Table of Contents

Encrypt Files

Introduction

There are five secure encryption formats in PowerArchiver:

Introduction to .PA encryption

PowerArchiver features Advanced Codec Pack (.PA format). It has the most secure encryption in PowerArchiver, and is more secure than ZIP and 7z AES. For added security, we use the BWTS algorithm to scramble the data before AES encryption, so attackers can not use LZ compression redundancy and other plaintext attacks to quickly check if given password is valid. This makes .pa format considerably more secure than ZIP AES. For the AES encryption module, we use FIPS 140-2 validated modules from Windows so you can rest assured that AES implementation has been tested and validated (FIPS 140-2 encryption module is always used). PA format is only used by PowerArchiver.

Using Encrypt tool

To start the tool, select “Encrypt” from the “Tools” menu/tab.

At the Encrypt dialog window, you will need to do several things:

After you have selected the options, click “Encrypt” to finish the process and encrypt the file. PowerArchiver will then ask you for a password and you will have to enter it two (2) times.

Please note that it is very IMPORTANT that you do not forget your password. You will NOT be able to use the file if you forget the password. There is no way you can recover a forgotten PAE/PAE2 password.

PAE Encryption Tips and Tricks

Please Note:

PowerArchiver will be able to read and update files that were encrypted with any of these standards.