Private Disk is a disk encryption application for the Microsoft Windows operating system, developed by Dekart SRL. It works by creating a virtual drive, the contents of which is encrypted on-the-fly; other software can use the drive as if it were a usual one.
One of Private Disk's key selling points is in its ease of use, which is achieved by hiding complexity from the end user[1] (e.g. data wiping is applied transparently when an encrypted image is deleted.) This simplicity does however reduce its flexibility in some respects (e.g. it only allows the use of AES-256 encryption.)
Although Private Disk uses a NIST certified implementation of the AES[2] and SHA-256/384/512[3] algorithms, this certification is restricted to a single component of Private Disk; the encryption/hash library used[4][5] and not to Private Disk as a complete system.
Feature highlights
- NIST-certified implementation of AES-256-bit, and SHA-2. Private Disk complies with FIPS 197 and FIPS 180-2
- CBC mode with secret IVs is used to encrypt the sectors of the storage volume
- Disk Firewall, an application-level filter, which allows only trusted programs to access the virtual drive
- Ability to run directly from a removable drive, requiring no local installation
- Offers access to encrypted data on any system, even if administrative privileges are not available
- Encrypted images can be accessed on Windows Mobile and Windows CE handhelds; this is achieved by making the encrypted container format compatible with containers used by SecuBox (disk encryption software by Aiko Solutions)
- File wiping is applied when deleting an encrypted image
- PD File Move, a file migration tool, which will locate the specified files on the system and securely move them to an encrypted disk
- Compatibility with Windows 9x and Windows NT operating systems
- Autorun and Autofinish automatically start a program or a script when a virtual disk is mounted or dismounted
- Encrypted backup of an encrypted image
- Password quality meter
- Automatic backup of a disk's encryption key
- Built-in password recovery tool
- Compatibility with 64-bit platforms
Existing versions
There are multiple versions of Private Disk, which provide a different feature set:
- Private Disk - hard disk encryption software that uses 256-bit AES encryption, is highly configurable, offers application-level protection, USB disk portability, etc.
- Private Disk Multifactor is a superset of Private Disk, providing the same functionality, adding support for biometric authentication, as well as smart-card or token-based authentication.
- Private Disk Light is a free version, it uses AES-128 and comes with a restricted set of features.
- Private Disk SDK is a software development kit that can be used to build a custom application which provides data encryption facilities.
