One of the best features of Renee File Protector is it helps you recover your passwords so you aren’t ever completely locked out from accessing your encrypted files. It secures your data using the highest algorithm available, AES 256-bit key, which is the same key used by the federal government to secure classified information. This encryption program doesn’t compress files while securing them, which would help free up some hard drive space, but it doesn’t bloat the files, either, so they stay the same size after they’re encrypted. It's one of our best encryption software packages, but not the top-rated.
This encryption software is easy to figure out how to use. You can encrypt files by either dragging and dropping them into the Renee File Protector program, or by right clicking on the file and choosing the encryption option. You can use both of these methods to decipher documents, too, and to choose to completely erase them by shredding them.
One feature we liked with Renee File Protector is it lets you choose both a master pass key and passwords for each individual file. As each file is secured you are asked if you’d like the file hidden as well. This means a hacker, or anyone else that has access to your computer, won’t be able to see these files unless they have the appropriate password to unhide and unlock them. The software also runs in stealth mode, so others working on your computer can’t see that you have encryption software installed and running.
You can create a self-extracting (EXE) file, which is an easy, though less secure, way of locking and sharing files with others that don’t have Renee File Protector installed on their computer. However, you can create and share an encrypted copy of your file and give someone temporary access to it, even if they don’t have a decipher loaded on their own computer. It doesn’t include a password generator to truly help you choose a secure passcode. This is one of the few cons that keep Renee File Protector from being the top-rated encryption software.
This program helps you create strong passwords with a strength meter that lets you know if your pass key is too easy to hack. Also, this file encryption program is one of three programs we reviewed that include a password recovery option, which is helpful if you forget your password.
We are impressed with how easy Renee File Protector works and how secure it encrypts your files. It doesn’t compress files as they are encrypted, but it also won’t bloat the size of your files. It doesn’t have a password generator, but it does have a password recovery feature just in case you forget what you’ve set.