tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15447277132602369542024-03-07T21:33:35.307-08:00Cryptophile AppDavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-63615454769862806612013-08-01T16:27:00.001-07:002013-08-01T16:27:29.246-07:00Released new AES padding parameter to smartphonesJust to be safe, I released the new block padding parameter to crypt2phile and cryptxphile (for smartphones) likely running Android 2.x or similar. I don't know if op system upgrades to these platforms could cripple decryption, but I need to be prepared at least for the latest-and-greatest phone platforms in the future. DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-38010241263869392882013-08-01T15:47:00.002-07:002013-08-01T15:47:49.983-07:00Android 4.3 upgrade...updateAfter more investigation (ref. previous post), I have determined that the app problem can be traced to lack of backwards compatibility between 4.2 and 4.3 regarding block padding used during Java encryption/decryption. Alas, this recent Google op system upgrade caused corrupted decryption output when using text that was encrypted prior to the upgrade...this error is not the app's direct fault.<br />
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I released a fix/work-around:<br />
"Encrypt/decrypt block padding was not backwards-compatible after Android 4.2 to 4.3 op system upgrade!!! Technically: Changed app from using AES/CBC/PKCS5Padding to AES/CBC/PKCS7Padding. This makes your old, pre-upgrade encrypted folders 'decryptable' again, but leaves brand new folders (since your tablet received an op system upgrade) undecipherable. Sorry, but this was the best of the bad options available." DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-10990749217316424652013-08-01T09:56:00.001-07:002013-08-01T09:56:09.424-07:00Android 4.3 upgrade corrupted old files? My Nexus 7 tablet was automatically upgraded to Android 4.3. This o/s platform contains, among other features, better disk management code called TRIM, which helps prevent storage fragmentation. After the Android s/w update (and subsequent platform reboot), I noticed some of my old encrypted data had been partly corrupted, and in one case, totally corrupted when the app's decryption step completed. The app did not report a decryption error, but the output was incorrectly decoded, especially at the beginning of the text block. Major mystery!!! DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-9061657577934515872013-07-28T06:39:00.000-07:002013-07-28T06:39:11.460-07:00Strengthened Clipboard Paste function<br />
For smartphones, the AES+ and 3DES versions of the app have been updated with a more robust paste-from-Clipboard-to-Textbox logic. Note: This modification does not solve the insidious operating system error in older models of Samsung Galaxy phones. (The encryption apps designed for Android tablets did not require this update.) DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-54039175818955201852013-07-25T16:19:00.003-07:002013-07-25T16:19:36.977-07:00Clipboard crashes on Samsung affecting apps<br />
From summer 2012, there has been a sleeping bug in the Samsung operating system that is intimately related to their proprietary Clipboard software code. Apparently, after repeated clipboard operations (some report the count as 20), the Samsung operating system is crippled...causing repeated system crashes/reboots. This is not the fault of any of the AES+ or 3DES apps released by this author. Use Google search and the keywords "samsung clipboard crash" or similar to research the scope of this problem. DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-70137001789486595622012-02-11T17:20:00.000-08:002012-02-11T17:20:09.381-08:00"Share" button replaces "Send SMS" buttonThe ability to forward encrypted text by using additional apps on the Android device has been added to all Version 3 releases. There was user demand that more than just the Message app be made available from the touch screen, so now Gmail (for example) can be easily exploited to transmit ciphered messages.<br />
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In addition, 2 very minor bugs were corrected that prevent the apps from gracefully rejecting corrupted messages from trying to be decoded/decrypted. DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-49412739442725821522011-11-02T12:09:00.000-07:002011-11-02T12:09:25.845-07:00Source Code RevelationThe app's source code is the brainchild of the author and its release therefore remains a low priority objective. Note that the ability to peruse the app's software would not assist in deciphering purloined encrypted messages. It'd still take brute force methodologies to attack a coded string. I will add that it's no secret that the app's Unicode "Box Character" encoding system is only sugar coating and not secure. It would be the 3DES or AES algorithms (with tweaks) from the Java library that provides a measure of data security. DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-4476155200196207872011-10-08T12:45:00.000-07:002011-10-08T12:45:10.147-07:00SMS functionality added in Version 2.0A new "Send-SMS" button was added to make it easier for sending encrypted text via the Android device's standard text message program. Data contained in Textbox is automatically copied into the form's template. These encrypted messages are displayed in the text message in-box as re-encoded "%-pairs". Logic has been added so that these %-pair strings can be decrypted in the normal manner. Finally, a free version of the AES-engined Cryptxphile has been released: Crypt2phile. DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-59182793527499766902011-07-27T13:39:00.000-07:002011-07-27T13:39:35.680-07:00Cryptxphile ReleasedCryptxphile is identical to Cryptophile except that the "encryption engine" has been upgraded in order to give users more data security. The Triple-DES algorithm has been replaced by 128-bit AES that uses a randomly generated "salt" string to provide more protection against brute force attacks. And the user-supplied encryption keys can now be up to 12 characters in length. Sooo, if you believe your secret text data is of "state secret" caliber, then Cryptxphile is your preferred app. DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-12770465936291077062011-05-03T18:02:00.000-07:002011-05-03T18:06:23.900-07:00Tweaked two text strings in appTwo minor adjustments have been performed: First, a new status line message was added when the encryption process completes; and second, an existing User Interface field descriptor was slightly rewritten. These changes in Version 1.7 are released today.DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-90482529078795941802011-04-22T05:56:00.000-07:002011-04-22T05:56:41.120-07:00HTC / 'context menu' follow-upAfter additional troubleshooting, it appears that HTC devices (at least the Desire series) has an apparent software bug that precludes an app from inserting app-specific list items into an Android 'Edittext' context menu. The only real impact this error has on Cryptophile/Crypt1phile is to prevent a user from displaying the application's help "file". Importantly, the integrity of this app's encryption and decryption algorithm is not affected by this HTC bug.DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-62172966277443152002011-04-16T12:04:00.000-07:002011-04-16T12:04:38.706-07:00Context Menu bug inside the HTC???Evidence is pointing towards a bug inside the HTC smartphone...a bug that stops the app's 3 clickable menu options from being added to an Edittext's context menu (here associated with this app's Textbox field). This error has not been reported or reproducible in any other type of Android platform (so far).<br />
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When clicked these missing options individually permit: a help "file" to be displayed; easy erasure of Textbox; and display of the current character count in Textbox. Lack of these peripheral functions on your HTC device in no way impacts the integrity of the app's encryption and decryption algorithms.<br />
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Investigation into this problem continues.DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-90751275430600160882011-04-16T05:28:00.000-07:002011-04-16T05:28:00.034-07:00Display of Textbox's context menuThe internal construction of Textbox's context menu was modified slightly in order to eliminate display problems in some implementations of the Android operating system. Specifically, the call to "registerForContextMenu" was tweaked in the hopes of eliminating problems in some versions of Android.<br />
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Many thanks to one of our astute users, endym, for reporting this error and assisting during troubleshooting/testing. Since I do not own the type of Android device which is plagued by the problem, this help has been invaluable. (endym, can you confirm the problem is now solved on your phone? Thanks.) I'm crossing my fingers.DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-90501124341820908232011-04-15T07:32:00.000-07:002011-04-15T07:32:33.624-07:00Erase user's cipher key when onRestart() performedFor added security, the user's cipher key (if any) will now be cleared out as the app is restarted on the device's screen...after the app had been earlier superseded on the display by a different application. Also, the re-worded status line message "Long-press Textbox to access help file." better indicates that app documentation is a list item in the context menu. This fix in level 1.5.DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-10438888933969472912011-04-14T06:50:00.000-07:002011-04-14T06:52:16.751-07:00New status line messagesA couple of the longer status line messages were slightly shortened because the text could not fit on one line for some models of Android devices. This update is released in version 1.4.DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-4888536030072460632011-04-07T13:52:00.000-07:002011-04-07T13:52:46.537-07:00Better screen display with hard keyboardThe app's software was upgraded in Version 1.3 in order to improve the screen's layout when a device's hard keyboard is used (in landscape mode). I can't test on every Android-based gadget out there, so if you experience less than ideal screen layouts...let me know! DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-17327052661615818522011-03-31T06:49:00.000-07:002011-04-01T18:49:14.009-07:00Tweaked code to fix a "bug"When encrypted data was pasted back into Textbox from other apps, sometimes there had been new line (NL) and/or blank characters inserted into the encrypted string. So the decryption/decoding logic had to be adjusted to ignore these irrelevant characters. The fix is applied to version 1.2.DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-36454204073210673072011-03-28T13:19:00.000-07:002011-03-28T13:19:46.158-07:00Released to Android Market!Both Cryptophile (full-functionality, $0.99) and Crypt1phile (restricted functionality, free) have been published in the Android Marketplace. Each has been tagged Version 1.0.<br />
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Crypt1phile was created as a test drive platform...for those of you who are wary of parting blindly with 99 pennies. (Heck I don't blame you.) <br />
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If you discover any software problems, issues, or bugs, let me know!!!<br />
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I hope you enjoy the awesome "Box Drawing" encoding scheme, and find the ability to export encrypted text useful. Enjoy.DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544727713260236954.post-76601274135098978132011-03-27T18:48:00.000-07:002011-03-27T18:48:42.009-07:00Final App TestingThe Cryptophile app, and its nearly-identical twin Crypt1phile, are undergoing final stress testing...and barring an unforeseen snag, both Android apps will be released the last week of March 2011. More news later as developments warrant. DavidChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02514560216324947153noreply@blogger.com0