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Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What are the minimum system requirements for running e-Capsule™ Private Safe?

    Processor IBM PC or compatible with Pentium III 500-megahertz (MHz) or higher (Pentium IV recommended);
    Memory 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM (256 MB recommended);
    Operating System Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Professional SP4
    Microsoft® Windows® XP- all versions
    Microsoft® Windows® Vista
    Display 800 x 600 resolution, 256 colors minimum, (16-bit color recommended)
  2. I'm already using a file encryption application which also claims to protect the data with strong security. What's so special about e-Capsule™ Private Safe compared to other data encryption applications?

    When dealing with protection of digital information (in the form of files, folders, images, multi-media content, etc.) achieving security cannot be simply equated to encryption. To explain why this is the case, let's take the more familiar example of using a combination lock to protect the contents of your private vault. Imagine that your vault has a side door that also opens each time you open the main lock. In this case, anyone having access to the side door can easily steal the contents of your private vault after you've opened it.

    In a similar way, standard encryption applications which are integrated with the PC operating system (OS) after the initial access control step (login) end up sharing with the OS all the interfaces and procedures needed to access the encrypted files. The technical reason for this exposure lies with the fact that such applications use well known standard file systems (e.g. NTFS or FAT32) to save the encrypted files. This is equivalent to the side door vulnerability of the previous example, since any virus, trojan or spyware can access the encrypted files at the same rate as the operating system can access them.

    The approach taken by e-Capsule™ Private Safe is drastically different, inasmuch as it uses a proprietary file system unknown to the OS and with new and extended security features. The immediate advantage is to block exposure to the OS even while the application is running and while the user is browsing the file system contents. Furthermore, the flexible structure of the e-Capsule™ file system allows attaching to any file or folder a set of extended attributes which can be used to regulate or track usage (for example, allowing to view the contents of a file but not allowing it to be decrypted and extracted from the file system).

  3. I forgot my secret login credentials and cannot access anymore e-Capsule™ Private Safe. Is there any way you can help me to recover my credentials?

    No, there's no way we can help you to recover your forgotten Username and/or Passphrase. However, the problem can be solved if you only forgot some of the users' credentials but still remember or can have access to the Administrator's login credentials. In fact, by accessing the application as Administrator and selecting Tools » Change Credentials it will be possible to reset all the levels' login credentials.

    In the unfortunate event that you're totally locked out of e-Capsule™ Private Safe, to resume usage you can only completely uninstall and reinstall the application. This will allow you to resume using the application, but will also remove all the data previously stored in the e-Capsule™ file system.

  4. Do I have to remember or apply all the four levels' credentials to use e-Capsule™ Private Safe?

    Not necessarily. You can use the application also just accessing it from one of the two standard user levels (Private or Public). Also in this case your data will be fully protected and you'll simply give up some of the additional features that are available to the other access levels (such as those reserved only to the Administrator).

  5. What is "Access Concealment" and how is it achieved using e-Capsule™ Private Safe?

    One of the most unique features of e-Capsule™ Private Safe is the fact that the login procedure is executed in a completely stealth or concealed mode, i.e. in such a way that an external observer will never be able to distinguish between an access done at the Administrator, Public, Private or Shred levels. In other words, the user experience, the features and the application interface elements (window appearance, buttons, functions, etc.) are exactly the same at all levels. Therefore, you are the only person knowing at which level you have actually accessed the application, which has the ability to obscure or hide from third parties the entry point to the encrypted file system.

  6. Is there some difference between the data protection level or encryption strength of the Private and Public levels?

    There is absolutely no difference between the Private and Public levels in terms of the application security or encryption strength (AES256) of the stored data. What differentiates the two levels is only their respective data sets (i.e. files and folders), which are kept strictly confidential and restricted to each access level. It is only the user that decides how/when to access the Private and Public levels and what to store at each level.

  7. What happens if I delete, move or rename the safe.efs or safe.eck files which are kept inside of the Private Safe installation folder?

    The application won't be able to access anymore the file system. In other words, deleting the safe.efs or safe.eck files corresponds to resetting the application, which the next time will restart from scratch just like after a new clean installation.

  8. Who can I contact if I need technical assistance?

    The e-Capsule™ customer service can be accessed from the following web link: http://www.eisst.com/support/

    You can contact technical support also by sending an email to: Quick contact form, describing clearly the problem you are having, providing the steps to replicate it and including information on the PC operating system and application version.

  9. How can I create a e-Capsule™ Private Safe container with a capacity larger than 4GB?

    The problem with creating a container larger than 4 GB is caused by the fact that your external drive uses a FAT32 file system. We suggest that you switch to NTFS which will remove the 4GB limitation.

    To understand better the features of both file systems see:
    http://www.ntfs.com/ntfs_vs_fat.htm

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