The DESlock+ Key-File contains the encryption keys used to encrypt and decrypt information with DESlock+. 

It is highly recommended that you do not save your Key-File to on the same machine on which the Key-File was generated. The reason for this is that in the eventuality that you forget your Key-File password and the stored backup is within an encrypted area, then the Key-File will be inaccessible and therefore you will be unable to re-gain access. We suggest a network drive or preferably a removable media device which is not encrypted, as a suitable location to save a Key-File backup.

In the event that anything happens and the Key-File is lost, for example due to hardware failure, you will be unable to decrypt any information previously encrypted with the Key-File. Therefore it is very important that you keep a current backup of this file which is stored in a safe location. This backup should be updated whenever you generate new encryption keys or receive encryption keys from another user.

In order to simplify the process of backing up the Key-File, the DESlock+ Key-File Backup Wizard will appear whenever an encryption key has been added to the Key-File. This wizard will copy your current Key-File to the specified location.

If you enable the tick box 'Always use this folder in future and do not show this dialog' then the wizard will automatically perform the backup to the selected location when encryption keys are added in the future. This will happen transparently.

The backup filenames are named in the format : 'DESlock+ Key-File Backup 27-1-2007 13-10-30.dat'.

Note : If the DESlock+ Key-File Backup wizard is not appearing, ensure you have updated DESlock+ to the latest version using the 'Check for updates...' button in the About box.

In the event that your Key-File is corrupted or you wish to setup DESlock+ using your backup KeyFile on another PC, you can restore it using the 'DESlock+ Key-File Utility' and choosing the option 'Restore a Key-File from a backup location'.

For details of creating a Key-File backup manually see this article : How do I backup my Key-File?