AxCrypt -- Introduction
AxCrypt is free and easy to use open source strong file encryption for Windows
2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/7, integrated with Windows Explorer. Encrypt, compress, decrypt,
wipe, view and edit with a few mouse clicks. Cryptographic primitives are AES-128 and SHA-1.
Encrypted files have a ".axx" extension added to their names, and are shown with a new icon
.
To encrypt a file, right-click
and enter a passphrase
it in Windows Explorer, select 'AxCrypt | Encrypt'
plus the path to an optional strong key file.
To edit or view an encrypted file - just double-click it.
To decrypt, right-click and select 'AxCrypt | Decrypt' instead, and enter the correct pass phrase
plus the path to the correct key file, if used.
To encrypt to a self-decrypting .exe program, right-click and select 'AxCrypt | Encrypt Copy to
.exe'
installed.
AxDecrypt,
. You can send these files to anyone, they do not need to have AxCrypt
a stand-alone, install-free, decrypt-only version is also included.
AxCrypt -- How to Use
AxCrypt does not work by starting a separate program, instead it's fully integrated into the
Windows Explorer - the part of Windows where you browse your folders and files.
You may always right-click files and folders in Windows Explorer, bringing up the context
menu. This is where AxCrypt is invoked, from its own sub-menu.
The context menu is named after the intention to vary the options depending on the context
where it's shown, AxCrypt follows this convention thus varying the available options depending
on the context. If you're not seeing an operation, it's likely because it's not meaningful in that
context, for example you will not see the decrypt option when right-clicking a file that is not
encrypted since that would not make sense.
The AxCrypt menu
Invoke the context menu from the Windows Explorer by selecting one or more files or folders
and do Right-Click | AxCrypt.
The Start menu
There are also some operations available from the program Start-menu, under the AxCrypt
heading.
Always start by selecting one or more files or folders that you'd like to operate on. Some
operations are not applied to specific files or folders, but you still need to right-click something
to bring up the AxCrypt menu.
To open files for viewing or editing, just double-click them as you normally would.