"Crypto" Install notes (Win32)

Crypto Install Notes

The "Crypto" package provides a menu-based crypt/decrypt program.

This program is FREEWARE! (like any program should be)...
This is version 2.0. See History for details.

To use the crypto program, just unzip the program into a directory and run crypto32.exe

Features:

- crypts and decrypts all types of files (text and binary)
- two types of encryption
- long filename support
- released on two platforms (Linux and Windows)
- virus detector*
- small size

* The program has a built in check that will signal if your system is infected with an *.exe virus. (However it will not disinfect the virus or tell you what virus it is. Use a professional AntiVirus to get rid of any nasty code crawler!)

The program is a Win32 executable and should run without a glitch on Win 95, 98, 98SE, ME, Win NT, 2000 and XP. However it WILL NOT run under Ms Dos or Win 3.1. I worked on a dos version, but I had do abandon the idea when I was confronted with serious bugs and memory limitations. Linux users should get the Linux version (which, by the way, is faster (up to 8 times faster!) and more reliable).

Usage:

crypto32.exe

    You will be prompted to make a choice. 1 is for crypting, 2 for decrypting, 3 for help and 4 to quit. When crypting a file, you will be asked for the source file name (path and/or filename). Long filenames are supported. At the next step you will be asked for the destination filename and the crypt key. This key will make your file "unreadable" and you should transmit key to the person intended to decrypt the file. Without this key, the original file cannot be recovered! The last step will prompt you to choose an encryption type: Strong or Light.
    Strong encryption uses an original (I think) algorithm that totally scrambles your original file producing an output twice as large the original. Strong encryption is a bit slower than light encryption (but only by a margin of a few seconds!).
    Light encryption uses a very simple algorithm that can almost be broken without breaking a sweat. The good news is that the output will be (almost) the size of the original file. This is great for crypting large files, usually non-text.

Bugs:

- the progress bar might not work properly with small files (smaller than 500 bytes).
- the program is rather slow when working with large files. For example, crypting a 6.5 mp3 file took a little over 3 minutes (On a Duron @ 750, 192Mb Ram). The problem is with disk access and I'll fix it in a later version. This DOES NOT affect the quality of the encoding, just the processing time. The Linux version does not have this problem due to the extra high performance of the ext2 file system. What can I say? Switch to Linux! :)
- the program doesn't support wildcards (e.g.: *.txt, ?frm*.*) (maybe next versions?)

Please report any bugs to mad_ady@hotmail.com so I can fix them.

Misc (on compression)

    I have run some tests with the crypted files to see how they compress. The results are... well... mixed. For very small files (<2kb) you should not bother to compress (the compress ratio is close to 0%). The rest, the larger the file the better the compress ratio (I got a maximum of 87% with an 11kb file compressed using strong method). In compression terms, there is no big difference between strong and light compression methods. Of course, with the strong method the file will be a bit larger.
    You should try it for yourself and see witch method is the best for you. Note that I strongly advise you NOT to use light encryption on text files! The algorithm is too weak.
    Another important fact is that the output file (the crypted file) can be used with both the windows "crypto32.exe" and the Linux "crypto". This means that a file crypted under Windows can be decrypted under Linux and vice versa.

History:

CRYPTO v2.0 (Feb 9th 2002)
- code written form scratch in ANSI C
- added 2 crypt algorithms
- added support for binary files and long file names
- added menu based interface
- added protected file format
- distribution under Windows (win32) & Linux (elf)
- the crypted file is identical under Linux and Windows (it can be used with any platform)

CRYPTO v1.0 (Nov 27th 2000)
- code written in C++ for dos
- takes files as parameters
- one crypt algorithm
- does not support long file names or binary files

Disclaimer

This program is distributed AS IS. This means that Mad_Ady CAN'T BE HELD RESPONSIBLE for the MALFUNCTIONING, MISUSE, or ANY ERRORS generated by this software. If you don't agree with this, DO NOT use the software. Using the software means that your understand and agree to this disclaimer.

This program is freeware and can be distributed freely through any means (Internet, BBS, CD-ROM, floppy, etc.) as long as it remains in its original archive. Decompiling, reverse engineering and cracking this software is STRICTLY PROHIBITED! If you want the source code, e-mail me on mad_ady@hotmail.com

Check out my web page for new software, new releases or updates, on http://go.to/mad_ady/