Create a password-protected private area on your USB drive. Keep confidential documents, photos, and videos private while leaving public files available for everyday sharing.
Choose the task you need: create or open a private USB area, store files, use read-only mode, change the password, back up data, or restore the opener. Each task has its own controls and steps.
Use this workflow for initial setup or a deliberate rebuild after verified backups. For an existing encrypted drive, go directly to Open the Private Area.
Identify the intended USB device and make a separate backup of its important files. Open representative files from that backup to verify them before creating or changing an encrypted layout.
Connect the USB drive and open GiliSoft USB Encryption > USB Encrypt. Select the device in USB Drive, using Refresh if needed. Check its label, drive letter, capacity, and files before proceeding.
Set Secure area with the size control or slider, then review the remaining Public area. Leave enough private capacity for future files. The screenshot values are an example, not required sizes.
Capacity example: the screenshot shows 59,982 MB total, 41,700 MB secure area, and 18,282 MB public area. Its example device is already encrypted; the image illustrates the controls, not a second installation to perform on that drive.
Select Install, complete the password setup requested by the program, and wait for creation to finish without disconnecting the drive. Keep the password available for the first opening test. If the device already has a secure area, use Open instead of repeating installation.
The ordinary part of the USB drive holds files you are happy to share without the private-area password, such as handouts, installers, or general documents.
The opener file, agent.exe, provides access to the private area. Its presence in public storage does not make the private files public.
This is the encrypted space for confidential files. After password verification, it opens as a separate virtual drive letter in Windows.
Store files inside that mounted drive to protect them. Creating a private area does not automatically move every existing public file into it.
Select the encrypted device in USB Encrypt and choose Open, or run its agent.exe opener on the Windows PC where it will be used.
Enter the private-area password and choose an available Drive Letter. This is the virtual private drive, separate from the public USB drive.
Select Open in virtual drive and verify the mounted area. The public E: and private D: letters in the screenshots are examples, not fixed requirements.
Test the opener and password on the intended Windows PC before travel or handoff. If the opener is missing, use the Recover workflow for the existing area.
After opening with the password, select Browse. Check the private virtual drive letter before copying files.
Put the intended documents, photos, videos, folders, or archives inside that virtual drive. Files left in public USB storage are not moved into private storage automatically.
Open representative files from the virtual drive and confirm the transfer completed. Keep verified backups, and review any ordinary copies still on the desktop or public USB area before sharing. Then close the private session.
Finish document edits and close applications and Explorer windows using the mounted private area. Wait for copying or other writes to finish.
Select Close in the opened-area window. The opened-area screenshot shows Browse and Close. This ends the mounted session; it is not the Toolbox Uninstall operation.
Use Windows safe removal before disconnecting the USB device. On reconnection, test that public files remain available as intended and private access requires the normal password-opening workflow.
If the private area is already mounted, save your work and close it. Open the existing area again and enter its password.
Choose Open secure area as read-only mode, select an available virtual drive letter, and open the area. The password-window screenshot shows the checkbox.
Open a sample file and confirm changes cannot be saved back to the mounted private area. To edit later, close it and reopen without read-only mode. Readable content can still be copied elsewhere; this setting is not document copy protection.
Open USB Toolbox and select the correct encrypted USB drive before choosing an action. Password, Recover, Backup, and Uninstall perform different tasks.
Open USB Toolbox, select the intended device in USB Drive, and check its identity. Keep the current private-area password available.
Select Password and follow the password-change dialog in the installed program. Review the old and new credentials carefully; Recover is not a substitute for knowing the password.
After completing the change, close any private session and reopen the area with the new password. Verify access to representative files and retain the updated credential separately from the USB drive.
If agent.exe is missing, keep the encrypted drive intact. Do not recreate, uninstall, or format the area merely to restore its opener.
Open USB Toolbox, select the existing encrypted drive, and choose Recover. The on-screen toolbox explanation identifies this action as restoring agent.exe.
Run the restored opener or choose Open in the main program. Enter the existing private-area password and verify the files. Recover restores the opener, not a forgotten password or arbitrary damaged files.
The toolbox also shows Convert to NTFS and Format to NTFS. Review the installed control state and make verified backups before a filesystem change. Formatting erases data; neither action is a way to reset a password or repair a missing opener.
Open the private area with its password. Copy important files to separate protected storage, and preserve required public files as well. Open representative backup files to verify their contents.
Select the intended encrypted device in USB Toolbox and choose Backup. Follow the destination and completion choices offered by the installed program; keep the result on separate storage.
Retain the verified file copies and any backup output until the next task has been checked. A copy of public storage alone is not a readable backup of private files, and Toolbox Recover restores the opener rather than those backup contents.
Preserve both private and public files on other storage before replacing a layout. If the private area cannot be opened, stop and resolve access before attempting a rebuild.
After verifying the backups, remove the old secure area only when replacement is intended. Use Uninstall, then follow initial setup with the new capacity plan. Do not assume the creation slider resizes an existing encrypted area in place.
Reopen the new private area and copy private files into its virtual drive. Restore intended public files to public storage. Verify representative contents and a close/reopen cycle before discarding backups.
Open the private area and preserve required files on separate protected storage. Back up public files too, and verify the copies by opening them.
Finish private-file work, open USB Toolbox, and select the intended encrypted USB device. Use Uninstall only when you intend to delete its secure area and complete the program prompts.
Wait for completion and inspect the drive before reusing or rebuilding it. Retain the verified backups. For everyday password locking, use Close instead of Uninstall.
Close the secure area, safely eject and reconnect the USB drive, check the public files without opening the private area, then enter the password and confirm your protected files are intact.
Close the private area, eject safely, and reconnect. Check which files remain available in public storage without opening the private area.
Enter the correct password, choose a free virtual drive letter, and open representative files. Confirm recent changes and any intended read-only behavior.
Check the normal opening workflow on the Windows PC where the drive will be used and open representative backup files from separate storage.
| Check | Expected result |
|---|---|
| Public storage after reconnection | Only files you deliberately left public are readable without opening the secure area. |
| Private area while closed | Private files are not available through an open mounted private drive. |
| Password and virtual drive | The correct password opens the area under the selected available drive letter. |
| Private file contents | Representative files open correctly, including recent changes you saved before closing. |
| Read-only mode | Files can be viewed, but changes cannot be saved back to the private area in that session. |
| Backup and destination PC | Important backup files open correctly, and the normal password workflow works on the Windows PC where the drive will be used. |
| What you see | What to check next |
|---|---|
| The USB drive is not listed | Confirm Windows detects the device and check its connection, then use Refresh. Do not format it just to make it appear in the program. |
| The password is accepted but the expected files are missing | Use Browse or check the selected virtual drive letter. Confirm the files were stored in the private area rather than public storage or another disk. |
| A chosen virtual drive letter is unavailable | Select another available letter in the opener rather than changing the public USB drive's identity. |
| Saving files is not allowed | Check read-only mode and available private capacity. Close and reopen in normal mode when editing is intended. |
| The opener file is missing | Use USB Toolbox > Recover for the existing encrypted drive. Keep the area intact; do not recreate it. |
| The secure area will not close | Save and close open documents and applications using the virtual drive, then retry Close. Do not unplug during active writes. |
| The password is forgotten | Recover does not reset it. Preserve the drive and contact GiliSoft Support before changing the encrypted layout. |
No. The secure area protects files stored inside it. Files left in the public area remain ordinary public files. After creating and opening the private area, copy the files you want to protect into its virtual drive and verify them there.
Documents, photos, videos, audio, folders, archives, and backup files can be stored in the encrypted area. Protection depends on where the files are stored, not on a particular filename extension.
No. Read-only mode prevents changes to the mounted private area; it does not turn readable files into copy-protected documents. A file copied to an ordinary folder outside the private area is a separate copy outside that encrypted storage.
Open GiliSoft USB Encryption, select the existing encrypted USB drive in USB Toolbox, and use Recover to restore its opener file. Then open the existing private area with the correct password. Do not recreate the area or format the drive just because the opener is missing.
No. Recover restores the USB opener, not the password. Keep the password in a separate password manager or trusted record. If you cannot open the area, preserve the drive and contact GiliSoft Support before attempting changes; password recovery is not guaranteed.
The public USB drive and the mounted private area are separate Windows drive views. Choose an available letter in the opener. In the screenshots, the public device is E: and the private virtual drive is D:; those letters are examples, not fixed requirements.
No. Close ends the mounted secure session. USB Toolbox describes Uninstall as deleting the secure area. Copy out and verify every file you need on separate storage before removing it; do not use Uninstall as a routine way to lock the drive.
Choose the private/public size when creating the area and leave room for future files. Before changing an existing layout, make and verify separate backups of both private and public files. Do not assume the creation slider can safely resize an existing encrypted area in place.
No. USB Encryption creates a password-protected private storage area on the removable drive. USB Lock controls whether devices may be used on a Windows PC. A device-access rule is not encryption of the files already stored on the drive.
The $49.95 purchase buttons refer to the official checkout option labelled Lifetime / 1 PC / 5 USB sticks. The checkout also lists other plans. Review the current license choices and device limits before completing a purchase.
Create a private USB area, open it with your password, and close it when finished. Keep the public space available for the files you choose to share.
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