Windows File Encryption Using BCArchive

Encrypting important files is a good way to protect your privacy from prying eyes. If your computer is ever lost, stolen, or even just left unattended your files will be protected. UT Austin information security policies requires Category I data be stored encrypted on your computer. By default, data on your computer is not encrypted. We recommend using BCArchive to create encrypted archives for storing sensitive files on your Windows computer. BCArchive is free to use for non-commerical purposes.

BCArchive will create what amounts to a file-vault on your computer that is encrypted and can be protected by a password or a public-private key. Here are some instructions for creating these archives, if you need further information please contact help@edb.utexas.edu for help.

Installing BCArchive

1. Download BCArchive

Click here to download the BCArchive installer or you can download it directly from the software developer's website by clicking here.

 

2. Run the Installer

Double-click on the installer to begin running the setup program. Click Next to proceed through the installation.

 

Read the license agreement carefully. Check the I accept the Agreement box and click Next.

 

You will then be presented with the licensing screen. Because you are using this program for personal archives, non-commercially, you can select the License, embbeded to the Setup program option.

Once you click Start the program will be installed!

 

Creating an Encrypted Archive

1. Open BCArchive
Go to the Start menu and select All Programs. Scroll until you see the BCArchive 1.0 folder, and open BCArchive by clicking it. Make sure not to select BC Key Manager unless you are an advanced user and want to use Public-Private key encryption.

 

2. Create a new Encrypted Archive

From the File menu, choose New.You'll be prompted to enter an Archive name and Password. Make note of the location of the encrypted archive on your computer. In our example we used the name 'encrypted-disk', and saved it to our Desktop (this is the default location).

 

You'll be instructed to move your mouse around the BCArchive program window, to generate "a random seed buffer". When you're done, click on the OK button.

At this point, your encrypted archive is created, and ready to use.

3. Accessing your Encrypted Archive

To access your encrypted documents, double-click on the file archive you created, in this case the file archive is named "encrypted-disk.bca" and was created on the Desktop. You'll immediately be prompted for your password:

Once you see that your files have been encrypted in the archive, you can safely delete all the unencrypted copies that are on your computer.

 

4. Customize your Encrypted Archive

To add any document to your encrypted archive, simply drag it onto the open BCArchive window. BCArchive will immediately make an encrypted copy of that document.

Once you are done adding documents to your archive, you can close the BCArchive window.

5. Changing your Encrypted Files

To make changes to your encrypted files, simply double-click on them inside the BCArchive window. Make whatever changes you wish, then save the document. BCArchive will prompt you to make sure that you want to update the encrypted version in the archive. Read the warnings that BCArchive presents, and click OK to overwrite the old version of the file stored in the encrypted archive.