OSE

While most messaging clients or chatting applications come with integrated security options to encrypt messages and make sure they are not intercepted, you never know what might happen. That is why you should only share sensitive information via secure platforms.

OSE, short for OpenSSL's Symmetric Encryption, provides a simple and easy to use application that can encrypt and decrypt files and texts without a lot of hassle, so that you can make sure your message is safely delivered.

OSE’s main window is as simple as it gets. Since all the buttons and the frames are overly simplistic and the design is quite rudimentary, it is more than clear that the focus is on functionality, rather than looks.

You start by typing or pasting the text you want to encrypt and then click on a button to do so. The application prompts you to enter the password you want to use in the encryption process. There are multiple ciphers and modes to choose from, all available to you in a drop-down menu. The native AES-256-CBC mode is supported.

Hitting the “Process” button will encrypt the text almost instantly. The application displays a small window asking you whether it should copy the encrypted text to the clipboard and another to ask you whether it should save the result to a text file.

OSE is a simple application, but it is open-source software, and it can help you understand how an OpenSSL-based tool works. While small, it fulfills its purpose, allowing you to encrypt and decrypt both text and files. Moreover, it does not require installation and it is ready for use as soon as you double-click on the main executable.