PKEY Converter

Extract text from PowerKey encrypted files (PKEY)


Drop or upload your .PKEY file
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How to extract text from your PKEY file

  1. Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your PKEY file.
  2. You’ll see a preview, if available.
  3. Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.

Convert PKEY to another file type

To convert PKEY encrypted files to another format, you need Elcor PowerKey or other Encoded software.

Convert a file to PKEY

To convert other file formats to the "Encrypted Archive Container" file type, you need software like Elcor PowerKey or a similar tool.


About PKEY files

The .PKEY file format is a secure, encrypted archive created by PowerKey, a data protection toolkit developed by Elcor Software. It is typically used to hide and secure sensitive files or folders on a PC. To open or manipulate these files, users rely on the original Elcor PowerKey software, which applies one of eight strong block encryption algorithms before compressing the payload using standard ZIP methods. The primary disadvantage of the .PKEY format is its strict, proprietary nature. Because it is engineered to deny unauthorized access, the format cannot be natively opened by modern operating systems or popular archive tools like WinRAR or 7-Zip. If you forget the password, your data is permanently locked. You also cannot simply rename the extension to .ZIP to bypass the security. This format ties you to a legacy application, creating long-term access risks. For permanent storage and easy sharing, the best target formats are open standard archives like .ZIP, .7Z, or .TAR. Converting to these standard formats ensures you do not need a specific, obscure application to view your files in the future. However, direct conversion requires the file to be decrypted first. The .PKEY file format is difficult to open or convert because the encryption completely scrambles the internal directory structure and file headers. Standard online converters fail to process it because they cannot bypass the cryptographic lock. Often only the original software can properly read or export the data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format that is not fully obfuscated, viewing or conversion may still be possible.

Convert.Guru analyzes your PKEY file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.


FAQ

If you want to convert PKEY file to BASE64, HEX, BIN, ENC, CRYPT, AES, DES, RSA, PGP, GPG, ASC or KEY, you can use Elcor PowerKey or similar software from the "Encrypted File Archive Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert CER, BIN, PEM, DER, KEY, P7S, PFX, ENC, P12, BASE64, P7B or HEX files to PKEY, try Elcor PowerKey or another comparable tool in the "Encrypted File Archive Storage" category.



The PKEY Converter Story

The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our PKEY converter.