Encryption of your private data: files, pictures, reports, etc. is the only way to protect them from prying eyes. Not only that! Say you want to send one of those files as an e-mail attachment and don't want anybody but the recipient to see it? CryptUp can do all this for you and more! And it does it very simply at a mouse click in the Windows Explorer.
It also 'shreds' the files you delete. The shredded files will be irremediably and definitively destroyed, whatever the means, existing or to come, used to try to restore them (specifications of US DSS (Defence Security Service) Industrial Security).
Don't be mistaken by Cryptup look and size; it is a very powerful tool, with encryption keys up to 2,048 bits. Written in 'pure' C language, it is very compact and fast (no unnecessary huge and slow VB code or fancy useless interface!); CryptUp is very concerned with your computer resources.
It is also extremely safe: during the Encryption/Decryption phases, CryptUp checks the integrity of every block of processed data, writes them to the destination file and, once the source file has been successfully processed, then, and only then, it shreds it.