DONE: IDEA - encrypted-SFX-EXE to see secret text

[AbteriX]

December 17, 2005,

Hello community,
Iam searching for an freeware tool.

Edit: Jan. 2006
This dream already came true with the fantastic tool fSekrit by f0dder
Read on and see in the second last post the link to the fSekrit home page ==>

I know a few crypting software
how create SFX-EXEs, so i need not
to install any program on an other PC
only to decrypt my textfiles.

But thats the point:
i don't want to decrypt and unpack my encrypted textfile!

I want an EXE how ask for the right password
and show me the text in the windows editor only.
(no decrypted/unpackt new file    'cus i must delete this secure file myself and have a wipe tool to do so)

If i close the editor, all secret infos should be gone.
If i want to see my text again, i have to execute the EXE again.


---
This is like the encrypted PDF files -- just double click the PDF - enter the
password - close the PDF and all is secure again.

But on most PC it take for me too many time to open the reader...
... and i know a many PC without any PDF reader.
----


The tool i search could be a commandline tool.
Or with an GUI and optional with context menu option.


Here the steps i wanna do again:
1. encrypt my "Licence.txt" file
2. get an encrypted SXF EXE
3. burn this "Licence.txt"-SFX-EXE with others on an CD
4. go to an other computer and double click the EXE
5. enter the password
6. the EXE should decrypt the "Licence.txt" file into the RAM and open notepad to show me the text
7. if i close notepad the "Licence.txt" file into the RAM should be wiped.

Please, is there such an freeware tool anyhow around ?

[AbteriX]

additions i like:

- the secure must not be very high for me
- the tool should be an single exe file and stand alone
- would be nice if there is no registry access (not even an INI is needed)

[AbteriX]

to clarify:

i need this only for simple ASCII text.

[f0dder]

Stefan, do you need to be able to edit the file, or is read-only access just fine?

If read-only is fine, it shouldn't be too hard to come up with some hack

[mouser]

this seems like a useful idea -
but, relating to fodder's question,i  suggest that you NOT make it read only.

i.e. when you double click the exe and enter your password, it should show the contents in a window where you can now edit the contents and change password and RESAVE it.

[f0dder]

Hm, re-saving to the exe "isn't possible" - or rather, it would require the use of temporary files. Would still be possible without too big security flaws by encrypting before saving the temporary file, but still...

[mouser]

good point, you'd have to be clever about it since you can't overwrite a file in use, but it would be nice and convenient and so worth the trouble i think.

i would suggest something like this: you double click the file it just runs and displays the contents; nothing special.
you can then make changes and change pass if you want and choose 2 options, Save or Save As.  If you choose Save As, it just creates a new encrypted exe file with a new name.  If you choose Save, it should run some tricks to replace itself:

For example it could do something like this using commandline args to trigger.:

• create a temp file with some new temporary name with new contents
• exit the current program while launching new temporary one with special commandline arg of current filename
• the new temporary one wil overright the existing file with its own new content.
• the temporary one would then once again call the new replaced final exe with commandline arg to delete the temporary.

yes, it's a bit of work but not too hard, and would make a very nice standalone encrypted exe self-contained editor.

[mouser]

i'll write this if no one else does.

[dajo]

See if you can guess the secret password:

Go here:
http://www.fourmilab.ch/javascrypt/javascrypt.html

Paste this into the cyphertext text area:

#####  Encrypted: decrypt with http://www.fourmilab.ch/javascrypt/
?b64ppoF2Qjx75p53FWQPzt+aMEP+qeGYQkPQY0RozBaF4jskRdOcivqBI0cFEyb
AU5pieatOUaWZCABIlWO3/nGqACqb+x2YGWwuYdqT/qcpro=?64b
#####  End encrypted message

guess the password if you can, and hit the Decrypt button.

(This is my roundabout way of suggesting that javascript might do the trick)

[AbteriX]

Thank you everybody, this is a great community :-)

But i think also that read only is enought.
How do you want to re-save and re-encrypt if you
only have the single EXE and not the hole programm on that other computer ?

Only way would be to put the hole application with the secret text in this SXF EXE ?
OK, this functions must not take more size than 3 - 5 kB,...
but is you need almost 1meg for this SXF EXE it would be too big for my issues.

But if this is possible i would suggest to use two passwords,
one for r/o and one for full access.
Pls keep in mind... that i don't want to let others modify my secret text, but (maybe) read them only.

Did anybody need help for this coding like source codes ?

Thank you all for your help!

[AbteriX]

> (This is my roundabout way of suggesting that javascript might do the trick)

Hmmm, just an HTML file encoded with JS ?
Just start it and enter the password ?!

Not bad but clever ;-)
Its worth to test this.
THX.

[mouser]

thats not a bad idea at all to use javascript embedded on an html page.

[AbteriX]

I have playing around a bit
and have this for you to test.

1.) Encrypt.HTM
Edit the var x = 2005; line
and modify 2005 to a number YOU like as password.

2.) start Encrypt.HTM in your browser
3.) insert the plain text and press the [Encrypt]-button

4.) past the encrypted text into the Secret.HTM file
and overwrite the var vEncrypt = 'q*R%29.%3C*Rz*%26m%2CUQ*Tl%3C/l%24%2Cm%29.G'; line

5.) start Secret.HTM and enter YOUR password number (my default is '2005' )

Thats all.
I have to test how comfortable this will be 
And if it will work with all browser ? 



------------ SourceZIP and Screenshots


.

[f0dder]

I'm working on a little something that's closer to the original idea, and has adequate encryption. I'll hopefully have it done later this evening... stay tuned

[AbteriX]

OK, thank you.

My script isn't comfortable
and there are now line breaks in the output (or i must encrypt HTML code witht the <BR> commands)
and there is a error, i miss the upper case E in the output:

---

Original

Code

or perhaps the 3rd-
party tool SETACL from sourceforge.net. In either case if it can
work at all the script/tools will need to have
Administrator or SYSTEM authority
Disable inheritance from above
Alter the ACE for EVERYONE
and this is making a few assumptions.

After encrypted

Code

or perhaps the 3rd- party tool STACL from sourceforge.net. In either case if it can work at all the script/tools will need to have Administrator or SYSTM authority Disable inheritance from above Alter the AC for VRYON and this is making a few assumptions. 

[f0dder]

Okay, so I fell asleep and didn't get anything done until 5 in the morning or so 

Encryption and hashing is in place, and I have file loading and saving working. Do you want separate passwords for read-only and read/write, or would a "this data is read-only" flag be enough? Do you want read-only to disallow copy/paste operations?

The GUI is the annoying thing to write, I'm doing it at API level to avoid size bloat... this has the downside that it's boring and tedious to write it, though. The application will have it's own edit control, so decrypted text never goes to disk.

Current exe size is ~70kb uncompressed, and it will stay below 100kb when finished. If that's too large, I can rewrite some stuff to get it smaller.

Unfortunately, I don't know if I'll have more time to work on this before the new year - I'm celebrating Christmas at my dads place and staying there for a while. But I guess I could stuff some development tools on my USB flash drive...

[mouser]

i vote for a separate write password (user could use same one if they didnt care);
only with a valid write only password would you be able to modify contents and change passwords.

[AbteriX]

Okay, so I fell asleep and didn't get anything done until 5 in the morning or so 

Fine too 

Encryption and hashing is in place, and I have file loading and saving working. Do you want separate passwords for read-only and read/write, or would a "this data is read-only" flag be enough? Do you want read-only to disallow copy/paste operations?

Hmm, primary i wanted to start a lill EXE, enter a password and want to see the secret text.
So  two EXEs would be fine <?hmm?  >
One EXE for to make as many SFX-EXEs wich will only show me an r/o text each. (is this clear what i say or not?)

Again, i want only to hide e.g. my licencs keys.
Encryption tools to encrypt and de-crypt are enought around, isn't it?

> Do you want read-only to disallow copy/paste operations?

No , copy would be good,,, to copy and paste the licences key into the apps dialog boxes

The GUI is the annoying thing to write, I'm doing it at API level to avoid size bloat... this has the downside that it's boring and tedious to write it, though. The application will have it's own edit control, so decrypted text never goes to disk.

Current exe size is ~70kb uncompressed, and it will stay below 100kb when finished. If that's too large, I can rewrite some stuff to get it smaller.

I think 100kB would be tiny enought, but as tiny as could be would be much more fine.

Unfortunately, I don't know if I'll have more time to work on this before the new year - I'm celebrating Christmas at my dads place and staying there for a while. ...

Happy  celebration!
No matter of the time, take yours!
Thank you for your work.

And... maybe you have a beta for testing and see how we understand us.
(i have testing machines, and i could make a few screenshots of your tool)

[f0dder]

Something good might be coming along soon

[mouser]

f0dder's new program made in response to this request is now online: http://fsekrit.donationcoder.com
and has it's own forum section: http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?board=74.0

future discussions should take place in that section.

[f0dder]

Hope you guys enjoy - you could close this thread to make sure the new thread is used.