This article shows you how to Protect, Release, and Profile data in folders and/or subfolders all at one time.
Introduction
You can encrypt and decrypt files in Explorer by selecting between one and fifteen items on which to operate. After selecting, you can right-click and choose SSProtect Activate, or Shift-Right-Click then choose SSProtect Release. This executes the requested operation on each file, in parallel. If you have two-factor authentication enabled, you are prompted for each file's operation. Future releases will combine the 2nd-factor action into a single event.
If you want to convert more than fifteen items at a time, and/or you want to have the software automatically apply the operation to a folder and all items within all subfolders, use the Bulk Conversion interface available from the notification icon's context menu.
Bulk Conversion UI
The interface for Bulk Conversion is shown below:
Select the appropriate Protect or Release radio control, check Include Subfolders if you wish to recursively include subcontent, Browse to the target folder, then choose Protect (or Release) to begin. As noted, you will be given a warning if your Login Session is not suitable, though you can proceed.
Conversion will start immediately after you make your selection. SSProtect will first search the folder's items and all subfolders, computing the total number of items that are candidates for the chosen operation. The software will then proceed to begin the conversion, launching numerous external processes that operate in tandem.
Concurrent Operations
Concurrent Operations governs the number of processes executed in parallel. You can change this value prior to making your selection to fine-tune performance. If you have no other applications using significant amounts of CPU or disk access, you can usually select 4 Concurrent Operations for each processor in your host computer. The most typical optimum choice is to have half as many Concurrent Operations as you have target files, though this is often impractical.
Stopping Operation
Once operation begins, you will see conversion progress popups for files that pass the threshold for its' display. You can choose Cancel at any time to stop the process, though keep in mind that enqueued items must complete before the process is finished. This will result in a delay between executing Cancel and actual completion.
When the operation is complete, check your Logfile and Explorer icon overlays for results.
2-Factor Authentication
If your Account is using 2FA - either with software-simulated prompts or a hardware USB token - SSProtect will consolidate requests into a single Authentication request and individually Authorize each conversion action on the fly. This allows you to utilize a single physical presence operation for the entire operation.
Note however that this can be disabled by Privileged Organization Account holders (by selecting No Bulk2FA in the Administer Users display). When your Account is configured in this fashion, you will be notified that the requested Bulk operation cannot be executed. Speak to your Organization Administrator/ Delegates to request desired changes.
IMPORTANT: When 2FA is disabled for your Account, Bulk Operation is always permitted even if No Bulk2FA is configured.
Login Session Duration
If you are nearing the end of your SSProtect Login Session, the software will offer a warning, allowing you to Cancel the request before execution. This allows you to manually Refresh Login then re-submit your request to ensure its' operation completes before Session Timeout.
Note, however, that Session Timeout re-issues a Login prompt that will allow you to continue Bulk Operation after you re-authenticate. Even still, if you Cancel the Login Prompt, you can return at a later time and re-submit the same request. Because the software will re-enumerate items that do not match the intended state, this can be used to apply the same operation on any items that weren't completed in any prior attempt (assuming they weren't precluded for other reasons).
Cataloging
Check the Catalog checkbox with Protect or Release radio controls to enumerate the set of files in the given folder (and subfolders, when Include Subfolders is checked) that will be processed for the given operation. Results are stored in the Host Debug Log, though no Conversion is executed with this operation. Once satisfied with scope, you can proceed with the Protect or Release Bulk Operation as you see fit.
Profiling
Use the Profile radio control to gain insight into the performance of your host. This utilizes a simple local conversion most often used with guidance from Support, specifically directed at understanding how the software is performing.
Profiling takes a target folder, enumerates all files, and encrypts each one of them individually. This process does not use KODiAC Cloud Services, and encrypted content is not part of your protected data archive - this operation is only used to baseline certain aspects of the conversion process for troubleshooting. Speak to your Support representative for more details.
Note that Profiling creates temporary results files that match the filenames of source material in the target folder, though with the extension, ".ssprof". These are removed on successful completion of a Profiling run, which is marked by the presence of a short performance summary on the Bulk operation display.
Profiling and Performance Considerations
SSProtect carries out far more than encryption and decryption when Protecting content or Releasing existing protections. Profiling very closely mirrors aspects of this process not associated with network-bound cryptographic offloading, which is useful when investigating performance concerns. Results vary, depending on host computer loading, host architecture, the use of an SSD or a spinning hard drive, and even on the amount of free space remaining.
For details, contact your DefiniSec Representative, or refer to the information at the bottom of this article for other options.
Operational Details
Note the following when performing bulk operations:
- Bulk operation applies to all items in the target folder (and optionally subfolders)*
- Operation proceeds in parallel, and each thread spins up a conversion process
- If three Conversions fail in succession, you will be prompted to Continue or Cancel
- You can navigate to the SSProtect notification icon and Exit during conversion
* Profiling is limited to a single target folder, and does not operate on subfolder data.
Additional Resources
You can search this site for more information on various topics, or use this link to submit a specific request. You can also send email directly to support@definisec.com, and our staff will respond to your needs as soon as possible.
In the meantime, don't forget to check out our primary website and Insights columns for information on current trends, security topics, and how our technologies relate.
This article was updated w/ v9.2.4 of the :Foundation Client