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FAQ

Here you can find our Frequently Asked Questions.

FAQ for DriveCrypt
  1. What is the maximum size for container and partitions?

On Windows 7 onwards (as well as some now unsupported earlier versions) file containers as well as partitions have virtually unlimted size up to the size supported by the NTFS filesystem.  

 

  1. Is your new software compatible with the old versions?

The new version is also backwards compatible, so you will still be able to mount container and partitions created with previous DriveCrypt 4.6 versions and above

  1. Can I mount container and partitions created with the full DriveCrypt version using the demo version?

No

  1. What feature are disabled in the demo version?

- formatting partitions as DriveCrypt

- traveller mode

- invisible disk creation

  1. Can I upgrade from DriveCrypt to DriveCrypt Plus Pack?

No, DriveCrypt and DriveCrypt Plus Pack are two different softwares that have no relation to each other and that work completely different.

 

  1. Can I encrypt GPT drives using DriveCrypt?

Yes, you can encrypt GPT drives with the software

  1. Can I access encrypted external drives on another PC that doesn’t have DriveCrypt installed?

You can access your external drives that store container using traveller mode.

Encrypted partitions can only be accessed from a PC with a full DriveCrypt version.

 

  1. How can I upgrade my DriveCrypt version?

If you have valid upgrade rights, you can upgrade your version by doing the following:

-uninstalling DriveCrypt and resetting your license

-installing new DriveCrypt version and re-registering the software

*In order to verify if upgrade rights exist, you need to login to your customer area (https://www.securstar.com/en/customer-area.html).

Select “Key Generator”, chose your product by clicking on the radio button.

You can then view which version you are allowed to register and the date of when the service expires/expired.

 

 

  1. Has the DriveCrypt encryption ever been broken/hacked?


No! In the past, we have also launched several contests offering up to 100,000 US$ for the first person able to open a DriveCrypt encrypted disk
Nobody succeeded!

10.  We are from the "Police" "Tax authority" "Security Company". and are investigating on someone whose computer is protected with your DriveCrypt software. Since we were not able to break into the protected computer ourselves, could you please assist us getting access to the encrypted data? If requested, we can provide you with a court order.


Sorry, but our software has been designed to be the most secure in the industry, and as such not even our programmers are able to break into a DriveCrypt encrypted computer.
The only way to get access to the protected data is by entering the correct password known only by the legitimate user.

11.  Is there a back door in your software?


No. There is no back door in our software, and there is no point in making one as we might risk losing the good reputation of our products. Besides this, today there is no law in Germany that can force us to make one in our software.

12.  Have you ever been asked by any government to add a "back door" to your software?

We have never been asked by any government to add a back door into our software, and we have no interest in making one. In any case, no country in the world, other than Germany (where SecurStar is incorporated), can force us to put a back door in our software. Please note that we incorporated SecurStar in Germany, because Germany is one of the few governments in the world that actively promotes strong cryptography while other countries are more restrictive on this subject matter. If laws in Germany should change in the future, we are prepared to move the company accordingly.

13.  Is the source code of your software available?

With our former products Scramdisk and E4M we had a long tradition of open source software. With these products, millions of people all over the world could verify the software security and review how the encryption functions. Unfortunately our competitors had nothing better to do but to steal our source code to add routines and functionalities to their (closed source) products. Some also just cloned our software and only changed the user interface.
Since we want to avoid spending a tremendous amount of money and time in research and development to see competitors stealing our work, we decided to release the source code only to selected customers after they placed a substantial order and signed a non-disclosure agreement.
We are open to other ways of releasing the source code to the public, but need to find a solution that can also protect our interests. One idea we had was to release a basic version of our software together with its source code. This way, the most paranoid can use that software to encrypt/ decrypt the data. Please let us know if this would be acceptable for you, or if you have any other interesting idea that covers the above problematic. We would be more than happy to listen to you. Please write to contact@securstar.de



14. On what OS can DriveCrypt be installed on?

You can install the software on Windows 7/8.x/10 both 32 and 64 bit, as well as on Server 2003/2008/2012

 



Windows 2003/2008/2012/ 7/8.x/10 are Registered Trademarks of Microsoft, Inc.
All trademarks are property of their respective owners.

 

15. Can DriveCrypt 6 open container created with DriveCrypt 4.2?

Yes

 

FAQ for DriveCrypt Plus Pack
  1. Is the new UEFI bios supported?

Yes, UEFI 2.0 or greater is supported

 

  1. Can DCPP encrypt SSD and GPT drives?

Yes

          On what OS can the hidden OS be installed on?

The hidden OS is currently available for installation on Windows 8 MBR systems or older

 

  1. Does it support AES hardware acceleration?

Yes

 

  1. Does it support encryption of dynamic disks and Windows software RAID 1 volumes?

Dynamic disks aren't supported and RAID will work if the system sees it as one logical volume

 

Does it support encryption of swap and hibernation files?

Yes

 

  1. On what Operating Systems can DCPP be installed on?

XP/Vista/Windows 7/ Windows 8/Windows 10

Server (2003/2008/2012)

 

  1. Can I use DCPP in a dual-boot environment?

Yes, but only if both Operating systems are Microsoft based.

 

  1. On how many PC’s may I install the software if I purchase one license?

DCPP can be installed on a single PC at a time.

 

  1. How do I migrate my software and license to another PC?

Firstly you will need to decrypt your partitions, then uninstall bootauth.

Once that is done, you can uninstall DCPP from Control Panel. During the uninstall process you will also have to reset your license either online (using your login details), or manually by entering your destruction code on our website.

After uninstalling and resetting your license you can install the software on another machine and re-register it.

 

  1. Is there a maximum number of disks that I can encrypt with one license?

No, you can encrypt as many disks as you like

 

  1. What is the maximum size of a disk that can be encrypted?

Currently we have a max. size of 2 Terrabytes per partition for MBR drives and 4TB+ support for GPT drives

 

  1. Can I encrypt USB drives/sticks with the software?

Yes

 

  1. Can I access encrypted external drives on another PC that doesn’t have DriveCrypt Plus Pack installed?

No, you will need to have a registered version of  DriveCrypt Plus Pack on any PC you want to access your encrypted drive on, as well as your keystorefile.

 

  1. I have forgotten my password. Can you help retrieve it?

For security reasons there are no "back doors" in DCPP, this means that if you loose your password you loose your data. Password recovery options are useful but defeat the entire purpose of full disk encryption, If you forget your password there should be absolutely no way for you (or anybody else for that matter) to retrieve it again. Take your passwords seriously and understand that if you forget your password there is ABSOLUTELY NO METHOD of retrieving it again, not even by the creators of DCPP.

Although this seems a bit harsh it ultimately enhances the security of your data (which is why you're using this product).

Choosing a secure yet easy to remember password is not a trivial task, if you need help doing this please see the Creating a Secure Password section of the software’s helpfile.

SecurStar GmbH (the creators of DCPP) and it's associates cannot be held responsible for you forgetting your password.

 

  1. How can I upgrade my DriveCrypt Plus Pack version?

If you have valid upgrade rights, you can upgrade your version by doing the following:

-decrypting system partition

-uninstalling bootauth

-uninstalling DriveCrypt Plus Pack and resetting your license

-installing new DriveCrypt Plus Pack version and re-registering the software

*In order to verify if upgrade rights exist, you need to login to your customer area (https://www.securstar.com/en/customer-area.html).

Select “Key Generator”, chose your product by clicking on the radio button.

You can then view which version you are allowed to register and the date of when the service expires/expired.

 

  1. What are the advantages of DriveCrypt Plus Pack over Bitlocker in reliability?

No TPM is required, works on all Windows versions (not only Enterprise and Ultimate which are more expensive). Also, our software has never been cracked and contains no back doors.

FAQ for ShareCrypt
  1. Are licenses per user or per computer?

Licenses are per user

 

  1. I have a 3 user peer-to-peer LAN. One computer will be the server/storage of a virtual drive that is shared with the users on the other two computers. Do I need one license or three?

You will need 3 licenses

 

  1. Can I upgrade from ShareCrypt 3.x to 5.x? Are the two versions compatible?

No, ShareCrypt 3.x has been discontinued and no upgrades are available.

ShareCrypt 5.x has been re-written from scratch therefore it’s not compatible to older versions and new licenses are needed.

 

  1. Does it support NAS drives?

Yes, NAS drives are supported

 

  1. What OS does ShareCrypt work on?

XP/Vista/Win 7/Win 8/Win 10 32 and 64 bit

Server(2003/2008/2012)

 

FAQ for SurfSolo
  1. Does SurfSolo have a traffic limit?

No, SurfSolo does not a have a traffic limit.

 

  1. On what Operating Systems can SurfSolo be installed on?

Vista/Win 7/Win 8.x /Win 10  32 and 64 bit

Server (2003/2008/2012)

 

  1. Do you have a version of SurfSolo that is compatible with Mac OSX?

Yes, upon request we can also provide a version for Mac OSX

 

  1. Is there a trial version?

SurfSolo is not available as a trial, since it's not only a software, but a service as well.
Therefore you have 14 days after purchase to request a refund in case you would like to return the product for any reason.

 

 

Can I use SurfSolo VPN for P2P File-Sharing and Tor?

While most other VPN providers don’t like this, at SurfSolo VPN we don’t care.
You can use TOR, eMule, or any other P2P system as you like.

 

In my country, many homepages are blocked or censored. Would I be able to access those sites using SurfSolo-VPN ?

When you use SurfSolo-VPN, your internet or service provider is completely bypassed. The internet thinks you are in another country and as such censorship or other restrictions will no longer apply.

May I use SurfSolo VPN to do illegal things ?

Definitely NOT!- If you plan to do illegal things including email spamming, hacking, sharing child pornographic material etc… don’t  become our customer !

Do you store any of my online activity data?

We don’t store any of your online activity data (we keep no logs).

 

We are from the Police and need information’s about one of your customers …


The SurfSolo-VPN team is a strong believer in online privacy; this is one of the main reasons why we have created the SurfSolo product. According to German law we are not required to keep logs of any of our customer’s online activity and as such we are not keeping any. This means we have no information at all to share regardless of the particular situation.

Should I keep the firewall enabled or disabled in SurfSolo VPN?

By the default the proactive firewall is enabled in the software for security reasons. This will ensure that no malware on your computer (virus or security vulnerable software) may leak out your real IP address. The firewall will however also block access to your local network, remote drives or server. If you need to access to your local network just turn the firewall off from the “settings” panel of the SurfSolo-VPN software.

Can I select which software and browser go through the VPN?

 

With SurfSolo-VPN all your applications will automatically go through the VPN.
If you wish to configure only specific software to surf securely, then you can download our old SurfSolo 3 client here:
http://www.securstar.com/download_files/SurfSolo.zip

You will need to enter the following details into SurfSolo 3:

Server: firecrypt.com
Username: Same one you received with your SurfSolo VPN subscription
Password: Same one you received with your SurfSolo VPN subscription
Port: 4426

Example:
For the program “X” define a new forwarding in SurfSolo with the port number “xxxx” (a number between 1024 and 65535).
When adding the port forwarding you need to choose a local port that it is not used by another program. Then go to your X program proxy server settings and set the proxy host to 127.0.0.1 and the proxy port to the port that you forwarded (“xxxx”).

 

 

 

FAQ for PhoneCrypt
  1. What is the licensing model of the software? Is it by username, or by phone installed on?

With each license you purchase you will receive a username/account, which you can login on from any supported platform. The only limitation is that this account will work from a single device at the same time.
This means that you can login with your account from any phone that has PhoneCrypt installed on, as long as the same account is not logged in somewhere else too.

 

  1. What phones can I install the software on?

You can install the software on iOS (6.0 or later) and Androids.

 

  1. Can I use your software in any country?

Yes, the software can be used anywhere in the world, as long as you have an internet connection through 3G, HSPA, 4G, EDGE,GPRS or WiFi.

  1. Can I place secure calls if the other communication party doesn’t have PhoneCrypt installed too?

No, both communication parties need to have PhoneCrypt installed in order to place secure calls.

  1. Do you offer SMS encryption?

PhoneCrypt has an option to send out also encrypted chat messages, that can be sent to another user also when he is offline.

  1. Are GSM conversations encrypted too?

GSM conversations aren't encrypted. Only calls that you place through our software will be encrypted.

  1. Can PhoneCrypt encrypt emails too?

No, emails aren’t encrypted with our solution. PhoneCrypt will encrypt calls that you place through the software, as well as chats messages that you send with this solution.

  1. Are there any costs for the national and international calls placed with PhoneCrypt?

PhoneCrypt uses the internet connection for placing calls. On Wifi you will have no additional costs for any calls you are placing. If no Wifi is available you can use 3G, HSPA, 4G, EDGE,GPRS that is provided by your network carrier with your monthly mobile data subscription.

  1. Is there a trial version available for the software?

Yes, please feel free to request a free trial version through our support page: https://www.securstar.com/en/support.html