access denied”.
Furthermore, you can get access to the hidden files only if you enter the correct password. Also, the lock automatically resets itself when you have mistakenly left the folder unlocked for more than two minutes. Some of the unique features of the Private Folder is that when the name is changed for the folder or it’s root the rule will automatically fine-tune itself to display the changes while the files are still locked and hidden.
There is no limitation to lock files and folders.
Download: http://www.emingsoftware.com/products/private-folder/
Price: Free
Compatibility: Windows 7 and Windows 8/10; both 32 bit and 64 bit configurations
Free Hide Folder
As the name suggests, Free Hide Folder is a free software that helps you to hide a list of private folders. While it prevents your sensitive data to be accessed by outside users, they will also not be aware of the existence of your personal files and hence, will not be able to see them even accidentally.
The software provides password protection to your folders which can be modified or deleted at any given time. Free Hide Folder is easy to use tool that works with just a few mouse clicks. Open the tool, find the folder you want to hide, select it and then finally click the option that says “Hide Folder” to simply hide your private folders.
Unless the folders are unhidden by the owner, the folders remain hidden completely. While you run the program the folders are password protected and require no change in the file system. You can hide a unlimited number of files with Free Hide Folder which is completely free of any viruses, ads, or spywares.
Download: http://www.cleanersoft.com/hidefolder/free_hide_folder.htm
Price: Free
Compatibility: Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista/7/8
Instant Lock
With Instant Lock you can rest assured that your piles of data will be locked and protected in a matter of seconds. There are many ways by which you can lock your data that is, either by using the add button inside the app, you can drag and drop the folder, simply drag the folder to the application link, by entering the command line like, “D: New Folder” or by just right clicking the mouse button the desired folder and choosing the option “Lock”.
Instant Lock ensures that no has access to your files and folders even if your laptop is stolen, and neither can anyone uninstall the tool except you who can do so using the password. The best part is that even if the data is deleted accidentally or by someone, you can simply re-install the app with the same password and you have your folders back!
That’s not all, as you can also protect your USB drives, CD/DVD drives, or Flash Memory drives by suing a password. Moreover, it also allows you to defrag and ScanDisk effortlessly, however, remember to unlock all folders and backup your locked folders before you carry out the action.
Download: http://instantlock.net/
Price: Free
Compatibility: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista/2003/2008/2012, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10; for both 32 bit and 64 bit editions.
SecretFolder
Secret Folder is a freeware that’s created to protect your private folders with a password. Even though the interface is elementary, it is extremely user-friendly and straightforward. Once the folder is safeguarded with SecretFolder it will not be visible in the File Explorer. The best part here is that users will not have access to these protected folders even via the Command Prompt which makes it a unique feature.
Even when someone wants to uninstall the program he/she needs to enter the password to perform the action. This also means that no outsider will be able to access your protected folder on your PC without the password, uninstall it or reset the password making it an extremely safe and secure option.
You can protect unlimited files or folders of any size and the fie systems that are supported by the SecretFolder is FAT, FAT32, exFAT and NTFS. You can either add the folders to hide and protect by cling on the Add button or simply drag and drop the desired folder to the app window. If you want to unlock the folder you need to open the tool, key in the password and then just click the Unlock option. You have the option to change the language and the password under the preferences section.
Download: http://ohsoft.net/en/product_secretfolder.php
Price: Free
Compatibility: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10; for both 32 bit and 64 bit versions
HiddenDIR
HiddenDIR is another great tool which is not only free of cost but also defends your privacy by hiding your private folders in just a few clicks. Once hidden, the folders are invisible to others users and inaccessible by anyone. The folders which are carefully hidden by the software will be visible only if you have the password to the directory or the USB drive where it is saved.
You simply need to click the “Hide” button to hide the folder and make it invisible, while to unhide the folder and make it visible by selecting the desired folders and check the option “select to unhide” and there you go! Above all, you need to set a password that will be prompted to enter when you want to open the application.
Download: http://www.rcpsoft.net/hdir.html
Price: Free
Compatibility: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7
File & Folder Protector
File and Folder protector is another free folder security software that helps you to safeguard your sensitive data with a robust password protection option. This step does not allow any outsider to have access to the files except the owner.
You can activate protection from the main dashboard and simply select the desired folders to be locked. It allows you to select multiple items at a time post which you can start the protection procedure. You need to now create a strong password which is customizable, so you can edit it any given time. Once the data is protected no one else except the owner can access the locked data from Windows or via the MS-DOS search option.
Download: http://www.softheap.com/ffp.html
Price: Free
Compatibility: Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
Protect Folder
Protect Folder is a compact and lightweight software that does not occupy much of your computer’s space. It helps protect your personal folders and also encrypts your sensitive files, folders and other portable devices with a strong password which can be again unlocked with only hotkeys. If you prefer using ZIP archive security, then you should try Protect Folder instead and feel the difference.
This application can be quickly installed and uninstalled and it also has the feature to lock the directory automatically when the time is over. Among its other features are, the facility to direct the files and folders to the safeguarded directory, and the ability to provide robust protection.
Protect Folder also comes with a clean and light-weighted dashboard and also helps protect any of the removable drives and their directories.
Download: http://www.everstrike.com/password-protect-folders/
Price: Free for limited period after that it costs $34.95 per copy.
Compatibility: 2000/XP/Vista/7/8 and Windows 10.
Folder protection
Kaka Folder Protection is a compact and portable software that helps protect your sensitive data by password locking them. Your private files and folders are secured with the current 256 bit AES encryption technology. The best part is that you can usually open the tool directly without even installing it your workstation.
You can simply copy the command “Lockdir.exe” to a drive or folder and simply run it to lock the folder with a password. The passwords used are exclusive, so you can rest assured that your data is safe from being changed, removed, misused or moved.
You can protect your precious files and folders with just a few clicks that restrict it from outside view and access and also prevents your data from being tampered or deleted. Folder Protection also protects your removable drives like external hard drives, memory cards, USB drives, pen drives etc. with a password.
Download: http://www.kakasoft.com/folder-protect/
Price: Free for 1.0 Download
Compatibility: Windows 7 (32 bit and 64 bit), Windows 8, Windows Vista (32 bit and 64 bit), Windows XP (32 bit and 64 bit), Windows 2003/XP/2000
Advanced Folder Encryption
Advanced Folder Encryption is another offering by Kakasoft that helps lock your private files, folders, and hard drives in just two simple steps. It allows you to lock folders instantly with the military standard encryption that is, 256 bit AES. It is a highly user-friendly program that provides top-grade security for your sensitive data on your PC or Laptop.
It offers an extremely simple interface where you can drag and drop a file/folder to be protected. You can then set up a new passcode and once done your protected files or folders will instantly change into protected icons. You can also simply right-click on the folder and choose the option “Encrypt” to protect your folders in a second.
Additionally, Advanced Folder Encryption also allows you to shred files and even permanently delete any junk files from your computer that cannot be recovered. The tool directly integrates with Windows Explorer and helps encrypt files and folders, view and edit them, and even decrypt them in just a few clicks.
Download: http://www.kakasoft.com/folder-encryption/
Price: Free for 3.0 M download
Compatibility: Windows 8/7/Vista/2003/XP/2000
Lock and Hide Folder
If your aim is to simply hide and protect your folders, Lock and Hide Folder can be the right bet for you. By simply clicking on the “Hide” button you can hide the selected directories. Even though this tool has comparatively fewer features than the others in the category, it is one of the best options if you want to just protect your directories.
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It hides your sensitive files in such a way that neither can it be viewed by other users nor can it be accessed. Your hidden files cannot be even traced with links in your current documents once protected. For additional security, you can set a password so that no one else can access your files. This app can also run in stealth mode making it invisible to other users.
You can also use hotkeys to activate or deactivate the hidden folders to be visible. Lock and Hide Folder works on 256 bit Blowfish Encryption.
Download: http://www.lock-folder.com/
Price: Free for 15 days; $29 after trial period
Compatibility: Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP/2000
I find passion in writing Tech articles around Windows PC and softwares
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