Steganos 3 Security Suite

Steganos 3 Security Suite

There has been a lot of news lately about hackers breaking into large computer systems, corrupting Web sites and stealing sensitive data. We also have heard about disgruntled employees stealing company secrets via floppy disk. But is data security something the small to mid-size law firm should worry about? Absolutely.

In these times when hacking and stealing data can be accomplished with such ease, even the smallest law firm should be on guard. But what is the best strategy? A combination of measures is essential, including the installation of encryption software.

One encryption product to consider is the Steganos 3 Security Suite by CenturionSoft. This extensive set of utilities helps you protect your privacy and secure important data. The utilities, which make up this product, are vast. The “Internet Trace Destructor” protects privacy by eliminating Internet traces, cookies or other personal information available on your system. The “Computer Lock” prevents someone else from accessing your computer when you are not around. “E-mail Encryption,” can protect your e-mails by encrypting them before they are sent. The “File Manager” can encrypt or hide secret data (and decrypt and show it) on your hard drive. The “Shredder” goes beyond the delete function to actually destroy a file so it’s not retrievable. The “Password Manager,” allows you to store and protect all of your passwords as well as generate random new passwords.

An additional utility, the Steganos 3 Security “Suite Decrypter,” is not included with the program, but is available as a free download from the CenturionSoft Web site to facilitate file exchanges with people who don’t have Steganos 3 on their systems.

The power of Steganos is in its use of a 128-bit encryption algorithm. This algorithm is part of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) recently adopted by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This encryption technology is touted as “unbreakable” by CenturionSoft because it would supposedly take a “cracker” computer system approximately 149 trillion years to successful crack such encryption (note that the universe is believed to be less than 20 billion years old).

Once the product has been loaded on your computer, you access the utilities by double-clicking on the “padlock” icon in the lower right hand corner of your desktop. Up pops the “Steganos Security Suite Center” window, which lists the different utilities and gives you a brief explanation of their functions to help you remember what they do. From there, you click on the utility you wish to use and a wizard leads you through the steps you need to take.

In sampling the product on my PC, I found the interface functions to be extremely user friendly. I tried encrypting a file using the “File Manager.” The process was straightforward and easy to understand.

Once the file had been encrypted and a new name was given to the encrypted file, the program gave me the option of “shredding” the old file. That process was easy and straightforward as well. Decrypting the file was a breeze, and my old file was restored. Throughout the process, the icons were a big help in getting me through the process.

Do you really need software like the Steganos 3 Security Suite? It would not hurt. Even if you don’t expect a hacker to compromise your system any time soon, the power of the software, its ease of use and inexpensive price is worth the peace of mind in knowing you are covered.

CenturionSoft
www.centurionsoft.com
(202) 293-5151

Price: $59.95 for single user (boxed version); $49.95 Internet download

Windows 95/98/Me/XP/2000/NT 4.0

Reviewed by Arlin P. Neser, attorney, Gibson, Haglund & Paulsen, Irvine, Calif.

Oct/Nov '01 Issue

PROS
Based on the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) adopted by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Claims to be unbreakable.

CONS
This product may be overkill for some users.

VERDICT
If you are concerned about data security, this is definitely a product you
should consider.