My good buddy and regular guest writer, Glenn Taggart, has a pretty convincing perspective on what he’s looking for in a free encryption application. See if you agree with Glenn.
Since I made the move to Windows 7 about a year ago, I was unable to continue to use one of my favorite programs.
AxCrypt is a program that will encrypt a file or folder, and will also compress and shred files. My primary use is encrypting my personal information in the event prying eyes happen upon my stuff.
Before I started using Windows 7, I was using Windows XP 32 bit. At the time, AxCrypt did not support 64 bit systems. When I upgraded my operating system to Win7, I upgraded to 64 bit. AxCrypt no longer worked and I complained!
Since I was on AxCrypt’s email list, I got a message a month or so ago, that AxCrypt now supported windows 7 and 64 bit. To say the least, I was relieved because I have tried many encryption programs for the past year, and none of them held a candle to AxCrypt.
My needs were simple – I wanted a program that ran as an .exe that would bring up a password window, open, and when I closed the file, would re-encrypt – AxCrypt does exactly that.
AxCrypt also integrates nicely into the right click context menu in Windows Explorer, so encrypting new files or folders, is a very fast process.
So, if you have files or folders that you need to protect, look no further than AxCrypt! It supports XP, Win7 32 and 64 bit operating systems.
Fast facts:
Right-click integration with Windows Explorer makes AxCrypt the easiest way to encrypt individual files in Windows.
Double-click integration makes it as easy to open, edit and save encrypted files as it is to work with unencrypted files.
Many additional features, but no configuration required, just install it and use it.
AxCrypt encrypts files that are safely and easily sent to other users via e-mail or any other means. Self-decrypting files are also supported, removing the need to install AxCrypt to decrypt.
Available languages: English, Danish, Swedish, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Spanish, French, Italian and Norwegian.
System requirements: Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7 (32 and 64 bit).
Download at: Developer’s site (
Guest Writer: This is a guest post by Glenn Taggart of The Crazy World of G, who brings a background as a high level super user, to the Blogging world.
Drop by Glenn’s freeware page.
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Bill Mullins' Weblog - Tech Thoughts 
I just start using this program. Great piece of software and easy to use. Very nice article Glenn.
Hey Cappydawg,
It’s a great program for sure. Glenn will appreciate your comment.
Bill
Hey, thanks for the guest article Bill! Always a privilege to be showcased here.
Enjoy the program Cappy. I’ve been using it for the past few years and the developer keeps making it a better product.
Hey G,
Great app, great article – always glad to have you on board.
BTW, noticed you have been building some major projects in record time – must be the Oregon “Beaver” in your blood. lol
Trust all is well in the Great Northwest.
Best,
Bill
Good thing you didn’t mislabel me as a duck! heh heh.
Today signifies the official end of the project – we got final occupancy today. Total buildout happened in about 45 days.
The owner is elated and all is well. I set a new company record for fastest completed project. It’s also my personal best!!
It should give me a little time to get caught up on some product reviews on my blog now.
Take care.
Hey G,
Well, if I’m remembering right (never guaranteed!), Oregon State University is your Alma Mater, so naturally you’re a Beaver. lol
I come from a construction family, and having owned a few projects myself (Townhouses, etc), I have a good understanding of construction critical issue – like on time completion. Not to mention my favorite – tight cost control!
So yeah, I’m totally impressed with your accomplishment – and this is not the first time you’ve done it. Professionalism always shows.
Bill
Bill and Glenn (aka: G),
AxCrypt is one of those apps that should be on everyone’s PC. I have been a follower of it for years and was glad to see the recent Windows 7 64 bit support. Great job Glenn, Bill and the makers of AxCrypt.
Rick
Hey Rick,
Goooood Mornin’ Maryland!
Gotta admit – I love applications that reduce thinking to a minimum.
Bill
Hi Bill and also Thanks Glenn,
AXCrypt is great and very simple application to use compared to TrueCrypt.If anybody is using TrueCrypt,they should have backup since recovering data from bad encrypted partition is almost impossible.As always some other alternatives for everyone here:
FreeOTFE,Rohos Mini (portable),Omziff[all excellent freewares for encryption]
Micro Application’s ArchiCrypt 5 and Dekart[paid but looks best for encrytion]
Hey Kingpin,
Thanks for the alternative software. Very Cool!
Bill
I’ve been using TrueCrypt for ages. I wonder if AxCrypt is worth installing as well, or instead of. I’m used to opening an encrypted volume and storing files on that virtual volume, but it would be nice occasionally to just encrypt single files, maybe for email purposes.
Hi Dave,
TrueCrypt is my application of choice for encryption as well. Maybe the best “free” encryption available. But, I get your point that there are times when a lighter application will do.
Bill
Dave: TrueCrypt is also a great program although since my shift to Win7, I no longer need it since Win7 has a native application to encrypt volumes. You are very correct that Axcrypt is more of a light application for single files. It’s super easy to use (especially for us lazy folks lol)
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