Frequently Asked Questions

Is it possible to create a SEAhawk drive (disk) on a network and make it accessible to network users?

It is possible to create a SEAhawk Virtual Disk backed by a file on a network share. This will allow the information to be shared between users, similar to passing a USB drive back and forth, without having to actually physically share a piece of hardware. SEAhawk Disks can only be accessed or created on mapped shares. Any data sent through the network to and from the SEAhawk disk stored on the server are fully encrypted - this happens automatically at the SEAhawk Client, and places no load on the file server.

Will network users be able to access the SEAhawk disk simultaneously?

No, only one user can open the SEAhawk disk at a time. Once that user is done with the disk, they can close it and free it up for use by another user.

Can I share a SEAhawk disk over the network?

Yes, sharing a SEAhawk disk works just as it does with a regular disk. The SEAhawk disk has to be open on the computer or the file server for it to be shared and accessed. This would allow simultaneous access to the data being shared (as much as Windows will let you). The network traffic to and from the share is no longer encrypted, since the file server (or the computer hosting the share) decrypts the data from the open SEAhawk disk before transmitting it over the network.

Can multiple SEAhawk drives be installed on one network file server?

Certainly, multiple SEAhawk Virtual Disks can be ‘hosted’ on a network file server. The use of the file server in this way is limited only by the server’s storage. The method of sharing the information between users would be as described above.

Can I decide how big I want my SEAhawk Disk to be?

The maximum size of your SEAhawk Disk is determined at installation time by the parameters set in your profile. The SEAhawk disk will only take the room required by the contents you store in it and will grow dynamically until the maximum size is reached. If you want your disk larger then identified in your profile, please consult with the SEAhawk administrator. If your policy permits, you do have the option of creating a user defined SEAhawk Disk. This can be configured to the size you want and restricted only by the space available on your hard drive.

My SEAhawk Disk was created as 50GBs but my hard-drive still indicates that this space is available, what is happening?

The SEAhawk Disk allocates space on your hard drive, dynamically as required. The 50GBs is a maximum size that the SEAhawk disk will allocate from your hard drive as space is required. This insures that SEAhawk makes effective use of your hard disk resources.

When copying a SEAhawk disk to a network drive or sending it as an email attachment, will it consume it’s maximum allocated space (e.x. 5GB) or will it only use space based on the data it holds (e.g. 500MB of 5GB max)?

When a SEAhawk disk is copied away from the computer it was created on, or attached in an email, it will take up the maximum allocated space. For example, a 5GB SEAhawk disk will take up around 500MB if 500MB of files were stored in the disk, but once it is copied or moved to a network share, it will take up the whole 5GB. You can still open the SEAhawk disk and store 4.5 GB of additional data in it, but the container itself will use 5GB on disk.

Can CryptoMill SEAhawk be used to safely email attachments?

The e-mailing of a Secure Disk should be reserved for large data transmissions. At present the overhead for sending is about 4 MB, which can be ‘packed’ down to 2.4 MB, using a packing utility we provide. So, if a small file is being sent (say, a 50 KB Word document), encasing it in a SEAhawk Disk may not be the best option. You would receive the benefit of SEAhawk’s Protection and Containment, but with a fair amount of overhead.

However, if the material you are sending is considerably larger, or has numerous files and folders as part of its structure (e.g. a project folder, with spreadsheets, time-lines, documents, and images), then the convenience of the SEAhawk Disk becomes more attractive. You receive the benefit of the Protection and Containment, and the user-friendly ‘drag-n-drop’ or ‘edit-in-place’ access to the data, all with a modest amount of overhead. It is prudent to create a SEAhawk disk only as large as the data (if it is larger than 4MB) you are sending since the actual size of the SEAhawk disk grows to its maximum allocated size when being attached (see question above).

Can a SEAhawk drive (or multiple SEAhawk drives) be created on network drives for the purpose of a secure backup?

Absolutely, they can either be directly created on a network share, or copied (after they are closed) from another computer.

Does the SEAhawk software need to be installed on the file server (or a mass storage device like a NAS, etc) that is storing the SEAhawk disk?

No, you only need the SEAhawk software installed on the computer that is actually accessing / opening the SEAhawk disk, and not necessarily the computer/device storing it.

My PC has two volumes, a C: drive and a D: drive, can I install my default SEAhawk Virtual disk on the D: drive?

The location of your SEAhawk Virtual disk is determined by the security administrator and included in your install package. You can create a ‘user defined’ SEAhawk Virtual disk in any location you choose. Please consult with your administrator regarding the location of you default virtual disk.

Can I move my default SEAhawk Virtual disk?

No, the SEAhawk virtual disk location is defined by the security administrator. You can create and move ‘user defined’ SEAhawk virtual disks at any location you choose.

If I copy a document from my secure SEAhawk Disk to my desktop will it remain encrypted?

No, the SEAhawk encryption works on the virtual drive, not on individual documents with in. As a result if you copy a document out of the secure drive it will no longer be secure.

Can I have the My Documents folder in a location in my secure drive?

Yes, refer to section 5 on Managing your SEAhawk Disk for details on how to do this in Windows.

Can I configure SEAhawk for multiple users on the same PC?

Yes, after installation, when each individual user logs into the machine they will be presented with the Welcome Wizard that will guide them through the initial installation.