Squirrel Stash Free Edition

Password protect your private media files and view them seamlessly in Vista Media Center.

Fully functional version allows you to securely protect your pictures, videos and audio files in a seamless Vista Media Center experience. Media files are stored in a reliable and highly-secure encrypted stash and can only be accessed if a valid password is entered.

A stash created in Squirrel Stash Free Edition is limited to a maximum size of 1 gigabyte; room for hundreds of pictures, many small videos and audio files or one to two DVD-size videos.

Squirrel Stash Unlimited

Need a bigger stash? Squirrel Stash Unlimited allows you to create a stash of any size (limited only by the space available on your hard drive). Create a stash to hold as many media files as you need.

Click the Buy Now button to the left to purchase a registration key for $34.95 (AUD) and unleash your copy of Squirrel Stash.

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Features in Detail

Seamless Vista Media Center Experience

Fully integrated Vista Media Center application. Squirrel Stash appears as an icon in the Programs area of Vista Media Center and provides a 10 foot user interface experience.

Full remote control support to help you efficiently find the media file you want to play. On-screen keyboard included to assist in password entry.

Highly-secure Password Protected Stash

A stash uses a sophisticated encrypted file system to hold media files of any type. Strong (AES, 256-bit key, certified by NIST) encryption is used to ensure that stash files can only be accessed with a valid password.

Supports all types of media

All Vista Media Center media types are supported by Squirrel Stash. You can store and play any video, picture or audio file as long as it is supported by Vista Media Center. Additional file types and encodings are supported with third party codecs and players (see How do I play DivX and XViD files?)

Support for Vista Media Center Extenders

The full Squirrel Stash experience can be used on a Media Center Extender, such as the Xbox 360. See Can I use a Media Center Extender with Squirrel Stash? for more details.

Automatic video thumbnail generation

When a new video file is detected by Squirrel Stash it will automatically extract thumbnail images from the file. These images appear as a slide show to give you a preview of the video. You can also add your own thumbnails to include images of DVD covers or other specific video frames.

Flexible stash management tool

The Squirrel Stash Manager tool provides stash management utilities that include creation, changing passwords, exploring (to add and remove media files) and backup/restore. You can also use this tool to adjust the Squirrel Stash experience in Vista Media Center. For example, you can specify the number of video thumbnail images that will be automatically extracted, or turn off sections of the application that you do not use, such as Audio.

Familiar file management

Media files can be added and removed from your stash using Windows Explorer. When you choose to explore your stash using Squirrel Stash Manager or when you are running Squirrel Stash in Vista Media Center, your stash appears as a separate removable drive in Windows Explorer. You can add, remove or rename media files as needed using standard Windows Explorer operations — Squirrel Stash will notice any additions and generate thumbnail images as needed.

Compressed backup and restore (with secondary password)

A compressed and encrypted backup of your stash can be created using Squirrel Stash Manager. This backup file can be protected by an alternative password that will allow you to restore your files if you have forgotten your password.