Introduction

AxCrypt is free and easy to use open source strong file encryption for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2K/XP, integrated with Windows Explorer. Encrypt, compress, decrypt, wipe, view and edit with a few mouse clicks. Cryptographic primitives are AES-128 and SHA-1.

Encrypted files have a ".axx" extension added to their names, and are shown with a new icon .

To encrypt a file, right-click it in Windows Explorer, select 'AxCrypt | Encrypt' and enter a passphrase plus the path to an optional strong key file. 

To edit or view an encrypted file - just double-click it.

To decrypt, right-click and select 'AxCrypt | Decrypt' instead, and enter the correct pass phrase plus the path to the correct key file, if used.

To encrypt to a self-decrypting .exe program, right-click and select 'AxCrypt | Encrypt Copy to .exe' . You can send these files to anyone, they do not need to have AxCrypt installed.

AxDecrypt, a stand-alone, install-free, decrypt-only version is also included.

Download and Install

No configuration is necessary for AxCrypt. Download, run the installer, and AxCrypt is ready to use.

English, German, French, Spanish, Italian or Swedish will be used for installation, messages and dialogues depending on the language of the system or your choice. Documentation (this document) is in English.

For programmers and system administrators, there is also a command line interface callable from batch files, scripts and other programming languages.

Backup your data!

Encryption protects your data from being seen by others, and against undetected change. It does not protect data from loss. Please backup your important encrypted files as you normally would.