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What's it do?
Steganos' Steganos Safe 8 provides another step in file security, with a
file shredder, anti-crash protection, password control and automatic
updates. It can create an unlimited number of secure drives, each holding
up to 64 GB of encrypted data. It has a Portable Safe feature will allows
secure data transfer onto USB sticks, SmartPhones, PDAs, and digital
cameras, as well as CDs, DVDs, and memory cards. Once the data is
transferred, the Safe can be opened with that device without need to enter
a password.
Does it do what it promises?
Reviewer 1: Yes. It proved to be very good security tool.
Reviewer 2: Apart from defective media, in the End User's License
Agreement (EULA), Steganos promises nothing and the end user assumes all
risk. I'd find this acceptable if it was Freeware, but if a software
vendor wants me to pay for their application, it would seem only fair for
them to promise that the product would work. Disregarding the EULA, yes,
it seems to do everything described on the Web site. I wasn't able to test
the effectiveness of the encryption or of the file shredder but media
reviews on the Web site suggest Steganos is a serious player in the data
security field, so I'm sure the encryption is real. If I had extremely
sensitive data to protect, though, I'd choose software certified by a
trusted organization, or at least endorsed by a known security expert.
Reviewer 3: Yes it does, and it does so in a straightforward and
simple manner.
Reviewer 4: It seems to do what it promises with a couple of added
features. What good is encrypting your data when remnants of the original
data are still residing on your hard drive in the form of deleted files?
We know there are forensic applications which will snoop to the byte level
on your hard drive looking for information. Well, this program will prompt
you for three levels of cleaning. A complete Overwrite, which is a simple
and quite deletion process, Multiple Overwriting, set the Department of
Defense standards, and the Gutmann method, an algorithm developed to
totally erase files or folders by writing a series of 35 patterns of
numbers. This should erase all data.
Reviewer 5: Fundamentally, yes, at least functionally each
subprogram does, and does it well. However, the adhoc packaging that
umbrellas these three relatively independent programs makes for an awkward
virtually undocumented user interface that can be puzzled-out only by
trial-and-error.
Was it easy to install?
Reviewer 1: Yes, I had no problems at all.
Reviewer 2: Yes, apart from a crash on the first installation
attempt. There was no problem the second time, or on a second computer.
Multiple language support (English, French, German, Polish) does not
include Spanish. Given that Spanish is the primary language in most of
Central and South America, and the dominant secondary language in the US,
it would seem worthwhile for Steganos to support Spanish. A custom
Installation option (selecting what components to install) is offered, but
'full install' or 'no install' are the only options. It would probably be
less confusing to eliminate the custom installation option. Steganos Safe
8 installs itself in the Registry as a startup item without either
announcing the fact or providing the option to choose. While auto-open (on
inserting the key media) won't work if Steganos Safe 8 is not running, I
prefer to start Steganos Safe 8 manually when I want to access a secure
drive, and would have appreciated being given that choice.
Reviewer 3: Yes, it was not difficult; however, you must choose
"Custom" installation if you wish to have some sort of control over the
location of the installation, shortcuts, etc.
Reviewer 4: It was very easy to install. You select the application
install executable and go. You are then prompted to connect to the Web to
get any updates, enter your serial number and the Wizard leads you through
the creation process. During this process you are prompted for an
encryption password which will used to open the Safe. The "Safe" is a
drive you can see in Explorer and it is labeled as a virtual drive X (or
other letters depending on the number of "safes" you have created). This
program will analyze your password and tell you if it can be easily
broken. If you want you can continue to use your password or select a new
one.
Reviewer 5: Yes, an easy-to-follow but verbose multipanel sequence,
including a 1-to-5-Star evaluation of the password you choose , a novel
and helpful advisory; however, despite having that box explicitly
unchecked in the opening tile, an automatic update checked for program
updates . This was a minor nuisance but should have been caught in product
testing. I have never heard of a CDROM that is warranted for only 90days.
During installation on my 9.7GB HDD with 7.9GB of free space, I received
the message: 'Given your operating and file system, a maximum of 3.90GB
can be used on drive f:' Also, that a 50MB Portable Safe on set up on a
Flash Drive required 9MB of 'system' space leads me to question, is 9MB
fixed-amount or is it proportional?
Good Points
Reviewer 1: Steganos Safe 8 is an extremely effective security
tool, using encryption that apparently cannot be broken with modern
technology. Believe me, I tried. It cannot be bypassed by starting your
system in safe mode, which has worked for me with other security programs,
or using software decryption programs. I'll be honest; I tried everything
to break this program, and came up short. It allows you to create any
number of secure "safes" on your hard drive that are secured and encrypt
transparently. It is very easy to use, and ironclad. It proved to be
exactly what it claims to be; a tool for securing information on disks.
When you are creating a password to secure your data, the program assesses
the security of the password, telling you if it could be hacked and
informing you if software could guess the code you input. It is helpful to
know if you've picked a weak password. You can also opt to use a USB key
or other device such as a PDA, compact flash card, or digital camera as a
hardware access key instead of a password. Steganos Safe 8 allows you to
create secure CDs as well, for transporting information from place to
place, even if the other computer does not have Steganos Safe 8 installed,
which is a great feature.
Reviewer 2: The License is mercifully short and reasonably easy to
comprehend. It does allow a backup copy, installation on a second computer
(not operating concurrently), and transfer of the license to another
party. The Shredder lets you wipe out individual files, and can also wipe
out traces of data in unallocated free space. You can specify the location
of the secure file anywhere on your computer (default is your Application
Data folder), and set it to any size between 2 MB and the available free
space on that partition. While creating your password/encryption key, a
graphic display makes it clear how secure (or insecure) your entry is. I
was disappointed to discover that the most secure password I use only
rated 3 out of 5 padlocks! I was eventually able to come up with a
5-padlock key that I will remember.
Reviewer 3: Over the years, I have tried out several methods of
storing sensitive data that is private and confidential. I do have systems
that I use for this purpose, but Steganos Safe 8 is the first one that is
both safe, and simple. Essentially, you create a drive - on your hard
drive, or on any other medium that you may have available, for example, a
CD, DVD, memory key, etc. A wizard guides you through the process. You
choose a name, pick its location, determine its size, and create a
password to give you access to the drive. As you go through each of these
steps, tips and suggestions are provided. When you reach the point of
creating your password, all the surrounding messages and icons are telling
you how adequate, or inadequate, your choice is. There is even a
multi-lingual dictionary that you can use to verify that it is not a
simple word that could be easily decoded. Once you have set up your drive,
it will act as a normal drive, except that as you send data to the drive,
it is immediately encrypted. So even in the case of a sudden shutdown, for
example, that information will not be available to anyone else but you. Be
warned: if you lose your password, well, that's too bad. There is no way
to recover it and there is no "backdoor" to decrypt the data. So store it
in a safe place. Or, use a wonderful tool in this program: store it on
removable media: a memory key, your PDA, your camera, your smart phone. I
put one in a USB key, and when it plugs into the computer, the drive can
be opened. In addition to the "Safe" itself, there are some other very
useful tools. When you install the program, two items are added to the
right-click menu of Windows Explorer. One is the File Shredder and it
appears as "Destroy" on the Right-click menu. This can be used to make
sure that files that you would normally simply delete will be eliminated
from your system. I do not have access to serious hacking tools, but I can
safely say that the kind of File Undelete programs that I could find and
try out on files that have been Destroyed could find no evidence of them
at all. The other one, which I am very glad to have, is the Deep Cleaning.
If you right click on any drive (e.g. My Computer, Drive C:\), you will
find "Destroy data in the free space (Deep Cleaning)". Give your computer
lots of time to do this. Recently, I have been having trouble with my
computer becoming more and more sluggish. So I decided that it needed a
tuneup, a little like the engine on my car. It needed a spring cleaning.
This was one of the tools that I ran. As I had run all the others on
previous occasions, without noticing much change, There was a noticeable
improvement in the operation of my computer to that Deep Cleaning. I now
do this regularly and it has paid off.
Reviewer 4: I like the installation process. It was easy to start
and the Wizard leads you through the steps quickly and easily. The
installation process actually analyzes your password and will tell you if
it can be broken easily or not. You have the option to continue to use
your current password or use a more secure one. There is an automated
crash protection feature which ensures your data will remain secure even
though your computer or laptop loses system power. You can encrypt data
anywhere from 2 megs to 60 gigs or higher.
Reviewer 5: These three programs carry out their design objectives
effectively and efficiently. They get the job done, and they do it
speedily; However, it appears that the Production/Use portion is lacking.
The content and coverage of the Help-File documentation is excellent, but
unfortunate that it is not in a printable form. Having the sensitive data
remain encrypted in the case of a power cut or system failure is an
excellent design feature. I very much like the '5 Guarantees' commitment,
especially the assurance that all products will be constantly available on
a 24/7 server and always checked with the latest anti-virus programs. I
also like the registration acknowledgement, the "Caps Lock Is On" warning
during password creation, and the Global Undo of suppressed (hidden) info
tiles.
Weak Points
Reviewer 1: I have no real complaints, except to say that if you
forget a password, you're done for, as it can not be recovered or
otherwise bypassed. This is actually a good thing, but it does bear
warning.
Reviewer 2: When first opening a new drive, you're given the option
to display the drive in Windows Explorer. Seeking clarification, I found
the help system was not available to me. Updates require a reboot. It
doesn't appear the update process makes any critical changes prior to
reboot, since I have had no problem starting Safe8 back up after an update
and using the program and the virtual drives prior to rebooting. Still, it
would be preferable to have the update installed and operational without
the need to restart the computer. To resize an existing drive, a slide bar
is provided, but I was not able to select a size between the 3MB minimum
and 226 MB. It would be very helpful to be able to key in a specific size
rather than be limited by the slide bar. I attempted to create a secure
drive on a network file server. STEGANOS STEGANOS SAFE 8 reported that it
couldn't do this. Apparently it's very tricky or impossible to map a file
on a network share to a virtual drive in Windows. That's unfortunate; it
would be very useful to have a securely encrypted drive with network
configuration information available to me from any workstation! I have not
yet tried creating a Portable Safe on a Network drive and if that can be
done, it would provide me with the same fundamental functionality - a
secure file I can access from any workstation on the network.
Reviewer 3: My complaints are relatively minor ones. On the
Website, I had trouble finding out how to get a copy of the program. Why
not use "Download" (like most everybody else) instead of "Test Now"?
Another improvement would be in defining the size of the Drive you are
creating, it would be handy to have a little box where you could type in
the size you want. Having to hold the sliding bar with the mouse does not
allow you to be very precise. Keep the bar: it is a good visual aid, but
add the choice to type in the size desired.
Reviewer 4: This program is great for a single user and is not
designed to encrypt files over a network or using an email system. You
should consider an enterprise encryption application or public key program
if this is what you are looking for.
Reviewer 5: The Tech Support request sequence is the worst I have
ever seen on any commercial program. It strings you along through numerous
screens, then it dead-ends you if you don't have the latest Update
installed (mine was less than two weeks old.) There is no specified
response or turnaround time, completely unacceptable for any serious use.
Its only documentation consists of a Help File which could not be printed
out other than by copying and pasting one topic at a time. The price of
$35.95 is at least $10-15 more than I think justified for the level of
functionality provided. Also, its two week return policy is completely
unreasonable; few people get around to even installing, much less
exercising a program sufficiently to test it out in that brief a window of
time. Other weak points include: No hover-text balloons on Safe8 main
screen; No number-cell, just slider, for specifying the size of Safe; To
view Portable Safe 'Click on starter.exe' in D:\Program Files\Steganos
Safe 8\sps, without file-location even being mentioned (very clumsy
packaging); Change of Safe name on Safe tile failed to change filename in
File System list: from the original name of "JCWPrivateSafe8" changed via
AdminTile to "JCWPrivate", it appeared in Explorer file list as
"JCWPRIVATES"[Note trailing 'S' is erroneous carryover].
Other Comments
Reviewer 1: Steganos Safe 8 is one of the best security utilities I
have ever tried, if not the best, and reasonably priced. It also includes
a shredder utility to securely dispose of documents so that they can not
be retrieved. I like that the program is simple and very powerful, and did
not include more bells and whistles than it needed. Its dazzle comes from
how well it does what it is supposed to do.
Reviewer 2: The help system seemed at first glance to be fairly
complete and clear, but several pages were in German. This has been
corrected since my initial installation. Apart from a few questions I had
while setting up some virtual drives, I haven't even looked at the help.
If you elect to map your drives to Windows, once configured there is
really no need for help. An option is available to store your key on a
removable device; while this would allow anyone with access to that device
to open your secure drives, it's a lot simpler to plug in the media than
to enter a 10-20 digit passkey. The automatic update function is
invaluable. Quite a few issues I observed early in the testing (and did
not report to Steganos) have since been corrected. This gives me the
impression they are very alert for bugs and work quickly to correct them.
With the update check automatic whenever Steganos Safe starts, I'm
comfortable that I'm always running the "best" version.
Reviewer 3: The license agreement should be highlighted. You can
install the software on a single computer, or on a network. In the latter
case, only a single user must use it at a time. You can install it on your
home computer and on your laptop, provided that the second copy is never
loaded at the same time as the primary one. You can even transfer it to
somebody else, as long as you uninstall all your own copies of the
program. This is indeed an enlightened approach to software licenses.
Others should take note!
Reviewer 4: All in all it is a nice piece of software. I like the
Password protection analysis and the option to perform different levels of
file/folder destruction.
Reviewer 5: I liked this program despite itself, but I found it
definitely more ready for Beta-Test than for product-release. Its
essential objectives -- a safe, secure repository for sensitive data -- it
carried out well, despite its frustrating, trial-and-error user interface,
which I expect could be improved significantly with time and user
feedback, along with - its underwhelming Website presentation. Download of
the Trial Version produces an Email response pointing to yet another link
which signs you up for their Newsletter without your consent. I found the
hype on their Webpage intrusive, even insulting: 'Countless international
awards prove the high quality of Steganos products.' without any
cited;'256 Bit AES in real time Uncracked. Unrivalled.' [false]; 'Dynamic
safe size, specify the size of your secure drives yourself, and change
these at any time as you require.' [correct term is 'Adjustable', not
'Dynamic'.]; 'USB stick as key, Open your safe without a password - simply
by USB stick, SmartPhone, PDA, memory card or digital camera.' [Incorrect;
password is required.]; As soon as you click on the Safe symbol, the
entire drive disappears. Other encryption products merely make the drive
invisible. [Erroneous, fortunately]; 'Encrypt your data on a USB stick,
mobile phone or digital camera. Save your passwords for the Safe on them
as well. Simply connect your device, and the corresponding secure drives
open automatically.' [Let's surely hope not]; and. what does the term,
"Within a generation" mean in: 'Automatic updates: Steganos keeps your
software up-to-date - free of charge within a generation.'
Will you continue to use it?
Reviewer 1: Yes.
Reviewer 2: Yes, both the Portable Safe and the Shredder are useful
to me.
Reviewer 3: Yes, it has already replaced all my old systems of
storing sensitive and confidential data.
Reviewer 4: I will continue to use this as my system is available
to the kids at home and to anyone who sits at my desk at work. I now feel
more secure knowing my data is safe from prying eyes.
Reviewer 5: Yes, occasionally.
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