System Control Files
The System Control Files (SCF) comprise the Key Components required in order
to perform encryptions and decryptions of messages or attachments should you
desire to do so.
Overview:
There are three components used in the cryption processes. You do not need to
fully understand what role these play in the application, just which ones are used.
The Key Components 1 are the heart of
the cryption process and Key Components 2 and 3 are the drivers of it. You
will need the same SCF and the same three settings in order to decrypt any data.
There is an option where you can increase the security of your data by using
the expansion feature. This enlarges the size of your data embedding the data
randomly throughout it. In order to have expansion, you Create System and set
the Key Component 3 Keys button to either the Low, Med or High positions. When the cryption
screen comes up while in a message or while decrypting attachments, you can
then set the Use Expansion box to 'Yes'.
In this section we'll go over creating the SCF, copying, restoring and
killing (deleting) the SCF, and the Code Book.
Let's now create a system. To do this, from the main screen, either click on
the top icon on the vertical toolbar, or click on System then Create System.
Create System Screen
The first thing to do is name the new system. Put 'Sys1' in the top input box.
You see the default settings for a system. We recommend never having less than the
default settings in your system. You can increase or decrease the number to your
specifications.
Let's examine each of the setup components in this screen:
Key Component 1
There are three portions. The number to generate, the file prefix and the number
of passes. You can create up to 99 per system. The number of passes is
a tool during the creation process. You do not need to change it from the default
of 1. The prefix is the start of the actual file that will be written followed
by the current number. If three Key Component 1 files were generated and with the prefix
of 'Em' we'd have a Em01, Em02 and Em03 file written. The prefix cannot
exceed six characters and cannot begin with a number.
Key Component 2
Only
the number to generate appears for the Key Component 2.
Key Component 3 - Text
The Key Component 3 has three parts. The number to generate, the Style type
and the type of Keys used. The Style can be set to Low, Med or High.
You change it by clicking on the button. You don't have to change this one; Low
settings are just fine.
The Keys can be None, Low, Med or High. The significance of the Keys type is
it will expand the size of your data by embedding it in a sea of data, unless
the type is 'None'. Low, Med and High types will produce expansion data
correspondingly to their type. A low expansion on the average is about eight
times the original size of the data. Med and especially High settings can
create extremely large file sizes, depending on the size of your data.
Key Component 3 - Binary
This is identical to the above Key Component 3 description except that it will
be used with the Binary (256 character) processing.
Considerations:
There are text (94 characters) and binary (all 256 characters) data modes.
The text mode is used for encrypting and decrypting messages. The
binary mode is used for encrypting and decrypting attachments. Binary is the
stronger of the two in regard to brute force attacks on your encrypted data.
Clicking on the Reset button will return the values to the defaults.
When you click on the Create button, the system will be created and you will
return to the main screen.
You cannot create a new system when one is in place. You'll need to transfer
the current system (if you haven't already) to another location and Kill the
system (Kill System option) before you can create a new one.
Copying Systems
You will need a backup of your SCF. You will to distribute your SCF to the
people you will communicating with. Whether to a floppy diskette or a network
drive you'll need to copy the SCF. Click on System then Copy System or
on the vertical Copy System Icon to bring up the copy screen. The
screen contains a standard drive and subdirectory box to select where to put
the SCF. There are also check boxes whether to include the Address Book and
the Code Book as well. Click on the Copy button when the proper path for
the copy is displayed. Click on Exit to abort. You'll be returned to
the main screen after the copy has occurred.
Restoring Systems
You may need to change systems from time to time. Or you received a system
disk from someone you'll be communicating with. Click on System then Restore
System or on the Restore System icon on the vertical toolbar. Restoring the
SCF is done exactly the same way as transferring them. You'll select the path
from where the SCF currently reside, then click on the Restore button. If the
Address Book and/or Code Book were transferred, you'll be notified of it and
given the choice of whether to restore them or not. In most cases you probably
would. You'll be returned to the main screen after the restore has taken
place.
Killing Systems
This deletes and completely removes the SCF from the computer. This must be done
before you can create a new system. We recommend not leaving the SCF on the
computer while you are away either. Click on System then Kill System or the
Kill System icon on the vertical toolbar. This is no screen associated with
the Kill System process, but you will have message boxes where you select 'Yes'
or 'No'. You will see a warning regarding transferring the current system. Make
sure you have transferred the system before clicking on 'Yes'. If a Code Book
or Address is/are present, you'll be prompted whether to kill them or not. Click
on 'Yes' only if you transferred those as well. Once you have killed your
system, there is no recovery on them possible. Only a restore system option can
bring them back, so be extra sure you have a backup of the current system before
you perform this feature.
The Code Book
The Code Book allows you to predefine the particular Key Components
to a particular person or group without having to continually manually select
them when you encrypt or decrypt data. You'll notice both Text and Binary
Key Component 3 are present. That way, predefined Key Components will be present in
both messages (Text) and attachments (Binary) when used.
To create a new entry: Enter the new name in the top combo box. Select the
Key Component values for that listing. Click
on Save.
To change an entry: Select the entry name you want to change from the top combo
box. Change whichever of the Key Components and then click on Save.
To delete an entry: Select the entry name you want to delete from the top combo
box. Click on Delete.
When you get to the cryption setup screens you can select a Code Book entry and
the corresponding Key Components will be populated automatically.
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