Technical Support FAQ

For security reasons we can only send password reset instructions for registered users when they provide positive identification and the same email address that we sent the order confirmation to. We take the security of our customers very seriously, and this policy is designed to prevent illegal password hacks and other fraud. If you are using a demo you need to first purchase the product thus providing traceable credit card information.

If you don't want to purchase the product you can purchase a password reset for $10.00 USD. Please click here for more information and to fill out our password reset request form.

If you are a registered user, then please fill out the question/problem form and give us the following information:
      1) The name that you used to register the product
      2) The e-mail address that we sent the order confirmation to

Windows Vista introduces many changes to the Windows operating system, some of which conflict with our products. At the moment, most of our products do not fully support Vista, but some of them will run OK in Vista with reduced functionality (see the next question below). Our development teams are working hard to resolve this issue. We will eventually release Vista versions of every Tropical Software product, but it's hard to say when product upgrades will be ready. Our best guess is a few months from now.

If you would like to sign up for the Tropical Software news mailing list, we will send you an e-mail as soon as Vista upgrades are available. Thank you for your patience and understanding! Good things are worth waiting for, right?

Only Private Encryptor (and the Strong Encryption Package) is 100% compatible with Windows Vista. Vista is not officially supported by any other Tropical Software products. However, if you must use Vista then there is a way that you might be able to solve some of the problems you may be experiencing. Please follow these instructions:

1) You will need to locate the original setup file that you used to install the product. If you no longer have the setup file, you can download it again from our web site.

2) Right click on the setup file, select properties from the menu, and go to the compatibility tab.

3) In the compatibility mode box, check "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and select Windows XP.

4) Right click on the file again and select run as administrator, then follow the setup instructions to install the product.

5) Once the product is re-installed, repeat steps 2-4 for the shortcut in the start menu and the desktop. Every time you run the program, you should right click and select run as administrator.

This solution is not guaranteed to work well with every product, but it's worth a try.
When will Windows Vista versions of Tropical Software products be available?

No. The new Private Pix 3.1 is designed for Windows XP. It is possible to run Private Pix in Windows Vista, but the password screen won't work correctly and hidden folder support will be disabled.
When will Windows Vista versions of Tropical Software products be available?

Yes, as long as you have a decent reason for wanting an extension. Please use the question/problem form to request an extension, and be sure to provide a reason for your request.

If you have purchased only 1 license, then you may install your software on multiple computers provided that the software is for your individual use or your family's use in a home environment, and you do not intend to give the software to a friend, or give away one of your computers as a gift, etc.

For example, let's say that in your family you have a desktop PC and a laptop. You primarily use the desktop PC but want to install your Tropical Software products on your laptop so you can bring it with you on vacation. This is perfectly fine.

Now let's say that you are an office worker and want to install your copy of Private Pix on all the office computers so your co-workers can use it too. This is NOT OK! You must purchase 1 license for every person in your office who will be using the software.

As another example, let's say that you are a high school principal and you want to install Secure Browser on every computer in your school's computer lab. You can purchase our special School License (proof of intended use required).

If you are still confused about licensing issues, then feel free to use the question/problem form and explain your situation.

First, make sure that your friend is typing the encryption key correctly. Turn on the Make Key Visible option so you can check there are no spelling errors in the key.

Are you using one of the strong encryption types (anything except Fast Encryption, Media Stealth, or DES)? Make sure that your friend has the Strong Encryption Package installed for Private Encryptor, or is using the latest version of Private Pix (version 3.1).

It could be that your friend does not have permission to modify the encrypted file. If the user does not have permission to modify an encrypted file, then Private Encryptor and Private Pix will not be able to decrypt it. Changing the file permissions will solve this problem. To change permissions in Windows Vista, perform the following steps on every encrypted file:

      1) right click on the encrypted file, select properties from the menu
      2) click on the security tab
      3) click on edit
      4) If the Users group is not shown in the box, then click on Add
             In the "Enter the object names to select" text box, type "Users" and press OK
      4) In the group or user names box, click on Users
      5) Under the Allow column, check the box that says "Full Control"

This should allow other users to be able to modify the file. Note that this process might be slightly different for other versions of Windows.

Also, in Windows Vista and XP certain folders are protected. Make sure that your friend copies the files into a location where they are allowed to edit files, such as their Documents folder.

Winvestigator behaves in ways that are similar to many viruses. For example, Winvestigator monitors your computer and logs different types of user activities. Viruses also do this because they are usually programmed to activate themselves when certain events occur. Winvestigator is completely safe, and unlike an actual virus, its behavior will not result in any destructive actions. However, virus scanners and anti-spyware programs look for this type of behavior in order to identify viruses. Sometimes this results in Winvestigator being incorrectly identified as a virus or spyware.

So don't be alarmed. The program is safe to use. Our development team is hard at work on a new version of Winvestigator that will fix these false detection problems.

If you would like to sign up for the Tropical Software news mailing list, we will send you an e-mail as soon as the new version of Winvestigator is released.

This is a known issue with some anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. Some Tropical Software products are incorrectly detected as Winvestigator and labeled as viruses. Please don't be alarmed. Tropical Software products are safe to use, this is a problem with the anti-virus software, NOT our products! This problem has been fixed for the latest versions of Private Pix, Private Encryptor, and Secure Browser.
My anti-virus software says that Winvestigator is a virus!! Is Winvestigator safe to use?

Product version numbers are in this format: (major version #).(minor version #)
    For example: Private Pix 3.1 is the latest version. The major version number is 3 and the minor version number is 1.

If you want to upgrade to a newer minor version number, then all you have to do is download the product demo and install it. Your program should stay registered, and your registration key will still work with the new software.
    For example: You have Private Encryptor 6.1 and you want to upgrade to version 6.4.
    Simply download the latest software from our web site and install it.

If you want to upgrade to a newer major version number, then you must buy an upgrade (discount prices are available to registered customers) to obtain a new registration key. Your old key will not work with the new software.
    For example: You have Private Pix 2.93 and you want to upgrade to version 3.1.
    You must buy a Private Pix Upgrade, download the demo, and register it using the new registration
    key that you will get via e-mail when you purchase the upgrade.

By default, the encryption key for the new Private Pix is the same as your password, but you can also change the key to be whatever you like. Before you can change the key, you must uncheck the "Same as Password" option on the encryption toolbar at the top of the main application window. The old version of Private Pix uses the following key by default:

ppx#1

Please try using this key with Private Pix 3.1. To decrypt and view your files, you must use the same encryption key that was used to encrypt them with the older version of Private Pix. As long as you didn't change the default key in the old version, then the above key should work. However, this key is not very secure. You should decrypt your files and encrypt them again using a different key as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, the answer is no. If you forget your password, it is possible to reset it, but if you forget your encryption key there is nothing we can do. If you have trouble remembering your key, it is best to write it down on a piece of paper and keep it in a secure location such as a home safe or other hidden place. If it was possible to reset your encryption key, then your files wouldn't be very secure, would they?

This error happens when you upgrade to Private Pix 3.1 without first uninstalling an old version of Private Pix. To fix the problem, uninstall Private Pix 3.1. Then use Windows Explorer to open the Private Pix directory (usually C:\Program Files\privp). Run Uninstl.exe to uninstall the old Private Pix. Once both versions of the program are uninstalled, restart your computer and install Private Pix 3.1 again.

The new Private Pix is designed only for use on a single monitor configuration. If you are using multiple monitors, then please use Private Pix only on your primary display screen to avoid having trouble. If you insist on trying to use Private Pix on a secondary screen then Tropical Software cannot be held responsible for any problems you might have, including but not limited to data loss from incorrect use of the program. Support for multiple monitors might be included in a future release of Private Pix. Thank you for your understanding!

Yes. The Strong Encryption Package works with all versions of Private Encryptor, including the new Private Encryptor 7.0 for Windows Vista.

All our products are designed for 32-bit versions of Windows. It may be possible to use Tropical Software programs with 64-bit Windows, but we have not tested the products on 64-bit systems. You can give it a try, but we might not be able to help if you have problems.

Some people have reported a problem where Windows Explorer suddenly crashes and the screen displays random pieces of every open program. There are various conditions that can cause this problem (unplugging USB cables and browsing folders that contain lots of picture, music, or video files are some triggers we have identified). And sometimes it happens after using Private Encryptor's context menu to encrypt something. Please rest assured that this is NOT a bug in Private Encryptor! This problem is a bug in Windows Explorer itself and may be related to the way that Vista caches thumbnails. Perhaps Microsoft will fix it in a future update to the Windows operating system.

If you experience this problem, you must bring up the Windows Task Manager. Switch to the Processes tab and stop explorer.exe. Then go to the File menu, select "New Task (Run...)", and type "explorer". This will re-start Windows Explorer and make your system return to normal.

To prevent the problem from happening again, don't do whatever you were doing when the problem started. So if you use the Private Encryptor context menu a lot and experience this problem frequently, then stop using the context menu and only perform encryption operations from within the Private Encryptor program window. Not everyone will experience this problem, and sometimes the cause will be different, so if the context menu works fine for you then by all means continue using it.

This problem is not harmful to your system and will not cause permanent damage. Once Windows Explorer is re-started, everything will go back to normal again. If you experience this strange bug, please contact Microsoft and report it so they will be able to get a better understanding of the situation.

Don't worry, you're not doing anything wrong and this is not a serious problem or security risk. The files are encrypted OK. The problem is that Windows caches thumbnails (basically the system saves thumbnails and doesn't update them every time you look at a file, so that Windows Explorer runs faster). Windows doesn't realize that Private Encryptor has modified the files, so the system doesn't update the thumbnails. The quick solution is to press F5 or click on the View menu and select "Refresh". If you are using Windows Vista, you can force Windows to delete the thumbnail cache and regenerate thumbnails by doing the following:

1. Click on the start button (the big Windows logo on the bottom-left side of the screen)
2. Go to All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup
3. Run Disk Cleanup and select "Files from all users on this computer"
4. Wait for the Disk Cleanup main window to appear, then scroll through the file list and check "Thumbnails"
5. Click OK
6. Click Delete Files on the confirmation window

Now the thumbnail cache will be re-built next time you open an Explorer window, and you shouldn't see thumbnails for your encrypted files anymore.