Another high visibility data breach was revealed this week – this time at Cornell University, in which a computer containing the names and social security numbers of 45,000 current and former students and alumni was stolen, exposing the university community to potential identity theft. The complete article can be read here.
This case is a vivid reminder of need to encrypt sensitive data. The low cost and simplicity of encryption tools like SensiGuard make it hard to argue that data security is too difficult or expensive.
My 10-year old daughter and I were sitting on the couch watching TV recently, when she turned to me and asked “Why does this remote have to be so complicated? I don’t know what most of these buttons are for and I don’t really care. All I want to do is change the channel and adjust the volume.”
I was reminded of this when we received word from SnapFiles.com, one of the leading software download sites, that the latest version of SensiGuard file encryption software has been awarded a “Good” rating (3 out of 5 stars). SnapFiles manually reviews each software submission and offers developers detailed feedback about their product.
When I took a look at the review I saw that on the plus side, SensiGuard is praised for it’s ease of use and the password recovery feature. That’s good. A key design principle of ours is to develop software that’s incredibly simple, yet powerful. Our goal is to empower ordinary PC users – mom, dad, grandma and grandpa – with the same level of privacy protection and security offered to big companies, without the complexity or the price tag. So, we take “easy to use” as the highest possible compliment. Coming from SnapFiles, that means a lot.
What kept us from getting a more “excellent” rating? Well, it seems SensiGuard isn’t complicated enough. In the same review in which ease of use is called out as a plus, it was faulted for being “… very basic, lacks more advanced features…”. Exactly! If by “basic” you mean it does the one essential thing it’s supposed to do in a straightforward and clear manner, then yes it is basic – and that’s a good thing. Our research clearly shows that ordinary users don’t care about advanced features and complex configuration options. They just want their files to be safe. Period. In other words, they just want to change the channel and adjust the volume.
So, while we appreciate a generally positive review from SnapFiles, we’ll stick to our basic software that people really seem to like, and not clutter it up with needless features and complexity.
Our first batch of video tutorials have been posted to the main SensiGuard.com website (as well as on YouTube). Even though SensiGuard is the easiest file encryption software tool on the market, we realize that many visitors to our site have no idea what encryption is, or how it works.
So, the focus of these early videos is on the basics:
- Setting up your security questions and password
- Locking and unlocking files in the main SensiGuard application, as well as using the right-click anywhere feature
- Using the Shred feature to permanently delete files
- Creating USB encryption vaults and moving files from one computer to another (even if SensiGuard is not installed on the other computer)
Longer term, we plan to produce videos that educate the public on the problems of privacy, identity theft and computer security – and how encryption software offers added protection. Stay tuned.
Customer feedback is the single most important input to product planning, and we want to make it as easy for you as possible to contribute to the development of SensiGuard file encryption software. After reviewing the available options, we’ve determined that UserVoice will best serve our feedback tool needs.
With UserVoice, you have the ability to add your own suggestions about new features or fixes, or you can vote on – or add comments to – other customer’s ideas. It’s also a great way for the product team to post their own ideas and to have customers comment and vote on them.
Here’s how it works:
- Every screen on the main SensiGuard.com website has a little Feedback tab off to the right, like this:
- Click the feedback tab and a small window will open, listing the top feedback items posted by other customers
- Click on any item, or the Go to our Feedback Forum link to see the details of any item, view the complete list of items, or to add your own ideas
- To add your own idea, type it in the suggestion box. UserVoice will try to match your idea to an existing one that you can vote on. Don’t see one like yours? Click Create New Idea and add your comments. Now other customers (and the product team) will see your idea and can add their own “user voice”!
Give it a try! Click here to go straight to the feedback forum.
You spoke – and we listened. The SensiGuard product team is pleased to announce the release of version 3.0 of our flagship file encryption software. Version 3 of SensiGuard includes many important new features, improvements to existing features, as well as a few bug fixes.
Highlights of this release include:
- Password strength meter – No more wondering if your password is strong enough. SensiGuard displays a visual red/yellow/green indicator of password strength
- Auto-launch at start-up – Now part of the Windows start-up function, SensiGuard will automatically launch when you start up your PC
- Minimize to system tray – SensiGuard will remain open in the system tray (that’s the little row of icons in the bottom right corner of your monitor, next to the clock), always ready to encrypt files with a single click. You no longer need to start SensiGuard and enter your password with each use.
- Improved folder encryption – We’ve improved the way SensiGuard handles folder encryption, particularly folders with a large number of files
- Disable uninstall without password – An added security feature that prevents malicious removal of SensiGuard, requiring the user to enter their password prior to uninstalling the program
- File association to SensiGuard files to open in explorer – Open SensiGuard files right from Windows Explorer, and open your Word, Excel and other standard files from within the SensiGuard application
Current customers can download and install the new version here. The software will recognize that you have a fully licensed version and will update your system accordingly – your password will remain the same. Also, no changes were made to the encryption algorithm, so there is no impact to your locked files.
We look forward to hearing your comments and feedback on the new version. You, our customers, are the most important voice in determining the direction SensiGuard takes over the coming years.
We always look to our customers for great ideas, and you’ve really come through this time. Based on invaluable customer input, the next version of SensiGuard will address a number of areas you’ve identified for improvement, making it faster and easier to use than ever!
Stay tuned for further announcements as we draw closer to the launch, starting in May.
The basics of SensiGuard are pretty easy, right? Just click a file to lock, unlock or shred it. But many folks may not realize the variety of everyday uses for SensiGuard, like how to protect all of your passwords in one place, or how the USB Vault enables you to transfer files from one PC to another (even if SensiGuard isn’t installed on the second machine).
Our video series will walk you through a variety of topics and give real insight into how SensiGuard can fit into your everyday computing life. We’re working on a dedicated Video Tutorial section on the main website to host the videos, and we’ll occasionally feature one here and offer additional comments. Look for the first set of videos over the next couple of weeks.
