Work Environment - Speedcrypt File Encryption

The Main Menu of the program consists of five items, which in turn contain sub-items through which the entire project can be managed. They are all self-explanatory and preceded by an icon that reveals their function.

Clearly, the menu can be fully managed with the mouse or through the keyboard using appropriate key combinations as shown in the table above. Upon opening the program, it is possible to open the menu under the File item by entering it via the keyboard or using the key combination ALT + F.

As already mentioned, the Button Bar also includes a label that displays various operations, from dragging files to waiting during encryption and decryption operations, and a timer that measures the time of the processes.

Immediately below the Button Bar, positioned on the left, is the panel for entering the master key called Drag your Password. In this panel, you can drag your password to start an encryption or decryption process.

Immediately to the right of the Master Key input panel, below the Button Bar, is the Speedcrypt Project Settings Panel. This panel summarizes the items related to the choices that the user has made in the appropriate window. The panel accurately reproduces the sections configured in the Settings Window. Let's see what they report:

In the aforementioned panel, the user is allowed only one operation, which is to view the keys generated by the encryption engine called PGP. The following options are linked to this operation:

This section consists of a pie chart that displays the parameters related to the encryption archives expressed in numbers and percentages. On mouse over, the chart displays a label with all the aforementioned contents.

Immediately below the panel containing the chart is the one that displays the encryption scheme set up in the Speedcrypt Project Settings. This panel is divided into four boxes that show the following elements:

The lower section of the Speedcrypt Project main window is divided into four components dedicated to the file encryption and decryption processes. The component called Add Files is designed for the insertion of file lists that will be subjected to the aforementioned processes.

There are several ways to import files for encryption or decryption. It is up to the user to decide which one is most suitable for their needs. Let's see the procedures related to importing files into the appropriate grid:

The grid called Encrypted Files displays, grouped by Encryption Engine, the files subjected to the encryption process. These groups refer to the encryption engine used in the various processes, and the subgroups to the Master Key used.

For obvious security reasons, Speedcrypt does not allow the use of the same Master Key in multiple encryption processes, even if the processes belong to the same encryption engine. In practice, a different Master Key must be used for each process. This strategy is made possible by the fact that, being precomposed, the passwords are much easier to remember: you don't have to type them, you just need to drag the Master Key into the appropriate input panel.

For a complete overview of encrypted files and more information, please refer to the Encrypted Files page of Online Guide.

After each Encryption or Decryption process, Speedcrypt prepares a log where the duration times of these processes will be stored. These times can be viewed in the Encryption Time grid. This option has been set up so that the user can compare the duration of processes between various encryption engines and compression algorithms. The report displayed in the grid can be saved in a TXT file.

At each startup, Speedcrypt performs a partial Self-Test on its algorithms, including encryption engines and HASH Functions. This ensures that the project functions properly for the user in this aspect. At any time, a complete Self-Test can be performed by invoking the Self-Test window.

In addition to this, the program keeps track of all exceptions that occurred during an operating session and stores them in a dedicated archive from which a constantly updated list is derived and displayed in this section. This list can also be saved in a TXT File. For more information and insights, please refer to the Report page in Online Guide.

Another very important component in the main window of the Speedcrypt Project is certainly the Status Bar. Located at the bottom immediately after the panel with the sections related to file Encryption and Decryption processes, it performs equally important tasks. Let's see what they are:

In the Speedcrypt Project, it is possible to use the drop down menus in the sections called Add Files and Encrypted Files. These menus allow for complete control of the lists of files to be submitted to the encryption process and those with already encrypted files. Let's now see the items of these Popup Menus and their specific functions:

Note: the drop-down menu that can be accessed by right-clicking on the grid called Add Files when it is empty, only displays the first two items, which allow you to add files to be submitted to the encryption or decryption process.