There are many tools on the market today that allow you to securely encrypt your files. They all have the same downside, though. They require an extra operation to be performed when you encrypt or decrypt your file. Here are the two common scenarios: You edit a document and save it to a file. Then you encrypt this file with your encryption program. And vise versa. You decrypt a file and then view/edit it in your text processor. It takes more time and requires you to perform more actions.

Some encryption programs allow you to create encrypted disk volumes. They encrypt and decrypt your files on-the-fly. Yet, there are definitely more downsides. If an encrypted volume is damaged, you lose all the files it contains. To use an encrypted disk volume on another computer, you need to install your disk encryption software on that computer.

Altstone offers an interesting solution. Their Private Notetaker is a highly portable application that combines a text processor and an encryption program. The program can operate in two modes: rich text and plain text, and thus, substitutes for both Wordpad and Notepad as their secure analogs. It automatically encrypts each file using the Blowfish algorithm and also allows you to protect files with individual passwords.

No extra operations required. You save and open files as you do with standard text editors. No encrypted disk volumes are created and thus no additional system resources are used. If a file gets damaged, you lose only this file and not the whole disk volume. "Portable" means that you can bring Private Notetaker with you and use it on any computer you have access to. No administrator rights required. Just put it on an USB drive and safely work with your documents wherever you go.

When you register the software, they develop a custom build for you containing your very own private key. This ensures the highest level of security. Files that you save, can be read only with your own copy of Private Notetaker.