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What is Alertsec Xpress ? |
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Alertsec Xpress is a hosted "Software as a Service" or SaaS, which lets you manage the encryption of the hard disks of all of your company laptops, PC's and Mac OSX computers.
Alertsec provides 100% FULL DISK encryption. All files, folders and sectors are encrypted using a FIPS approved AES 256bit approved algorithm - nothing is left to chance or user error.
Alertsec is powered by Checkpoint Full Disk Encryption engine, which has multiple certifications as well as more than NINE years as a leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Mobile Data Protection. |
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Does Alertsec support Windows 7, Vista and XP? |
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Yes. The current supported OS list includes;
- Windows XP (Professional, 32-bit, 64bit, SP2+)
- Vista (Enterprise, Ultimate, Business, 32 and 64-bit, SP1+)
- Windows 7 (Enterprise, Professional, Ultimate, 32 and 64-bit)
Running Alertsec on Server operating systems such as 2003 and 2008 is not recommended or supported.
Windows "home" versions do work, however they are not officially supported at this time. |
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Does Alertsec support Mac OSX. |
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Yes. Mac OSX 10.5 (Leopard) or 10.6 (Snow Leopard) |
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What Certifications does Alertsec have? |
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The Checkpoint software engine which powers the Alertsec encryption service has the following certifications: |
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Why do I need to encrypt my PC's and Laptops ? |
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Thousands of laptops (and USB sticks) are lost or stolen each year (10,000 alone in London taxis!).
Unless your data is encrypted it is incredibly simple for anyone to view, remove and share ANY of the data that was stored on the laptop. This is possible even though the Administrator or Root password may not be known...
There have been many high profile, embarrassing instances recently where company employee details, patient details, bank details, customer databases, credit card details and other confidential information has been retrieved in this way and either distributed or used for criminal purposes. |
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What kind of Encryption does Alertsec use? |
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Government certified FIPS-197, AES 256-bit encryption cipher.
Experts agree that this level of encryption is very, very strong, and it would take the largest computing power available hundreds, if not thousands of years to break.
Technically speaking, Alertsec uses the Rijndael block cipher. Rijndael was also chosen for the "Advanced Encryption Standard" (AES) by the U.S. government .
See Wikipedia about AES and how it works: |
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How is Alertsec deployed? |
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Alertsec coordinators can choose to email a link directly to and end user, to download and install Alertsec automatically. See the deployment guide for this and options options. |
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What do the user have to do? |
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If the co-ordinator decides to use this (easiest) deployment method, then your users will receive an email containing a unique link to the Alertsec registration page.
Here, a user chooses their username, password, and enters a series of security questions which are used if the user contacts the Alertsec password recovery service.
They are then presented with a link, which when clicked will download and install the encryption service client.
Watch the "3 Easy Steps" installation demo. |
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How long does deployment take ? |
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Encryptions is seamless, happens behind the scenes and a user will not even notice it running.
Typically it can take between 1 and 3 hours for the machine to be fully encrypted (depending on the size of disk / data) but the machine can be shut down or restarted at any time. Encryption will continue where it left off until complete. |
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Does the user notice any changes ? |
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When deployment is complete, and when the PC / laptop is restarted, the user will be presented with a pre-boot logon screen. Here they enter their username and password and booting continues as normal.
Everything else is 100% transparent to the user. |
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Where do I log in to manage the service? |
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http://www.alertsec.com/softek |
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What happens if the user forgets their Password? |
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The user can contact the 24x7x365 Alertsec Helpdesk and request a password reset.
On successful completion of a pre-selected challenge / response question(s) a password reset is initiated enabling the user to gain access. |
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What happens if the laptop / PC is lost or stolen? |
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The machine is unusable and no data can be recovered by any unauthorised persons. |
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Can I encrypt USB sticks and other removable media? |
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No. We recommend hardware encrypted, fully manageable devices such as SafeStick. |
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How do I administer the System? |
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Using the Cloud Based Alertsec Management console. There is nothing to manage on the clients. |
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What happens on catastrophic failure of the laptop / PC ? |
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If the laptop / PC hardware fails for any reason it is possible for authorised members of the IT / Deployment team to de-encrypt the hard disk to remove the data.
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Why should a consumer buy a third party encryption product such as Alertsec when they get encryption with Vista or Windows 7? |
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Only two specific, high end versions of Vista / 7 (Ultimate and Enterprise) feature the encryption module (Bitlocker) – plus not many Enterprise customers have deployed Vista / 7 as yet - most still run XP.
Unlike Microsoft products Alertsec does not require special chips to be present on the computer (TPM) and our software can be installed at any stage. |
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How is Alertsec different from Windows Bitlocker? |
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Firstly Windows Bitlocker isn't 100% secure. It has been hacked.
- Bitlocker is only available for clients running Windows 7 / Vista Enterprise and Ultimate (expensive) versions.
- Bitlocker cant be centrally managed, configured or deployed.
- Bitlocker cant recover lost user passwords. Alertsec can be configured to use a challenge/response mechanism useful for Company IT Support Departments.
- Bitlocker cant produce audit reports.
- Bitlocker needs a special TPM security chip - many PC's / older PC's don't have this.
- Needs internal management, control, operations support.
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Why would I need ‘’full disk’’ encryption rather than just encrypting the particular data on the machine? |
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Just encrypting specific data (files or folders alone) can lead to human error, and therefore data is likely to be compromised.
Let us assume a sensitive file is stored on a laptop. That file could be stored, theoretically, not just in the encrypted folder but copied to the desktop or temp folder location - or wherever. If the user does not take particular steps to keep this file in the encrypted folder, then data is exposed.
Secondly to encrypt this folder creates sub files or temporary files which can contain portions of the confidential file. If someone gets hold of a stolen computer, then they could gain access to that temporary file and therefore to the data. With ‘’full disk’’ encryption you are 100% secure. |
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Can I move my subscription to a different computer if needed? |
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If the old computer is to be discarded, you do not have to uninstall Alertsec Xpress.
The machine will remain encrypted, and no one will be able to gain access to it even if they find it after you have trashed it. Simply log on to your account and delete the user it is registered to.
The subscription will then be freed up, and you can deploy it to your new machine by adding a new user.
If you wish to keep your old laptop, but move the subscription to a new machine, the current subscription needs to be uninstalled. Log on to your account and send out an uninstall email. Once the current user has been uninstalled, you will be able to deploy it again (this time to you new machine).
Please note that we will not be able to assist with remote help or recovery on a laptop that has been deleted in our system. |
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Can I use a screen saver of my liking even after installing Alertsec Xpress? |
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Yes, by default you are allowed to specify the screen saver of your liking. |
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Can I use smart cards or fingerprint readers after having installed Alertsec Xpress? |
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Yes and no. If you are using them to log on to your system once the operating system has booted, it will work just as before you installed Alertsec Xpress.
However, as Alertsec Xpress uses pre boot authentication, you will not be able to use a fingerprint reader or smartcard if you currently use such a device to perform pre-boot authentication.
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Can I use virus scanners after installing Alertsec Xpress? |
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Yes. Your anti-virus software will work just as before installing Alertsec Xpress.
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Is Alertsec Xpress a proven product? |
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Alertsec Xpress is powered by Check Point, the world leader in hard disk encryption software, Check Point Full Disk Encryption has been around for 16 years and is renowned for its robust and secure architecture.
It is a proven product, trusted by more than 10 million users worldwide. |
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My machine is set up to use a multi or dual boot environment. Is this supported by Alertsec Xpress? |
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No, unfortunately Alertsec Xpress does not have support for dual boot systems. |
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I have a recovery or system restore partition on my system. Do I have to remove it prior to installing? |
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No, you normally don´t have to remove it. Alertsec Xpress has support for most recovery and system restore partitions, and will only encrypt "visible" disks and volumes.
As most recovery partitions are set up as invisible drives with their own little operating system, Alertsec Xpress will not encrypt them. This also means that you will be able to restore your machine using the recovery partition even if the machine is encrypted. |
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What encryption algorithm is used by Alertsec Xpress? |
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Alertsec Xpress is using AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) 256-bit encryption where each sector is encrypted with a unique key.
This offers the same protection that many Government organizations are using today.
The 256-bit encryption offers 2 256 (or 115 800 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000) possible keys, which is considered very strong.
Even if a computer can try 1 Billion keys per second, it would still take 3.5 x 1060 years (or 3 500 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000) to try all different possibilities.
To make things even safer, each sector of the hard disk (which contain millions of sectors) is encrypted with a unique key, which means that a hacker has to start all over again for the next sector even if he found the previous one. |
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What encryption key generation are you using? |
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This is not public information and cannot be published. However, Alertsec Xpress Full Disk Encryption has passed the stringent third party certifications Common Criteria EAL4 and FIPS 140-1 and 140-2.
Passing these certifications has resulted in Alertsec Xpress Full Disk Encryption being considered secure enough to be used by many governments and military forces around the world. |
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What happens when my trial period has ended? |
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After the 30-day free trial has ended, you will be prompted to activate your subscription or uninstall the software.
The software will automatically uninstall after 35 days, should you decide not to continue using Alertsec Xpress. |
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What if I am not happy with my trial? |
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If you are unhappy with your Alertsec Xpress trial, and would like to remove it, please log in to your account on the Alertsec Xpress website - http://www.alertsec.com/softek
Click on the uninstall button at the bottom of the the page listing your user information. You will then receive an email with a link to an uninstaller. Download and run the executable, and it will initiate the uninstall. |
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Will Alertsec Xpress affect any of my current applications? |
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No, the software is running underneath the operating system, and your previous applications will not realize that the information is being encrypted and decrypted in the background.
You can even use file encryption products on top of Alertsec Xpress Full Disk Encryption. |
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Will Alertsec Xpress slow the machine down? |
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No |
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Will standby and hibernation work after installing Alertsec? |
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Yes. When resuming from standby (system in standby, information still in memory) your machine will ask you for your Windows credentials just as it would without Alertsec Xpress installed.
When resuming from hibernation (system hibernated, information saved to disk) you will be presented with the pre boot log in screen. This will require you to log in with your Alertsec Xpress credentials.
We recommend using hibernation when putting your machine to sleep, as it is a lot more secure than standby mode. |
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How is Alertsec Priced? |
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Alertsec Xpress is a fully hosted, cloud based, SaaS (software as a service).
Pricing is per user, per month, and you can upsize, downsize or cancel at any time without penalty. |
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How do I Trial Alertsec? |
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Request a full 30 day no obligation trial here
Pricing is per user, per month and you can upsize, downsize and cancel at any time without penalty. |
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My question isn't listed - how do I find out more information? |
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You can find answers to more technical questions on our eSupport self help / KB system. Also you can give us a call on +44(0)8456 443 911 or use our Enquiry Form.
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