Handybits Easycrypto

Good morning.

I have a number of work related folders encrypted using the above.

the software has been installed for several years and used regularly but stopped working last week showing 'runtime error 216 00003AB0' which i've been told relates to some kind of virus.

i have run scans using AVG and TOTALAV but nothing has been detected.

i have also carried out a system restore to a time when the software was working

I uninstalled the software, prior to running the scans and have attempted to download it again several times from various sites but get the same error message every time.

Questions.

1. Does anyone know where / how this software can be successfully downloaded ?

2. Other software that can be used to decrypt these folders which i believe use a Blowfish algorithm ?

I am using Windows 10 64bit

If anyone does have a possible solution, could the explanation be kept very " Janet and John" please as i am not particularly tech-savvy !

Cheers

Hello,

I'm not familiar with/don't recall ever having used the EasyCrypto software you mentioned.

To answer your questions:

1) It looks like the software publisher for EasyCrypto was Handybits and they previously maintained a website at http://www.handybits.com

Today their website appears to be offline.

Fortunately, Internet Archive crawled the site near the end of 2008, before the site went offline.  I was able to download what is believed to be Version 5.5 of the EasyCrypto software from:

https://web.archive.org/web/20081217064929/http://www.handybits.com/easycrypto.htm

Note:  I didn't actually attempt to install the software after downloading it.  The installer file is also not digitally signed so it's probably the file you're looking for, but as always no guarantees.

2)  If EasyCrypto isn't able to decrypt your data, it's highly likely a replacement solution could be implemented (especially since you have the EasyCrypto software).  However, this approach would likely have a fee associated with it.

Thoughts:

Blowfish encryption is no longer considered state-of-the-art/secure encryption and some vendors have discontinued its support to encourage software vendors to use a different algorithm.

A possible explanation for the error you're seeing:  If HandyBits created EasyCrypto using [Microsoft] Windows' built-in support for the Blowfish Algorithm, when Microsoft chooses to remove support for the algorithm, the EasyCrypto software will no longer function when they can't locate the necessary system files for working with Blowfish encryption.  These missing system files could directly cause the error message that you are seeing.

The easiest (and cheapest) way to work around this would be to use an older version of the operating system that still supports the Blowfish Algorithm.

Take care to preserve your encrypted data.  After you install EasyCrypto on an older version of Windows (e.g. Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7/8) I would suspect you'll likely have no problem decrypting your data.

More technical options in the absence of a computer running an older version of Windows:  Setup an older version of Windows to run in a virtual machine environment on your current computer;  Alternatively, an older version of Windows 10 (without updates/patches applied) would also likely work.

Again, this is just my first impression of what your situation may be.  Any type of system corruption or flaw in the EasyCrypto software could lead to a failure as your described.

Keep a backup copy of your encrypted data.  I would expect your chances of decrypting it are very high.

Good luck!