Aloaha PDF Crypter 3.0.155

Aloaha PDFCrypter enables you to encrypt PDF files using the public key of the recipient. You can use the program to send encrypted PDF documents through e-mail if you specify a SMTP server. The application even enables you to encrypt other files, before sending it.

This program doesn't come with a help file, so it may be a bit hard to get to learn how it works. First of all you should know that the first thing you need to do with this program is specify the output filename. The output file may have .PDF or .aloaha extension, depending on what file you want to encrypt. Encrypted PDF files can be viewed directly in Adobe Acrobat Reader, provided that you import the appropriate security certificate. This can be done from the Document->Security Settings menu of Acrobat Reader. Another way of importing a security certificate is to use the Windows Certificate Import Wizard.

Only '.aloaha' files can be decrypted by the program. When you open a file with the aloaha extension, make sure you choose the appropriate entry in the "Files of type" drop-down of the standard Windows Open File dialog. Another thing that's quite hard to figure out is how to embed files. You need to click on the user interface, where it says "Files to embed", even though there's no button there.

Pluses:

Drawbacks / flaws: The program stops responding during the encryption process. There also isn't any progress bar which indicates the encryption's progress. Another thing that I found out during my testing this software is the fact that larger PDF files take longer to encrypt. I guess this is normal, but due to the fact that the application stops responding, encrypting large files is pretty frustrating.

In conclusion: I'm looking forward to some improvement in terms of user interface.

version reviewed: 3.0.52