By Ron Duncan

Are you a secret agent on a clandestine assignment? Or perhaps, just want to plan a secret getaway for your significant other. Whatever the case may be, here’s an inexpensive way to aid in your covert operation.

The US$39.99 Encrypt Stick from ENC Security Systems (http://encryptstick.com) installs quickly and easily on a USB flash drive turning it into a "Digital Privacy Manager." This allows users to create encrypted and hidden vaults on a wide variety of devices -- local or network drives, external hard drives, other flash drives, etc.

The software runs directly from the flash drive, so it leaves no evidence on the host computer (PC and Mac versions available). Licensing is one per flash drive, so be sure to install it on a decent drive as there is no transferring to another drive.

The Password Manager enables users to securely manage passwords for online accounts such as banking, shopping, or social networks. Setup is relatively easy and the use of a virtual keyboard protects against keylogging software. Password Manager works in conjunction with the Private Browser, which has features such as bookmarks, tabbed browsing, and full support for JavaScript and Flash. And yes, www.kelbytraining.com worked perfectly -- in case you want to sneak a session in at work.

Encryption for the vaults, Password Manager, and Private Browser is based on a patented 512-bit polymorphic algorithm, which ENC claims has never been hacked! Encrypt Stick has a free version which restricts flash drive and vault storage capacities, and only allows use of the Private Browser for 30 days. The full version provides unlimited use of these features. And now, I’m off to a meeting with WikiLeaks.

Rating: 8 out of 10

(This review is brought to you courtesy of "Layers Magazine": http://layersmagazine.com/ .)