The Mac version of AES Crypt offers a simple graphical user interface
to securely encrypt and decrypt files. Below is a screen shot of what the
password dialog looks like when encrypting files.
Password Prompt
To install the AES Crypt GUI app, download the disk image file and open it.
Inside, you will see the AES Crypt app and a link to your Applications
folder. Drag and drop the AES Crypt app to the Applications folder.
You may then eject the disk image.
To use AES Crypt, you have two options:
Drag and drop
Use the "Open With" context menu
Drag and Drop Option
Drag and Drop
To use the AES Crypt GUI on your Mac using drag and drop, drag and drop file(s)
to be encrypted or decrypted onto the AES Crypt application lock icon. To make it
easier to access, it is recommended dragging the AES Crypt lock icon onto the
dock or creating a shortcut on the desktop. With the lock icon on the dock or
desktop, you drag files onto the lock icon to invoke AES Crypt. It will then
present a dialog to encrypt or decrypt as appropriate.
"Open With" Option
"Open With" Option
To use AES Crypt with the "Open With" option, select the file(s) you want
to encrypt or decrypt, right-click and select "Open With". For most
common file types, you will see AES Crypt as an option. If you do not
see AES Crypt in the list, select "Other..." and you should see AES Crypt
there. In either case, select AES Crypt and it will open the password
dialog window.
Decrypting Files
It is possible double-click on the AES Crypt encrypted file that have a
".aes" extension to make it very simple to decrypt. (Drag and drop or
"Open With" also work.)
Encrypting or Decrypting Multiple Files
You may encrypt or decrypt multiple files at once using the same password by
selecting a collection of files and dropping them on the lock icon or
right-clicking and selecting "Open With". Do not mix encrypted and
unencrypted files, though. (AES Crypt will report an error if you do
that to prevent accidents.)
Command-Line Usage
AES Crypt for the command-line works the same way on all platforms. See
the command line instructions for usage.
There is no installation script for the Mac command-line version. To use
it, extract the tgz file and place the executable in /usr/local/bin/ and,
optionally, the man page in /usr/local/man/man1/.
