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JACK AND SUE DRAFAHL

IN THE BEGINNING of digital,life was pretty simple. File nameswere small and security was gener-ally not an issue, but as the digitalworld became increasingly com-plex, file management has becomea necessity. Thus, there has beenan explosion of file managers thatcatalog, search, compress, and cre-ate thumbnails of each of themedia type. Most will even link totheir respective application pro-gram, so that simply double-click-

may seem a bit paranoid, with allthe attacks by hackers and virusestoday, file security has become apriority.

Here is how it works in Pen-taSuite. If you are not familiar withthe different types of file encryp-tion, read the help menu forspecifics. Select the level of encryp-tion that suits your needs fromencryption protocols such as DES,AES, Blowfish, Serpent, Triple DES,and Mars. Then go to the file man-

PentaWare PentaSuiteing on the file will open it in that specific program.

PentaSuite, from PentaWare, Inc., is a program that addresses allthese issues and much more. The key word in this program is Suite.When you open PentaSuite, you are presented a menu that providesaccess to more than a dozen file man-agement programs.

The primary PentaSuite program,called PentaZip, is located at the topof the menu. It is used to open filedirectories, select files, and then com-press them in to a compression fileformat like ZIP, TAR, CAB, LHa, JAR,and ZGB.

One option not found in many ofthe file compression programs is fileencryption. PentaSuite has six differ-ent levels of file encryption from verybasic encryption, with only a fewcharacters for a password, to verystrong encryption that can requireup to 56 characters. Although this

Three basic menus that appear when you start the PentaSuite Manager.The page up/down keys cycle you from one menu to the next. Fromthere you can then select the program you want with a mouse or theup/down keys and enter.

ager at the top of the main menu where you will see a split screenwith directories and computer files on the top and a blank screen onthe bottom. Select the files you want to compress, and the appropri-ate encryption icon from the left of the edit screen. Give the com-

pressed file a new name, enter thepassword twice and magically yourfile is compressed.

The file viewing program, calledPentaView, features a file explorerthat creates thumbnail images ofeach file in a specific directory. Whenyou click on a specific thumbnail, alarger image appears in the imageviewing area. PentaView can alsoconvert more than a couple dozenfile formats, and has a search enginefor finding specific files. You can alsoselect multiple files and previewthem using the slide show function.

PentaFTP is used to access, uploador download files on other comput-

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The configuration menu used to set up one of six dif-ferent types of file encryption. Other configurationsinclude file compression, email, AntiVirus, and imageviewing settings.

File viewer allows you to see folders in upper left,thumbnails on right, and enlarged image inlower left. Toolbars at top give you options tochange viewing settings, or jump to otherportions of the program.

File viewer allows you to see folders in upper left,thumbnails on right, and enlarged image in lower left.Toolbars at top give you options to change viewing set-tings or jump to other portions of the program. Accessto thumbnail setting in the toolbar at the top changesthe thumbnail to a much large viewing size.

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File viewer allows youto see folders in upperleft, thumbnails onright, and enlargedimage in lower left.To see additionalinformation aboutany of the displayedthumbnails, you firstselect the thumbnail,and then press theproperties button atthe top of thetoolbar.

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The PentaSuite manager allowsyou to select one of the manyprograms included with thePentaSuite program. In this casewe have selected the "SelfExtraction Wizard" which allowsyou to compress groups of filesinto *.exe program. Thisprogram will automatically openand extract all the files whenstarted.

PentaSuite toolbar and explorer displays drives, folders and informationabout specific files. Options not available are grayed out until properprogram is activated.

ers. This File Transfer Protocol is commonly used for updating aweb-page design and anytime you have to transfer files betweenplatforms.

You can also store your files on removable data by using PentaCD,create self-running programs with PentaZip Script or set up sched-

Slideshow viewerallows you to presentimages with a dick of

the mouse. The pro-gram can also play

various audio formatsincluding mp3.

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uled functions using PentaZip Scheduler. Other file utilities inPentaSuite include a file splitter, script wizard, encryption wizard,and a self-extracting file manager. The combination of these utilitieswith the main PentaSuite program gives you full control over filecompression, security, and file reliability, no matter where they are

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PentaSuite also can display any file in the browser in Hexformat. This is especially helpful if the file has been damagedor given an unknown file extension. You can look at the actu-al programming language and extra importantinformation that is fast otherwise.

rhe properties tab will present you with basic informationibout any image in the PentaSuite browser. You can alsoittach additional information about the image that will helpn a database search at a later time.

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II m = -^^Files to be compressed and encrypted can be selected fromthe file menu at the upper right and dragged down to aworking menu at the bottom of the screen. File encryptionis then selected and applied to the group of images as theyare compressed.

f/te wewer Q//CWS you to see folders in upper left, thumbnails onright, and enlarged image in lower left. Toolbars at top give youoptions to change viewing settings, or jump to other portions of theprogram. Access to thumbnail setting in the toolbar at the topchanges the thumbnail to a much large viewing size.

stored or transmitted.PentaSuite is currently compatible with Windows 98, 98SE, MW,

NT4, 2000 Pro, and XP formats. A downloadable version is availablefor $99.95. For more information on PentaSuite and other products logonto the web at: www.pentazip.com.

jack and Sue Drafahl are freelance journalists/photographers living in the PacificNorthwest. They have owned and operated a custom lab and service bureau, ImageConcepts, for many years. They can be reached at: digitalduo@jackandsuedrafahl.com. The Drafahls new web site is: www.jackandsuedrafahl.com

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