DocLock

DocLock is a simple-to-use software application which enables you to secure private documents, pictures and other types of files by locking them with a password. It also implements a feature for permanently erasing data or wiping free space, in order to prevent unauthorized users from recovering information using specialized tools, like Piriform's Recuva.

The program gets installed quickly and effortlessly. It's wrapped in a clean and intuitive interface based on a large window that displays buttons for locking and unlocking files, managing password, and securely deleting data.

Files can be added to the task list via drag-and-drop support, and it's possible to simultaneously lock multiple items with the same password. You can either enter a preferred key and confirm it, or ask the utility to generate a random and secure password. This key can be saved as an image file which you can store somewhere safe, in case you forget it.

An important fact worth noting is that DocLock doesn't not overwrite the original files. Instead, it creates new ones with the .doclock extension, giving you the possibility to specify the saving directory. This means that the original files remain untouched, so make sure you don't leave them lying around on the computer for others to find.

Moreover, the app is capable of creating a portable locked file with the .exe format, which is basically a self-extracting executable that can be stored on a USB flash drive for easy access. In addition to this, it can also creates a zipped archive (ZIP format) which can be sent via email.

In order to unlock a file, all you have to do is indicate the correct password and establish the target destination for recreating the original files.

For security reasons, DocLock advises you to frequently change the passwords to your locked files, and this can be seamlessly done without having to unlock and re-lock the original items. All you have to do is point out one or more files, set the old and new password, and confirm the new key.

The file shredding procedure is pretty basic, since all you have to do is specify the items and click a button. Lastly, the free space of any selected drive can be wiped. Unfortunately, DocLock doesn't integrate an option for wiping free space in user-defined folders, which means that it may take a very long time to finish a task on large drives with a lot of free space.

As far as configuration settings are concerned, it's possible to choose the compression mode (fast, normal, best or no compression), security algorithm used for encryption (Blowfish, Cast-128, DES ,3DES, Gost, RC2, Rijndael, Twofish) and the cipher mode (CFB-8bit, CBC, CFB-block, OFB). Plus, you can set the tool to automatically delete the original files after locking and the locked ones after unlocking.

Everything worked smoothly in our tests, and the tool didn't hang, crash or prompt error dialogs. It locked and unlocked files swiftly while remaining light on system resource consumption.

To wrap it up, DocLock comes packed with practical options for password-protecting files and securely wiping files and free space. It's intuitive and speedy. However, it hasn't been updated for a long while. The demo version permits you to lock only Microsoft Word documents.