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PC-SIG Diskette Library (Disk #230)
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Information about “THE CONFIDANT”
The Confidant is a user-supported program which encodes sensitive data
in order to keep it confidential. The Confidant protects information
transmitted by communications lines from alteration as well as from
unauthorized use by anyone intercepting it or trying to change it.
The Confidant gives a choice of two encryption procedures. The
national Data Encryption Standard (DES) provides very high security.
A faster "privacy" procedure that is somewhat less secure provides
encryption for normal use, where speed is important.
System Requirements: 2 disk drives
How to Start: Consult the voluminous documentation in the four files
marked .DOC. Initiate the program by typing CONFIDE at the DOS prompt.
Suggested Registration: $10.00
File Descriptions:
CONFIDE EXE Main program
CONFIDE HLP Help file
CONFIDE CRY Part of CONFIDE
CONFIDE INV Part of CONFIDE
REFCARD DOC A brief summary of the main commands
DESCRIPT DOC An overall description of the program (24K)
TUTORIAL DOC A step-by-step tutorial (69K)
TYPE ME How to list documentation
REFER DOC A technical reference manual (60K)
CRC.TXT
PC-SIG Disk No. #230, version v1
The following is a list of the file checksums which should be produced by
the CRCK4 program on disk #9 (and others). If the CRC numbers do not match
you may have a bad file. To use type: CRCK4 <filespec>
CRCK4 output for this disk:
CRCK ver 4.2B (MS DOS VERSION )
CTL-S pauses, CTL-C aborts
--> FILE: CONFIDE .EXE CRC = 11 6B
--> FILE: CONFIDE .HLP CRC = A1 0F
--> FILE: CONFIDE .CRY CRC = FB A9
--> FILE: CONFIDE .INV CRC = 9C 1C
--> FILE: REFCARD .DOC CRC = 7E 8C
--> FILE: TUTORIAL.DOC CRC = EA 13
--> FILE: DESCRIPT.DOC CRC = B7 DD
--> FILE: REFER .DOC CRC = 8D 25
--> FILE: TYPE .ME CRC = 26 C0
---------------------> SUM OF CRCS = 1E A0
DONE
These and other Public Domain and user-supported programs from:
PC Software Interest Group
1125 Stewart Ct Suite G
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
(408) 730-9291
DESCRIPT.DOC
* * * * * *
* *************** * *************** *
* * * * * *
* *
* THE CONFIDANT (tm) *
* USER GUIDE *
* *
* * * * * *
* *************** * *************** *
* * * * * *
*
* *
*
Copyright (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage
Yale Station 2902
New Haven, CT 06520
THE CONFIDANT(tm)
Version 2.00 - June 1984
User-Supported Encryption Software
for the IBM Personal Computer
Copyright (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage. All rights reserved.
TRADEMARK NOTICE
The Confidant is a trademark of Data Sage. IBM is a
registered trademark of the International Business Machines
Corporation.
AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE
The Confidant is a user-supported or "shareware"
program. User-supported software is an experiment in
software distribution based on three principles:
1. You can best assess the utility of a program on your
own computer. Only by using it can you see whether it meets
your needs. If it doesn't, you shouldn't have to pay for it.
2. The creation of personal computer software can and
should be supported by the computing community. If you use
someone else's work, we think you will want to contribute a
small share of the cost, just as someone who uses your work
should do for you.
If you are using this program and find it of value, we ask
you to contribute to its support by donating $10 (suggested)
to:
Data Sage
Yale Station 2902
New Haven, CT 06520
Companies and other organizations are asked to donate $10
for each building where The Confidant will be used.
3. Copying and sharing software is a good thing that
should be encouraged rather than restricted.
Data Sage grants permission to individuals and
organizations to copy the program and documentation for The
Confidant (tm), provided that neither the program nor the
documentation is modified in any way, and that no fee or
consideration is charged. However, a club may charge a
small fee for the distribution cost of the diskette,
provided that it informs its members of the user-supported
concept and encourages them to support the program with
their donations.
INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on choosing The Confidant. We believe
you will find it a faithful friend which can provide you
with privacy and security.
We want The Confidant to work for you. So we have
supplied you with what we believe is the best documentation
available. Several files on the diskette containing The
Confidant bear the extension label .DOC. Together they
comprise the USER GUIDE, including:
* A full Table of Contents, contained in this file
(DESCRIPT.DOC), to all the documentation, so you can find
what you want when you want it. This description also tells
how to start The Confidant and what equipment you need.
* A casebook-style Tutorial to make learning more
effective and more enjoyable. It is contained in the file
TUTORIAL.DOC.
* A detailed Reference manual, in REFER.DOC.
* A Quick Reference Card, found in REFCARD.DOC.
We recommend that you print a copy of the documentation
by COPYing each of the four .DOC files to your printer.
What Does The Confidant Do?
Here is a quick overview of what The Confidant can do
for you:
The Confidant encodes sensitive data, such as personnel
information, payroll and income data, health records,
examinations, test scores, survey data, or business plans,
in order to keep them confidential.
The Confidant prevents undetected accidental alteration
of data, and permits only authorized persons to make
intentional alterations.
The Confidant protects information transmitted by
communications lines from alteration as well as from
unauthorized use by anyone intercepting it or trying to
change it.
The Confidant gives a choice of two encryption
procedures. The national Data Encryption Standard (DES)
provides very high security. A faster "privacy" procedure
[The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-2]
that is somewhat less secure provides encryption for normal
use, where speed is important.
The Confidant also provides the ability to enter data
into the computer, to copy files, and to print files. Input
to the program may come from either a disk file or the
keyboard of the console. Output may be directed to a file,
the screen of the console, or a printer.
Who Uses The Confidant?
Most persons needing occasional or routine data
security should find The Confidant useful. Examples are:
* Businessmen and executives who need to protect
business plans and data.
* Professionals, such as physicians, lawyers, or
accountants who must protect the privacy of clients.
* Computer users who need to transmit sensitive
information over public communcations lines.
* Educators with grades and examinations online.
* Social and behavioral scientists who have collected
sensitive data and are concerned about the subjects' right
to privacy.
* Individuals who want to maintain the privacy of their
own personal information.
The Confidant is intended for use by individuals and
organizations for "normal" encryption. That is, it is meant
to protect and keep confidential the routine information
that individuals and companies produce.
The Confidant is NOT meant to replace hardware devices
where these are required. For example, Government standards
require hardware encryption for Federal agencies. The
American Banking Association requires hardware encryption of
fund transfers between financial institutions. In addition,
hardware encryption is better for "volume" encryption.
If you are an individual, The Confidant will most
likely meet your needs. If you are a company, or other
organization, it will probably meet many of your needs. But
you should check with your organization's security officers
or in some other way make sure that software encryption
meets the requirements you have.
Having said this much, we think you will find The
Confidant an invaluable tool. We hope you find a good deal
of pleasure in using it.
[The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-3]
Enjoy Using The Confidant
The Confidant is friendly and easy to use. It is also
easy to learn. We hope you will begin by examining this
USER GUIDE, including the Table of Contents and the Index,
so you will know where to find information when you need it.
Then turn to the TUTORIAL file and get started.
We are always anxious to improve the program and the
documentation. Please write us if you have comments or
suggestions.
Disclaimer
We have done everything we can to make The Confidant
work well for you. However, we cannot be responsible in the
event of problems. In using The Confidant, you agree that
in no event will you hold Data Sage liable for any damages,
actual or consequential, that may arise from use of this
product.
* * *
[The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-4]
THE CONFIDANT USER GUIDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DESCRIPTION (DESCRIPT.DOC)
Introduction .................................... D-2
Table of Contents of the entire USER GUIDE ..... D-5
What You Need to Use The Confidant .............. D-6
Getting Started with The Confidant ............ D-7
Index to the DESCRIPTION ........................ D-11
TUTORIAL (TUTORIAL.DOC)
The Confidant and the Secret Formula ........... T-1
What is There to Protect? ..................... T-1
Encryption Vs. Passwords ...................... T-2
What is Encryption? ........................... T-3
A Little Background ........................... T-3
Copying the Master Diskette ................... T-4
Using The Confidant ........................... T-7
Getting HELP .................................. T-7
The SOURCE .................................... T-9
The DESTINATION ............................... T-9
Choosing a PASSWORD ........................... T-10
Hiding the PASSWORD ........................... T-11
Starting Encryption ........................... T-11
Fixing Mistakes ............................... T-14
"Flipping" SOURCE and DESTINATION ............. T-15
Copying ....................................... T-15
Privacy ....................................... T-18
Directory and Erase SOURCE ...................... T-19
Using The Confidant to Transmit Data Over the
Telephone .................................. T-19
Index to the TUTORIAL ........................... T-25
REFERENCE (REFER.DOC)
How to Use the Reference ........................ R-1
Copy ............................................ R-2
DES Decipher .................................... R-3
DES Encipher .................................... R-4
The DESTINATION ................................. R-6
Directory ....................................... R-8
End ............................................. R-9
Erase SOURCE .................................... R-10
Flip ............................................ R-11
HELP ............................................ R-12
Hide ............................................ R-13
The Keyboard .................................... R-14
Maintaining Security ............................ R-16
The PASSWORD .................................... R-17
Privacy ......................................... R-19
PROBLEM Reports ................................. R-21
The SOURCE ...................................... R-23
Index to the REFERENCE .......................... R-25
[The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-5]
WHAT YOU NEED
TO USE THE CONFIDANT
Required
* IBM Personal Computer or BIOS-compatible computer
* 64K bytes of RAM
* One 5.25 inch double sided double density disk drive
* An IBM-compatible color or monochrome display capable
of showing 80 columns. If your display is set to 40
columns, the program will set it to 80 columns with
your consent, otherwise the program will terminate.
Optional
* A serial or parallel printer
* Additional hard, floppy or RAM disk drives
* Additional floppy diskettes for saving data
Required Software
* PC-DOS 1.1 or higher
* The Confidant, which consists of nine files:
* CONFIDE.EXE (The Program)
* CONFIDE.HLP (Online Help File)
* CONFIDE.CRY (For Use with the Tutorial)
* TYPE.ME (Explains Documentation files)
* DESCRIPT.DOC (Description Document)
* TUTORIAL.DOC (Tutorial Document)
* REFER.DOC (Reference Document)
* REFCARD.DOC (Quick Reference Card)
* CONFIDE.INV (Invoice form)
[The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-6]
GETTING STARTED
with The Confidant
The best way to get started with The Confidant is to
get acquainted with this USER GUIDE before you try to use
the program. It will be worth your time to examine the
Table of Contents and then read the TUTORIAL section.
The TUTORIAL will lead you in a step-by-step manner
through using The Confidant. It will teach you about
security. It will also entertain you, in a mild sort of
way. When you read the TUTORIAL, work along with it. Put
yourself in Anne Lambert's or David Lyon's place, and do
what they do.
But if you are impatient to try out the program, as
most people are, decide which of the three systems below is
most like yours. Then follow the steps outlined. You'll be
using it in no time.
SYSTEM 1: A hard drive and a floppy drive
Step 1. Boot your computer system in the normal way. If
you are using DOS 2.0, use the PATH command to set the
subdirectory where you want The Confidant to reside.
Step 2. Place the original copy of The Confidant in the
floppy drive.
Step 3. At the DOS prompt, type:
Copy A:*.* C:
and press the <RETURN> key. (This assumes the floppy disk
drive is your A: drive and the hard disk is your C: drive.
If that is not correct, substitute the correct letters for
the drives.)
Step 4. When the copy is finished, remove the original copy
of The Confidant from the A: drive and store it in a safe
place.
Step 5. At the DOS prompt, log your hard disk by typing:
C:
(Again, assuming your hard disk is the C: drive.)
[The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-7]
Step 6. At the DOS prompt, type:
Confide
and press the <RETURN> key.
SYSTEM 2: Two floppy drives
Step 1. Boot your computer system in the normal way. If
you are using DOS 2.0, use the PATH command to set the
subdirectory where you want The Confidant to reside.
Step 2. Place the original copy of The Confidant in the A:
drive.
Step 3. Place a blank, formatted diskette in the B: drive.
Step 4. At the DOS prompt, type:
Copy A:*.* B:
and press the <RETURN> key.
Step 5. When the copy is finished, remove the original copy
of The Confidant from the A: drive and store it in a safe
place.
Step 6. Remove the copy of The Confidant from the B: drive
and put it into the A: drive.
Step 7. At the DOS prompt, log your A: drive by typing:
A:
Step 8. At the DOS prompt, type:
Confide
and press the <RETURN> key.
SYSTEM 3: One floppy drive
Step 1. Boot your computer system in the normal way. If
you are using DOS 2.0, use the PATH command to set the
subdirectory you want The Confidant to reside under.
Step 2. Place the original copy of The Confidant in the A:
drive.
[The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-8]
Step 3. At the DOS prompt, type:
Copy A:*.* B:
and press the <RETURN> key.
Step 3. In response to the prompt, insert a blank, formatted
diskette in the B: drive. Press the <RETURN> key to start
copying the first file. Exchange the original and copy
diskettes in response to the prompts until all files on the
original diskette have been copied.
Step 4. When the copying is finished, store the original
copy of The Confidant in a safe place.
Step 5. Press the <RETURN> key. At the DOS prompt, log
your A: drive by typing:
A:
Step 6. At the DOS prompt, type:
Confide
and press the <RETURN> key.
Now you're started. Press <F9> for help. We hope you
enjoy using The Confidant. And we suggest that you still
study the tutorial and reference guide when you get a
chance.
[The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-9]
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Confidant(tm) was conceived and written by Stan W.
Merrill, Ph.D. He also wrote the documentation. John B.
Roeder, Ph.D. edited the documentation, added indexes, and
in other ways prepared the program for distribution.
JoLynn Bennett helped test it.
Several persons not affiliated with Data Sage gave
valuable feedback. Our thanks to David Colesworthy, Morris
Effron, Claudia LaRock, Gene Lyman, Helena Merrill, and Gary
J. Mulligan.
[The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-10]
INDEX to the DESCRIPTION (DESCRIPT.DOC)
C
Copying The Confidant programs and documentation, 1, 7ff
D
Disk drives, various configurations of, 6, 7ff
Display, number of columns in, 6
Documentation, 2
H
Hardware encryption, The Confidant does not replace, 4
Hardware needed to use The Confidant, 6
I
Improvements, suggestions for, 4
O
Optional hardware devices in using The Confidant, 6
P
Purpose of The Confidant, 2, 3
R
Reference manual, 2
Reference card, 2
Required hardware devices in using The Confidant, 6
S
Starting out, 7
T
Tutorial, 2, 7
U
User-supported software, 1
W
Who uses The Confidant, 3
[The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-11]
REFCARD.DOC
THE CONFIDANT (tm)
QUICK REFERENCE CARD
Copyright (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage
TO START THE CONFIDANT:
Place The Confidant in the logged drive and type: CONFIDE
TO USE THE CONFIDANT:
Fill in the SOURCE, DESTINATION, and PASSWORD boxes. Choose the
function you want from the list at the bottom of the screen and press the
corresponding Function Key.
The DESTINATION tells The Confidant where to send the text it
processes.
The SOURCE tells The Confidant where to take its text FROM for
processing.
The Confidant combines the PASSWORD with the text in the SOURCE to
create encrypted or decrypted text. The PASSWORD may consist of any
characters you can generate from the keyboard, except for the special
editing keys.
FUNCTIONS
<F1> DES Encipher: causes the text in the SOURCE to be encrypted, using
the Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm.
<F2> DES Decipher: causes the text in the SOURCE to be decrypted, using
the Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm.
<F3> Privacy: causes the text in the SOURCE to be encrypted (or decrypted),
using a special algorithm that is much faster than the Data Encryption
Standard (DES), though not as secure.
<F4> Copy: causes the text in the SOURCE to be copied to the DESTINATION.
<F5> Flip: exchanges the names in the SOURCE and DESTINATION fields.
<F6> Hide: hides (and reveals) the information in the PASSWORD, SOURCE and
DESTINATION fields.
<F7> Directory: will display a directory listing of all files that match
those specified in the SOURCE field of The Confidant's main menu.
<F8> Erase SOURCE: will erase the file or files specified in the SOURCE
field of The Confidant's main menu.
<F9> Help: provides a brief explanation of The Confidant's functions.
<F10> End: will stop The Confidant at any time and return you to the place
at which you you gave the last command.
EDITING KEYS
Name of Key Purpose
~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~
Backspace Move backward one space
Left arrow
Right arrow Move forward one space
Return Move to next box, using a downward
rotation. while entering text from
the CONSOLE, send the line to the
computer for encrypting.
Down arrow Move to next box, using a downward
rotation. Does not work when entering
text from the CONSOLE
Up arrow Move to next box, using an upward
rotation. Does not work when entering
text from the CONSOLE
Home Move to the top (SOURCE) box. While
entering text from the CONSOLE, move
to beginning of the line.
End Move to the bottom (DESTINATION) box.
While entering text from the CONSOLE,
move to beginning of the line.
Ins Toggle between insert and type-over modes
Del Delete the character above the cursor
SHIFT PrtSc Print a copy of the screen on the printer.
Ctrl-Num Lock Stop scrolling of screen temporarily
REFER.DOC
* * * * * *
* *************** * *************** *
* * * * * *
* *
* THE CONFIDANT (tm) *
* REFERENCE *
* *
* * * * * *
* *************** * *************** *
* * * * * *
Copyright (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage
Yale Station 2902
New Haven, CT 06520
CONTENTS
How to Use the Reference ........................ R-1
Copy ............................................ R-2
DES Decipher .................................... R-3
DES Encipher .................................... R-4
The DESTINATION ................................. R-6
Directory ....................................... R-8
End ............................................. R-9
Erase SOURCE .................................... R-10
Flip ............................................ R-11
HELP ............................................ R-12
Hide ............................................ R-13
The Keyboard .................................... R-14
Maintaining Security ............................ R-16
The PASSWORD .................................... R-17
Privacy ......................................... R-19
PROBLEM Reports ................................. R-21
The SOURCE ...................................... R-23
Index to the Reference ......................... R-25
HOW TO USE THE REFERENCE
The REFERENCE for The Confidant is meant to provide all
the essential information about each of the The Confidant's
features. It provides somewhat more detail than the
TUTORIAL.
The REFERENCE is organized alphabetically by topic.
To find all the information about Password, for example,
look in the Table of Contents or the Index for the page
number, or thumb through the pages until you come to the
"P's ."
Most of the topics are organized into three main
sections:
* Purpose
* How to Use
* Explanation
The Purpose and How to Use sections describe briefly
what you need to know to make The Confidant work. The
Explanation section provides quite a bit of detail about the
design and use of The Confidant.
COPY
Purpose
The Copy key, <F4>, causes the text in the SOURCE to be
copied to the DESTINATION.
How to Use
Type the file or device names for the SOURCE and the
DESTINATION in the appropriate fields. A PASSWORD is not
needed. Then press the <F4> key. You may stop copying at
any time by pressing the END (<F10>) key.
Explanation
The Copy key will copy any file, including executable,
encrypted, or other files that no longer contain ASCII text.
It will not copy FROM the PRINTER or SERIAL port, but it
will copy TO them. It will also copy TO and FROM the
CONSOLE.
Although Copy is useful for copying text from one file
to another, or from a file to the printer, its main purpose
in The Confidant is for viewing text that has just been
encrypted to make sure it looks encrypted. It is also used
quite often for looking through files in order to find a
specific one that requires encrypting. When used for
viewing text, the DESTINATION is usually left as the CONSOLE.
If you Copy from the CONSOLE to the parallel PRINTER or
a SERIAL printer, you may want to set the printer for AUTO
LINEFEED because The Confidant does not send linefeed
characters at the end of lines to tell the printer to
advance a line unless those characters are in the file
itself.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-2]
DES DECIPHER
Purpose
The DES Decipher key, <F2>, causes the text in the
SOURCE to be decrypted using the Data Encryption Standard
(DES) algorithm. It places the decrypted text in the
DESTINATION. The decryption is based on the PASSWORD
supplied.
How to Use
Type the file or device names for the SOURCE and the
DESTINATION in the appropriate fields. Type in your
PASSWORD. Then press the <F2> key. You may stop decryption
at any time by pressing the End (<F10>) key.
Explanation
The DES Decipher function is the opposite (inverse) of
the DES Encipher function. (Theoretically, you could first
Encipher using the Decipher function and then Decipher using
the Encipher function, instead of the other way around. For
the most part, Decipher just encrypts "backwards." However,
The Confidant is not intended to be used in this way, and
may not work correctly if you do so.)
For more information about the DES algorithm used by
The Confidant, please see the reference section for DES
Encipher.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-3]
DES ENCIPHER
Purpose
The DES Encipher key, <F1>, causes the text in the
SOURCE to be encrypted, using the Data Encryption Standard
(DES) algorithm. It places the encrypted text in the
DESTINATION. The encryption is based on the PASSWORD
supplied.
How to Use
Type the file or device names for the SOURCE and the
DESTINATION in the appropriate fields. Type in your
PASSWORD. Then press the <F1> key. You may stop encryption
at any time by pressing the End (<F10>) key.
Explanation
The Data Encryption Standard is an "algorithm," a
procedure or set of rules, for encoding data. It was
originally developed at IBM, and then was approved by the
United States Government for use by government agencies. It
is the only procedure approved for routine government agency
use. It is also used by many banks for transferring funds,
and by many businesses for protecting privacy as well as
proprietary information. As far as is known, no one has
succeeded in "cracking" or deciphering text encrypted with
the DES. (It may be theoretically possible to do so,
however, at very great expense.)
As with most things in electronics, it is possible to
implement the DES algorithm using either hardware or
software. Hardware is much faster, and the government
standard calls for its agencies to use only hardware
implementations. Software, on the other hand, is usually
less expensive. It also does not require alterations to
your computer system. It is adequate for many tasks, such
as the encoding of reports or data before they leave a
company's office, and the encoding of personal data. The
Confidant is a software implementation.
The DES works by combining eight characters of data
with eight characters of password at a time. In most
computers, each character of data is stored in a code called
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII,
pronounced: AS-key). A character is stored in the
computer's memory. The space to store it (called a byte) is
made up of eight 1's or 0's (called bits).
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-4]
The DES uses rules to mix up the bits in a block of
eight bytes (sixty-four bits), combine them with the bits in
the password, and then mix them up some more. The
mathematical rules used make the results of these mixings
and combinations virtually impossible to unravel without the
password used to do them in the first place. For this
reason, the password is the most important part of the
encryption. If someone knows the password, he or she can
decrypt the text. If someone forgets a password, the text
can, essentially, never be decrypted.
The DES makes it hard for anyone to tamper with data so
encrypted. If even a single bit in the password or the data
is changed, the encrypted text in the block in which the
change occurs cannot be decrypted.
For more information about the DES algorithm, you can
purchase a copy of the Data Encryption Standard from:
The National Technical Information Service
U.S. Department of Commerce
Springfield, VA 22161
Ask for:
Data Encryption Standard
Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 46
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-5]
The DESTINATION
Purpose
The DESTINATION tells The Confidant where it is to send
the text it has processed.
How to Use
If you want want to send text to the CONSOLE, leave the
word CONSOLE in the DESTINATION field. Otherwise, highlight
the field by moving to it with the special cursor editing
keys. (See the Keyboard section for more information about
cursor keys.) Then type over the word CONSOLE with the name
of a file or with the words PRINTER (for parallel printer)
or SERIAL (for serial printer or modem).
Explanation
The DESTINATION may be the CONSOLE, a file, the
(parallel) PRINTER or SERIAL (printer).
If you choose the CONSOLE as the DESTINATION, a box
labeled "Destination" will appear when you select one of the
encryption options (<F1> - <F4>). The text will show up in
the box as it is being processed. If you want to halt the
text temporarily, to look at it, press the <Ctrl> and <Num
Lock> keys simultaneously. To restart processing, press any
key.
If you decide to use a file as the DESTINATION, type a
filename in the DESTINATION field on the main menu.
Filenames follow standard DOS conventions. The disk drive
where The Confidant is to look for the text may be any legal
drive name (A, B, ...) on your system, followed by a colon.
You must provide a file name that is from one to eight
characters long. An optional extension is preceded by a
period, and may be zero to three characters long, using the
same characters that are allowed for the filename. Paths
for DOS 2.0 are not supported. If you are using DOS 2.0
with subdirectories, be sure to set the PATH before using
The Confidant. (See the DOS reference manual for further
information on filenames.)
Remember that The Confidant will assume you know what
you are doing when you give it a DESTINATION filename. If a
file already exists with that name, it will write over it
without asking. If you don't know whether a file exists,
use the Directory <F7> key to get a list of your files.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-6]
If you select the PRINTER, be sure it is attached and
ready. Otherwise, the computer will stop processing.
If you select the SERIAL port, you must make sure you
have set it up properly before using The Confidant. To do
so, use the DOS MODE command to set the characteristics of
COM1. For example, if you are using a DIABLO or a NEC
Spinwriter at 300 baud (30 characters per second), you would
issue the following command before using The Confidant.
MODE COM1:300,N,8,1,P
(See the DOS reference manual for further information on the
MODE command.)
You may also send output to a modem through the SERIAL
port. But since The Confidant has no telecommunications
features, it is probably wisest in most cases to encrypt a
file to disk first, and then use a telecommunications
package to send it to another computer. When using such a
package to send an encrypted file, treat the encrypted text
as "object code" that has special characters in it. Some
programs have an option especially for object code. If you
cannot ship object files, you probably won't be able to ship
encrypted files successfully.
On occasion, you may want to view Enciphered text,
either to verify that a file has indeed been encrypted, or
just out of curiosity. For viewing text you are better off
to use the CONSOLE as the DESTINATION, or to use your
system's text editor, than to send the encrypted text to a
printer. The encrypted text usually contains characters
that will make the printer behave unpredictably.
While The Confidant processes your text, it
continuously displays the number of eight-character blocks
it has processed. When used for DES encryption, it must use
blocks this size, so if your text does not have eight
characters in the final block, The Confidant will add its
own characters. Therefore, the size of a DESTINATION file
will sometimes differ from that of a SOURCE file. This size
disparity is nothing to worry about, since The Confidant
knows these characters are its own, and it will remove them
when you Decipher the file.
To end processing at any time, remember you can press
the End <F10> key.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-7]
DIRECTORY
Purpose
The Directory key, <F7>, will display a directory
listing of all files that match those specified in the
SOURCE field of The Confidant's main menu.
How to Use
Type a file name in the SOURCE field of the main menu.
Press the <F7> key. A listing of any files matching the
file description you gave in the SOURCE field will appear on
the screen.
Explanation
When you cannot remember the name of a file you want to
encrypt or decrypt, the directory listing will help you find
it. It is a good idea to make sure that no file exists with
the name you use as the DESTINATION, unless you want to
write over it. The Confidant assumes you want to write over
files, rather than proliferate copies by backing them up.
The file description you type in the SOURCE field
follows the standard DOS rules for file descriptions. That
is, a description consists of a disk drive, a file name, and
a file extension. The wild card characters, '*' and '?',
may be used to specify ambiguous references. Under DOS 2.0,
pathnames are NOT provided for. It is a good idea to set
your subdirectories before using The Confidant. (For more
information, see your DOS manual.)
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-8]
END
Purpose
The End key, <F10>, will stop The Confidant at any time
and return you to the place at which you you gave the last
command. By pressing the End key from one to four times,
depending on what The Confidant is doing, you can end The
Confidant completely and return to the operating system.
How to Use
Press the <F10> key. Press it up to four times, if
necessary, to return to the operating system.
Explanation
Whenever you want to end what The Confidant is doing,
press the End key. Pressing the End key four times in
succession will assure that the program returns you to the
operating system quickly.
If you are writing text to a file or printer, The
Confidant will finish the line you are on before quitting.
If you want faster response, press the End key again quickly
to interrupt it.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-9]
ERASE SOURCE
Purpose
The Erase SOURCE key, <F8>, will erase the file or
files specified in the SOURCE field of The Confidant's main
menu.
How to Use
Type a file name in the SOURCE field of the main menu.
Press the <F8> key. A message will appear showing the file
description you gave in the SOURCE field. The message will
ask you to press <F8> one more time if you still want to
delete the file or files specified. If you do NOT want to
erase the files, press any other key.
Explanation
The Erase SOURCE function allows you to delete files of
plain text or cipher text that you no longer want to store
on disk. You may use it to get rid of plain text you don't
want others to see. You may also use it to erase files you
don't need anymore in order to make more room on a diskette
before using the encryption and decryption functions.
The file description you type in the SOURCE field
follows the standard DOS rules for file descriptions. That
is, a description consists of a disk drive, a file name, and
a file extension. The wild card characters '*' and '?' may
be used to specify ambiguous references. Under DOS 2.0
pathnames are not provided. It is a good idea to set your
subdirectories before using The Confidant. (For more
information, see your DOS manual.)
* * * W A R N I N G * * *
Erasing a file does NOT mean the information it holds
is gone forever. The operating system simply marks the
directory entry that it uses to find the file with a special
character. This character is a message to itself that the
file has been erased. The data still remain on diskette,
and a sophisticated computer user can still retrieve the
file. Devices evidently exist for reading information that
has been overwritten as many as a half-dozen or more times.
So if your data are likely to be the target of intense
effort by cryptographers, destroy any plaintext copies by
burning or mutilating the diskettes that hold them.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-10]
FLIP
Purpose
The Flip key, <F5>, exchanges the names in the SOURCE
and DESTINATION fields.
How to Use
Press the <F5> key.
Explanation
Frequently, you will use the CONSOLE to enter text that
will be encrypted and then written into a disk file.
Afterward, you will probably want to examine the encryption
by either Copying or Deciphering the text in the file back
to the CONSOLE. In that way you can verify that the
encryption was successful. There are other occasions, too,
when at least one of the two fields needs to be switched.
This process occurs often enough to justify simplifying
it. Without the Flip key, it would be necessary to highlight
the SOURCE and DESTINATION boxes separately and type the
file name and CONSOLE designations into them. The Flip key
reduces the effort involved to a single keystroke.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-11]
HELP
Purpose
The HELP key, <F9>, provides a brief explanation of the
functions provided by The Confidant.
How to Use
Press the <F9> key. Then select the topic you want to
know more about and press the corresponding function key to
view information about it.
Explanation
The HELP files are meant to do two things:
* Provide a quick introduction to The Confidant so
that you can get started with it right away.
* Refresh your memory about a particular function
if you haven't used it in a long time.
The HELP files are NOT intended to replace the Users
Guide.
For some users, the HELP files will provide sufficient
information about The Confidant and how to use it that they
will only read the Users Guide when a question comes up.
But most users will benefit from the additional information
in the manual.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-12]
HIDE
Purpose
The Hide key, <F6>, hides the information in the
PASSWORD, SOURCE and DESTINATION fields, in order to protect
it from discovery by unauthorized persons who may be present
during encryption or decryption.
How to Use
Press the <F6> key. Press it again to re-display the
information in the fields.
Explanation
Normally, you will want to see the file names and the
password when you provide them to The Confidant. That way,
you can be certain that you have typed the correct
information.
However, when persons who are not authorized to encrypt
or decrypt a protected text are present it is important to
protect the password as well as the names of the files
involved. The Hide key allows you to use The Confidant
without revealing this information.
You should HIDE your password and file names whenever
someone is present who is unauthorized, and whenever there
is a chance that such a person will arrive during the
encryption process.
When you enter Hide mode by pressing the <F6> key, the
cursor size increases. When you exit Hide mode by pressing
the <F6> key again, the cursor returns again to its normal
size.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-13]
THE KEYBOARD
This section describes the use of special keys on the
keyboard with The Confidant. Any keys not listed perform as
regular "typewriter" keys where appropriate, or do nothing
at all.
Editing Keys
The special editing keys on the keyboard have the
following functions. Note that some keys do something
slightly different while entering text from the CONSOLE than
they do at the main menu.
Name of Key Purpose
~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~
Backspace Move backward one space
Left arrow
Right arrow Move forward one space
Enter Move to next box, using
a downward rotation. While
entering text from the
CONSOLE, send the line to the
computer for encrypting, then
move to the beginning of a
new blank line.
Down arrow Move to next box, using
Pg Dn a downward rotation. Does
Tab not work when entering plain
text from the CONSOLE
Up arrow Move to next box, using
Pg Up an upward rotation. Does
SHIFT Tab not work when entering plain
text from the CONSOLE
Home Move to the top (SOURCE)
box. While entering text
from the CONSOLE, move to
beginning of the line.
End Move to the bottom
(DESTINATION) box. While
entering text from the
CONSOLE, move to beginning
of the line.
Ins Toggle between insert and
type-over modes. Cursor size
increases slightly.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-14]
Name of Key Purpose
~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~
Del Delete the character above
the cursor
SHIFT PrtSc Print a copy of the screen
on the printer
Ctrl-Num Lock Stop scrolling of screen
temporarily
Function Keys
The function keys on the keyboard have the following
functions:
Name of Key Purpose
~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~
F1 Begin DES Encipher
F2 Begin DES Decipher
F3 Begin Privacy encryption
or decryption
F4 Copy the SOURCE to the
DESTINATION
F5 Flip the SOURCE and
DESTINATION
F6 Hide the SOURCE,
DESTINATION, and PASSWORD
F7 Display a Directory of
files as specified
in the SOURCE field
F8 Erase the file(s) listed
in the SOURCE field
F9 Display HELP files
F10 End the current process
and return to the previous
one
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-15]
MAINTAINING SECURITY
Here are a couple of rules for assuring that encrypted
text remains safe and secure.
1. Don't leave plain text versions of an encrypted
text in unsecure places. There are three kinds of plain
text versions:
* Paper, microfiche, or other "hard" copies of a text.
It is easy to leave a copy of a text on your desk, in your
files, in the wastebasket, at the printer's, in the mail
room at your office, between other papers in a folder or
briefcase. Be scrupulously certain that no unencrypted
hardcopies exist where unauthorized persons may find them.
* Plain text versions on disk, that you have not
erased. These are easy for people to find, use, and even
change.
* Plain text versions on disk that HAVE been erased.
When the computer erases a file, it doesn't really erase it.
It just places a special mark in front of the file's name in
the directory. Then, if space on the disk is needed later
on, the computer will write over the top of the "erased"
text. But a skilled programmer could "unerase" the file,
just by changing the mark in front of its name. It's that
easy. Also, devices evidently exist for reading text that
has been overwritten a half-dozen times or more. Destroy
diskettes that have plain text versions of extremely
sensitive data, or lock them up securely.
2. Guard your PASSWORD. Do not leave copies of the
PASSWORD lying around, even "hidden" copies such as those
made by the indentation of a pen on the second sheets of a
pad of paper. Retain the PASSWORD in your head, or lock it
in a safe place. Share the PASSWORD only with those who
absolutely NEED to know it.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-16]
The PASSWORD
Purpose
The Confidant combines the PASSWORD mathematically with
the text in the SOURCE to create encrypted or decrypted
text.
How to Use
Highlight the PASSWORD field by moving to it with the
special cursor editing keys (see The Keyboard section for
more information about cursor keys). Then type in a
PASSWORD that you create. The PASSWORD may consist of any
characters you can generate from the keyboard, including
"control" characters, except for the special editing keys.
Explanation
Among encryption professionals the PASSWORD is often
called the KEY. The word "key" emphasizes the central
importance of the PASSWORD to the security of an encrypted
text. Without the PASSWORD, experts assert, no current
computer can decode a text encrypted with the Data
Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm.
No default password comes with The Confidant. You must
create and take care of your own. The PASSWORD should be as
close to sixteen characters long as possible. The longer
your PASSWORD, the more secure it is. It may contain
spaces, control characters, or any other characters you can
enter from the keyboard, including those available with the
ALT key. However, The Confidant ignores leading blanks.
Also, The Confidant does not distinguish between upper and
lower case.
Examples of PASSWORDS are:
FINNISH MAY DAY
|||\\\---+++))))
0123456789ABCDEF
a!b@c#d$ Pretty
Some people may find it important to know that a
PASSWORD with a fairly "random" bit pattern is more secure
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-17]
than otherwise. For this reason, The Confidant extracts the
second, fourth, sixth, and remaining even bits from the
PASSWORD, and compresses them in reverse order into a new
password that it uses internally for the DES. Therefore,
text that has been encrypted using The Confidant could not
be decrypted using the same PASSWORD with any other software
or hardware implementation of the Data Encryption Standard.
If you forget your PASSWORD or PASSWORDs, you are in
the same situation as anyone else who wants to decrypt your
text -- out of luck. So take precautions to remember your
PASSWORD. Avoid "obvious" PASSWORDs, however, such as names
or birthdates of family members and other close friends or
associates, personal characteristics or hobbies you are
known for, and license plate and social security numbers.
Anyone who knows you very well will try these first. If you
become worried that a PASSWORD has become compromised, you
should re-encrypt the data with a different one.
In a situation where more than one person needs to know
a PASSWORD, it is essential to maintain high security. If
the PASSWORD is written anywhere, it should be kept under
lock and key. If a PASSWORD is used for several texts, or
for all texts within a certain time period by a group of
users, the PASSWORD should be changed at random intervals to
limit the likelihood that unauthorized users will obtain it,
or having obtained it will be able to use it for several
texts.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-18]
PRIVACY
Purpose
The Privacy key, <F3>, causes the text in the SOURCE to
be encrypted (or decrypted), using a special algorithm that
is much faster than the Data Encryption Standard (DES),
though not as secure. It places the encrypted (or
decrypted) text in the DESTINATION. The encryption is based
on the PASSWORD supplied.
How to Use
Type the file or device names for the SOURCE and the
DESTINATION in the appropriate fields. Type in your
PASSWORD. Then press the <F3> key. You may stop
encryption/decryption at any time by pressing the End
(<F10>) key.
Explanation
If a file has been previously encrypted with the
PASSWORD you supply, it will be decrypted when you use
Privacy. Otherwise, it will be encrypted. This is because
Privacy uses a procedure that reverses itself each time it
is used on the same text with the same password.
For much encryption, it is not necessary that no one
ever reads the text that was encrypted. Rather, it is
desirable to keep the text from being read for a certain
amount of time. Or it is desirable to keep merely curious
people from looking at the text, yet it is not worth the
time and effort to make the text impossible to decode.
Privacy is good for this kind of protection. It is much
like the locks on most people's houses. A determined
burglar could break in, but most people who don't have a key
won't get in.
A text encrypted with the Privacy algorithm is
difficult to decode. For most people it will be impossible,
because they don't know how. A trained cryptographer,
however, has a toolkit of statistical procedures that may
allow him to break it, probably overnight. For most things,
Privacy will be perfectly adequate, and much faster, than
the DES algorithm. But YOU must decide which is better in a
given circumstance.
One interesting use of Privacy is a process called
"superencipherment", or double coding. You first code data
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-19]
with the DES algorithm. Then you code it again with
Privacy. (You can also use DES twice or Privacy twice, of
course.) This makes for even safer text, though in the case
of DES it is probably unnecessary. If you use
superencipherment, remember to decode by applying the
procedures in reverse order. That is, if you used DES
first, then Privacy to encrypt, you must use Privacy first,
then DES to decrypt.
The algorithm, or procedure, which Privacy uses is
deliberately not presented here, as knowledge of the
algorithm might make it easier to "crack."
The use of ASCII NUL characters at the beginning of a
plaintext file should be avoided. Use the <space bar>
rather than the right arrow key when you want to leave
blanks at the beginning of a file.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-20]
PROBLEM REPORTS
As the old saying goes, "there are two kinds of
troubles in this world: those you've gotta worry about and
those you don't." The Confidant has two kinds of problems
too: EASY ones and HARD ones. (Some programs call problems
"errors," but The Confidant simply sees its troubles as
problems that need to be overcome.)
The Confidant will give you a message when it can
detect a problem and figure out what went wrong (EASY
problem). For certain hardware problems, however, it gives
up and returns you temporarily to the operating system (HARD
problem). This section describes what to do in either case
to fix the problem and continue with the task at hand.
EASY Problems
Whenever The Confidant confronts a problem that it can
identify, it clears the screen and gives you a PROBLEM
Report. Then it will wait until you press a key before it
returns to a point at which you can correct the problem.
Here is a list of the problems, along with suggestions about
how to cope with them.
Report: The PASSWORD is missing.
Solution: The program cannot find a password in the
PASSWORD field. You should type in a password and then try
again. Remember, the first character cannot be a space.
Report: The SOURCE file cannot be used. Please check it.
Solution: The program probably could not find a file on the
disk with the name you typed into the SOURCE field. You
should check what you typed to make sure it is correct. If
it looks alright, use the <F7> Directory key to make sure
the file is on your disk. If you are using DOS 2.0, be sure
the file is in the current subdirectory.
Report: The DESTINATION file cannot be used. Please check
it.
Solution: The program could not create a file with the name
you gave it. You should check to make sure you entered a
valid DOS filename.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-21]
Report: The file 'CONFIDE.HLP' is not on the default drive.
Solution: When you asked for HELP by pressing <F9>, The
Confidant could not find the file that contains the help
information. Make sure the file CONFIDE.HLP is on the disk
in your logged drive. If you are using DOS 2.0, be sure
the file is also in the current subdirectory.
Report: The file(s) you want to erase is/are not there.
Solution: The program probably could not find a file on the
disk with the name you typed into the SOURCE field. You
should check what you typed to make sure it is correct. If
it looks alright, use the <F7> Directory key to make sure
the file is on your disk. If you are using DOS 2.0, be sure
the file is in the current subdirectory.
HARD Problems
The list of hardware problems that The Confidant does
not know how to handle includes the following:
* A disk is full.
* A disk is write-protected.
* A disk has gone bad.
* A drive is not ready.
* A device is not available.
When The Confidant encounters such an error, which is
very seldom, it will return you temporarily to DOS. You
will see this message on the screen:
Abort, Retry, Ignore?
You should fix the problem before answering this question.
Usually, fixing the error means replacing the disk you are
using with a new, formatted disk.
When you have corrected the problem, press the <R> key
(for Retry). Then The Confidant will continue. If you
press the Abort key, you will return to the operating system
permanently. If you choose Ignore instead, you will get the
same problem report as before.
If problems occur other than those mentioned here,
please let Data Sage know. We would like to fix them.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-22]
The SOURCE
Purpose
The SOURCE tells The Confidant where it is to take its
text FROM for processing.
How to Use
If you wish to enter text from the CONSOLE, leave the
word CONSOLE in the SOURCE field. Otherwise, highlight the
field by moving to it with the special cursor editing keys.
(See The Keyboard section for more information about cursor
keys.) Then type over the word CONSOLE with the name of a
file containing the text that you want to encrypt, decrypt,
or Copy.
Explanation
The SOURCE may be the CONSOLE, or a file that contains
either plain text or cipher text.
If you decide to use a file as the SOURCE, type a
filename in the SOURCE field on the main menu. Filenames
follow standard DOS conventions. The disk drive where The
Confidant is to look for the text may be any legal drive
name (A, B, ...) on your system, followed by a colon. You
must provide a file name that is from one to eight
characters long. An optional extension is preceded by a
period, and may be zero to three characters long, using the
same characters that are allowed for the filename. Paths for
DOS 2.0 are not implemented. If you are using DOS 2.0 with
subdirectories, be sure to set the PATH before using The
Confidant. (See the DOS reference manual for further
information on filenames.)
If you choose the CONSOLE as the SOURCE, a box labeled
"Source" will appear when you select one of the encryption
options (<F1> - <F4>). You type your text in the box. At
the end of each line you must press the <RETURN> key to tell
The Confidant that you are finished with the line so it can
process it.
Any time before pressing the <RETURN> key you can edit
the line using the editing keys described in The Keyboard
section. You can backspace, delete characters, replace
characters by typing over them, insert characters in the
middle of the line, and so forth. If while in insert mode
you push characters beyond the end of the line, which has a
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-23]
maximum length of 77 characters, the characters will be
lost. You don't need to be at the end of the line to press
<RETURN>; if you are editing in the middle of the line and
want to process the text you may press it then.
To end text entry from the CONSOLE, press the End <F10>
key.
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-24]
INDEX to the Reference
A
ASCII (code), 4
B
Bits, 4, 5
Block, 5
display of number being processed, 7
added characters in final block under DES, 7
Byte, 4
C
Case, upper not distinguished from lower in PASSWORD, 17
CONSOLE as DESTINATION, 6, 11
as SOURCE, 23
copying to and from, 2
used to view files, 7
Copy key, <F4>, 2
Copying, 2
executable or encrypted files, 2
to a printer, 2
Cursor, moving the, 14
size indicates Hide and Insert modes, 13, 14
D
Data Encryption Standard (DES) procedure, 3, 4f
hardware vs. software implementations, 4
Deleting text or characters, 14
DES Encipher key, <F1>, 4
DES Decipher key, <F2>, 3
use for encryption, 3
DESTINATION, 6f
file size larger than SOURCE size, 7
file unusable, 21
hiding the, 13
of copied text, 2
of decrypted (plain) text, 3, 11, 19
of encrypted (cipher) text, 4, 19
Directory key, <F7>, 8
used to avoid overwriting files, 6, 8
Disk errors, 22
Double coding, 19f
E
Editing keys, 14f
Encrypted text, viewing, 7
End key, <F10>, 7, 9
Enter key, when processing text from CONSOLE, 22
Erase SOURCE key, <F8>, 10
Erasing files on diskette not adequate security, 10
Errors, 21f
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-25]
F
File(s) as DESTINATION, 6
as SOURCE, 10, 23
description, 8, 10, 23
directory, 8
missing, 21f
overwriting, 6, 8
size variation using DES procedure, 7
Flip key, <F5>, 11
Function keys, summary, 15
H
Halting text processing temporarily, 6
HELP key, <F9>, 12
Hide key, <F6>, 13
Highlighting fields on the main display, 6, 14, 17
I
Inserting text or characters, 14
K
Key, 17
Keyboard, 14
L
Line length when entering text from CONSOLE, 22
M
Main display (menu, form), 8, 13
printing, 15
Modem, output to using SERIAL port, 7
O
Object code, treating transmitted encrypted text as, 7
Operating system, returning to, 9
P
PASSWORD, 17
automatic conversion to internal password, 18
choosing a good, 18
combined with block of text in DES procedure, 5, 17
compromised, 18
for DES Decipher, 3
for DES Encipher, 4
for Privacy procedure, 19
hiding the, 13
length, 17
missing, 21
not needed for copying, 2
permissible characters in, 17
security of, 13, 16, 18
Pathnames under DOS 2.0, 8, 10, 23
PRINTER option requires ready printer, 7
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-26]
Printer, 6
erratic behavior when printing encrypted text, 7
halting output, 9
parallel, as DESTINATION, 6
serial, 6
used to print screen display, 15
Privacy encryption procedure, 19f
Privacy key, <F3>, 19
Problems, 21f
easy, 21
hard, 22
S
Scrolling, halting, 6, 15
Security, 16f, 18
of "erased" files on diskette, 10, 16
of PASSWORD, 13, 16, 18
of Privacy procedure compared to DES, 19
of unencrypted files, 16
proportional to length of PASSWORD, 17
SERIAL port as DESTINATION, 6
set up before using The Confidant, 7
SOURCE, 23f
editing the field, 23
file unusable, 21
hiding the, 13
line length of, during encryption of CONSOLE text, 22
of copied text, 2
of encrypted (cipher) text, 3, 11
of unencrypted (plain) text, 4
Superencipherment, 19f
T
Telecommunications software to send text, 7
V
Verifying encryption, 11
Viewing files, using Copy, 2
using CONSOLE as DESTINATION, 7, 11
W
Wildcard characters in file descriptions, 8, 10
[The Confidant Reference (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page R-27]
TUTORIAL.DOC
* * * * * *
* *************** * *************** *
* * * * * *
* *
* THE CONFIDANT (tm) *
* TUTORIAL *
* *
* * * * * *
* *************** * *************** *
* * * * * *
Copyright (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage
Yale Station 2902
New Haven, CT 06520
CONTENTS
The Confidant and the Secret Formula ........... T-1
What is There to Protect? ..................... T-1
Encryption Vs. Passwords ...................... T-2
What is Encryption? ........................... T-3
A Little Background ........................... T-3
Copying the Master Diskette ................... T-4
Using The Confidant ........................... T-7
Getting HELP .................................. T-7
The SOURCE .................................... T-9
The DESTINATION ............................... T-9
Choosing a PASSWORD ........................... T-10
Hiding the PASSWORD ........................... T-11
Starting Encryption ........................... T-11
Fixing Mistakes ............................... T-14
"Flipping" SOURCE and DESTINATION ............. T-15
Copying ....................................... T-15
Privacy ....................................... T-18
Directory and Erase SOURCE ...................... T-19
Using The Confidant to Transmit Data Over the
Telephone .................................. T-19
Index to the Tutorial .......................... T-25
THE CONFIDANT AND THE SECRET FORMULA
A Tutorial on How to Use
The Confidant
Anne Lambert pressed the intercom button on her
desk.
As Vice President of Finance for the small Icey
Beverage Company, she faced more than the usual number
of problems. The one that worried her now was the
security of the data on her firm's new microcomputers.
It was hardly a major problem, but she sensed that it
had the potential for becoming one. And she knew
better than to let it.
"See if you can get David Lyons, the computer
consultant, will you?" she said to her secretary over
the intercom.
What is There to Protect?
While she waited for the call to go through, Anne
considered what she wanted to protect and why.
First, there were the payroll records. A curious
employee might look at the records of others. If he
spread word of what he found, the morale of other
employees could suffer.
Next, there were management reports, and
projections produced by her office. If someone got
hold of a prerelease copy of the firm's quarterly
report, for instance, they could use that information
to manipulate sales of the company's stock.
And there were Icey's plans for a new soft drink
marketing strategy. How valuable those would be to a
competitor! And how easy to convince an employee to
print off a copy from the computer after hours, or for
someone to intercept a copy when it was being
transmitted over the telephone to the Midwest office.
She wasn't the only one concerned, either.
Earlier today, Frank Vitale, the company's Director of
Personnel, had mentioned he would like to keep a
computerized record of the experimental alcoholism
treatment program his office was offering to a small
number of employees. But one of the enrollees had
balked when he brought it up. "I don't want anyone
else knowing I'm in the program," he told Frank. "If
you put my name in the computer, someone will find out
for sure."
During the same discussion, Aaron Abrams, the
marketing manager, mentioned a mailing list he was
preparing as part of a compaign to increase the number
of dealers selling the company's products. "I'd sure
hate it if our competition got hold of this," he said.
"They'd mess us up for sure." He was worried because a
similar list was stolen at the company he worked for
previously.
Getting access to the microcomputers was very
easy. Since the computers were located in different
offices in the building, physical security was low.
And some of the computers were connected by a local
area network, so that a user of one computer could look
at data on another computer without the user of the
other computer even knowing.
Encryption Vs. Passwords
Anne's thoughts were cut short by the buzz of the
intercom. "Mr. Lyons is on the line," said her
secretary.
"David," she said, when she picked up the
telephone, "a salesman was here last week, trying to
get us to buy a security system for our microcomputers.
I'm afraid I wasn't too impressed with what he was
offering, but the matter has been preying on my mind
ever since." She briefly outlined the concerns she had
just gone over in her head.
"What didn't you like about what the salesman was
offering you?" asked David, when she was finished.
"He was selling a password protection system, you
know, where every user has a password that he uses to
get onto the system. But we already have that kind of
protection with the local area network, and I thought
you said it was not very secure."
"That's right," answered the consultant. "The
passwords are kept in a file on the disk. A clever
employee or other user could find the password file
with a little work, and could then use any account he
wished. Passwords are useful. But they are seldom
totally secure."
"Maybe these computers aren't as useful as I
thought they were going to be," said Anne. "An awfully
lot of the information we want to use them for is
sensitive."
"I think I have a solution to the problem,"
answered David. "I suggest that you encrypt the data."
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-2]
What Is Encryption?
"Encrypt it? Isn't that what CIA agents and spies
do -- change text into a secret code or something?
"Yes, the same techniques can be used to protect
confidential data on a computer," David explained.
"All data in a computer are stored in special codes
made up of numbers. The usual code for microcomputers
is called ASCII, which stands for American Standard
Code for Information Interchange. ASCII is a code that
most programmers and computer designers and
manufacturers know. When you encrypt data, you change
the code. That way, no one knows it. The change in
code is based on a password that is combined
mathematically with the ASCII code to produce a new
code."
"That sounds complicated," replied Anne. "I need
something simple to use or no one will do it."
"It's actually quite straightforward," David
assured her. "The computer does all the work, and
it does it relatively fast. The only thing you do is
supply the password."
"Well, I am interested in knowing more," said
Anne. "Will you be able to show me?"
"Let's see," David said, scanning his appointment
book. "I could come Friday morning, about nine a.m.
It will take us about an hour."
"Fine," agreed Anne. "I'll see you then." As she
hung up the phone, she said aloud to herself,
"Encryption. That certainly sounds intriguing."
* * *
A Little Background
On Friday morning Anne Lambert met David Lyons
promptly at nine a.m. in her office. Each inquired
politely how the other was doing and then they got down
to business.
"I had my secretary pick up a couple of books and
articles on encryption at the university library," said
Anne, "and I've been reading something about it. I'm
afraid I don't understand it all, but it has a
fascinating history."
David sifted through the pile of literature on her
desk. There were titles like:
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-3]
Codes, Ciphers, and Computers, by Bruce Bosworth,
Hayden Publishing Co., 1982
"Privacy and Authentication: An Introduction to
Cryptography," by Whitfield Diffie and Martin E.
Hellman, from the Proceedings of the IEEE, 1979.
The Codebreakers by David Kahn, Macmillan Co., 1967.
Most were classics in the field of cryptology, or
modern articles about it. The last one was a good non-
technical introduction, but it was too old to cover
computer cryptography very well.
"For the most part, those are pretty technical,"
said David, who was thinking Anne's secretary had the
rare aptitude of a good reference librarian. "It's no
wonder they were difficult to follow. What did you
learn?"
"Well, that people have been using secret codes at
least since the Egyptian pharoahs. Also, that some
codes are easier to break than others. There are two
coding systems that are used a lot today, the Data
Encryption Standard and Public Key Encryption. They
are considered fairly safe. There are also other good
systems. Finally, I learned that encryption is not
just for espionage. Government and business use it to
protect privacy, and to ensure the security of
financial and other operations."
"All quite accurate," agreed David. "What do you
think about trying it out?"
"I'm willing," replied Anne. "At least I'd like
to see it work."
"I have a program here called The Confidant," said
David, pulling a diskette and manual from his
briefcase. "You can use it to encrypt your files, and
then use it to decrypt them back to their original
form."
Copying the Master Diskette
"The first thing we'll do," continued David, "is
make a copy of the master diskette, for everyday use.
That way, if something happens to the copy, we can
always make another one. If we don't make a copy, but
use the master, any damage to the master puts us out of
commission. And damage can happen pretty easily, as
someone who uses computers very much soon finds out."
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-4]
"I think I've heard that before. What causes
damage to diskettes?" asked Anne.
"Getting dust or finger prints on the diskette,
bending it, or setting a heavy object on top of it.
Sometimes when you walk across a carpet, static
electricity will zap it. Cigarette smoke getting on
the diskette is another danger. There are lots of ways
to destroy one."
"I know how to make a copy," said Anne. "First,
you take your DOS diskette and place it in drive A."
She opened the door of the drive and inserted the
diskette that contained the computer's operating system
software. "Then I place a new diskette in drive B."
David handed her a brand new diskette from a box
on her desk. She slid it into the right-hand drive,
then closed both drive doors. She typed
FORMAT B:/S <RETURN>
and watched while the computer formatted the new
diskette and wrote a copy of the system software on it.
At last the message
Format Another (Y/N)?
appeared on the screen. She pressed <N> to indicate
she was finished. She took the DOS diskette out of
drive A, and placed it in its sheath.
"Now I need the master diskette for The
Confidant," she said, taking it from David. She
inserted it in the A drive and closed the door. She
typed:
COPY A:*.* B: <RETURN>
The screen showed the message
confide.exe
confide.hlp
confide.cry
confide.inv
refcard.doc
tutorial.doc
descript.doc
refer.doc
type.me
9 file(s) copied
When the copying process finished she removed both
diskettes and put them in their envelopes.
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-5]
Meanwhile David had written a label saying:
The Confidant (tm)
Copyright 1983, 1984 by Data Sage
Copy
which he gave to Anne. She affixed it to the diskette
and also placed a silver write-protect tab over the
write-protect notch of the diskette.
"There," she smiled, placing the copy in the A
drive. "Now I'm curious to see how it works."
------------------------------------------------------------
DOING IT
Take time to make a copy of The Confidant on a
formatted diskette, if you haven't already done so. Be sure
to place the original copy in a safe place.
------------------------------------------------------------
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-6]
Using The Confidant
"Type CONFIDE and press the <RETURN> key,"
prompted David.
In response to Anne Lambert's command the screen
of the computer cleared and a "shareware" notice
appeared. As she read the notice, David commented,
"The company that wrote The Confidant distributes it
freely and asks anyone who uses it to contribute ten
dollars towards its support."
"That certainly sounds fair," said Anne. "I'll
see to it that we send the money right away." She
pressed the space bar and a form appeared.
David pointed to the screen. "The boxes on the
right are for telling the computer what you want to
encrypt or decrypt -- 'crypt' for short -- as well as
what you want to do with the text once it has been
processed. There is also a box for your PASSWORD,
which you make up. As I mentioned before, the computer
combines the password with your text to create a secret
code."
"What are these numbers at the bottom of the
screen?" asked Anne. "I suppose they refer to the
function keys on the keyboard." David nodded.
Getting HELP
Anne smiled a little self-consciously. "If at
first you don't know what to do, read the
instructions," she said. "It looks like pressing the
<F9> key will give me some help."
She pressed the <F9> key. Another form appeared on
the screen. This time, it was a list of topics for
which help was available. One by one, Anne pressed the
function keys that gave access to the topics, so that
after about five minutes she had read them all.
"That's a lot of stuff to keep in my head after
just one reading," she said. "But let's see if I
understand what I should do next."
She pressed the <F10> key that took her back to
the main form. The box meant for information about the
SOURCE of the text was highlighted, and the cursor
rested in the box. "I guess I tell it where the text
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-7]
is I want to encrypt," she said after studying the
screen for a moment.
------------------------------------------------------------
DOING IT
Load The Confidant into your computer and start it up
by typing CONFIDE <RETURN>. Then read through the HELP
files by pressing the <F9> key.
------------------------------------------------------------
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-8]
The SOURCE
"Yes. The first thing you must decide," said
David, "is what text you are going to process. The
Confidant can encrypt text, decrypt it, and even just
copy it from one file to another without making any
changes in it. You must tell it where to get the text
from and where you want it to go to. The SOURCE box is
the from part."
"I can either type the text in from the keyboard,
meaning the 'CONSOLE' as it says here, or else use text
that already exists in a file," said Anne.
"Exactly," said David. "Why don't you start by
entering from the keyboard. That will give you a
better 'feel' for the way the program works. Since the
program selects the CONSOLE by default, you just have
to press the <RETURN> key to move to the DESTINATION
field."
The DESTINATION
When Anne pressed the key, the SOURCE box turned
dark and the DESTINATION box lit up. "I assume the
same idea holds for the DESTINATION," said Anne.
"Yes," said David. "Except that you have more
options. You can send the text to a parallel or serial
printer as well as to a file or the console."
"It doesn't make sense to print encrypted text on
the printer," said Anne. "Who is going to read it?"
"Exactly," replied David. "The printer is usually
chosen as DESTINATION only when you are decrypting
text."
"I'd like to try the program out a little," said
Anne. "If I let the DESTINATION be the CONSOLE too,
will I be able to see what I am encrypting?"
"Yes," replied David. "Ordinarily, you would want
to save encrypted text in a disk file so you can get it
back again later. Most often you use the console as
the destination when you want to look at decrypted text
on the screen. But while you're getting used to The
Confidant it would be a good idea to see what encrypted
text looks like. An easy way to do that is by choosing
the CONSOLE as the DESTINATION."
Anne pressed the <RETURN> key, and the computer
highlighted the PASSWORD box. "You said the password
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-9]
is what makes the data secure," said Anne. "But you
also said that password protection systems are usually
not secure, at least on microcomputers. I'm a little
confused."
"What we normally mean when we say 'password
security system' is that a user must enter a password
before he or she can use the computer, or a certain
file on the computer. The data in the file are not
changed. The problem is, a list of passwords must be
kept by the computer, and very often that list is open
to inspection by skilled programmers. Even if someone
can't read the password list he can often get around
the software that is responsible for security. But
encryption changes the data in the file, so that even
if someone can look at the file he won't understand
what is in it."
Choosing a PASSWORD
"How do I decide what password to use?" asked
Anne.
"You have to make it up," said David. "But some
passwords are better than others."
Anne nodded for him to continue.
"Certain passwords are obvious to someone who
knows you very well. They include names and birthdates
of family members or close friends, personal
characteristics or hobbies for which you are known, and
license plate or social security numbers. A smart
person will try those first if he wants to decrypt your
text."
"I probably shouldn't use 'rootbeer' or 'soda
pop' then," said Anne, showing she understood.
"On the other hand," said David, "the password
must be something you will remember. Or else you must
write it down and keep it in a secure place. If you
forget your password, you are in the same situation as
anyone else who wants to decrypt your text -- out of
luck. By the way, the password doesn't have to be a
word; it can be a phrase, or nonsense, or a random
number. But you should try to make it as close to
sixteen characters long as you can, because longer
passwords are more secure."
Anne pondered a minute. Then she typed in the
words:
A PENNY SAVED
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-10]
"Does it matter whether it is capital or lower
case letters?" she asked. David shook his head no.
"What if I enter more than sixteen characters into
the PASSWORD box?" Anne persisted.
"Then the first fifteen characters of your
password will be the first fifteen characters you
entered, and the last character of your password will
be the last character you entered," answered David.
Hiding the PASSWORD
"Now here is a useful trick," he added. "See the
bottom of the screen, where it says:
F6 Hide
Press the <F6> key and watch what happens."
As Anne pressed the key, the SOURCE, DESTINATION,
and PASSWORD fields suddenly went blank.
"That key hides the password and file information,
so if someone else is looking over your shoulder they
cannot discover your password or the files you are
using. You can even press the Hide key before you
enter your password or the file names. Then the
characters you type won't appear on the screen, so that
no one can see them as you enter them."
Anne pressed the <F6> key again, and the
information reappeared in the boxes.
Starting Encryption
"Now, how do I get it to actually encrypt
something?" Anne asked. "I gather from the list of
function keys at the bottom of the screen that I just
press the <F1> key."
"That's right," David acknowledged.
Anne pressed the <F1> key. The form she had just
filled out disappeared and a new one was displayed on
the screen. It had two large rectangular boxes
stretching across the screen. The top box was labeled
"Source" and the bottom one "Destination."
"Now, just start typing something," said David.
Anne typed:
Benjamin Franklin became frugal after his brother
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-11]
The text appeared in the box labeled "Source."
After the word "brother" she pressed the <RETURN> key.
In the "Destination" box little chunks of nonsense text
started to appear. "My goodness, so that is what
encrypted text looks like," she exclaimed.
When the encrypted text stopped appearing she
typed in the second line:
made fun of him for spending money on a tin whistle.
Again, when she pressed <RETURN>, the encrypted
text appeared in the "Destination" box.
"I think I understand," Anne said. "I type my
text in English. The computer transforms it into
apparent nonsense and then prints it back out for me to
read."
"That's right," said David.
"What does it mean at the bottom of the screen
when it says 'Block being processed: 14 of ???'?"
"The computer encodes the data in chunks that are
eight characters long," explained David. "Each chunk
is called a block. The Confidant tells you how many
blocks it has processed so you will be aware at all
times of the status of the encryption."
"To stop, I just press the <F10> key, is that
right?" said Anne. She touched the key and a message
appeared at the bottom of the screen:
The Confidant finished...Press any key to return to
Main Menu.
Anne pressed the space bar, and the familiar form
where she entered her password returned.
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-12]
------------------------------------------------------------
DOING IT
Make up some text of your own and type it into The
Confidant so you can see how The Confidant works. Start by
making up a password -- Anne Lambert's password, A PENNY
SAVED, is useful if another one doesn't come to mind. Then
press <F1> and type your text into the "Source" box.
At the end of each line, remember to press the <RETURN>
key and wait until the line is processed before you resume
typing. If you want a sample of text to try out, here is
one about passwords, or "keys," from "Guidelines for
Implementing and Using the NBS Data Encryption Standard,"
Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 74,
available from the U.S. Government Printing Office.
KEY MANAGEMENT
Management of the cryptographic keys used to protect
data is of utmost importance to the security of the data...
A new key should be generated and used when any
event occurs that may have compromised the existing key. A
new key should also be generated and used periodically in
the event that an undetected compromise has occurred...
Unencrypted keys must always be physically protected
to prevent unauthorized individuals from gaining knowledge
of their values...
------------------------------------------------------------
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-13]
Fixing Mistakes
"The next thing is to try a file as the
DESTINATION," recommended David. "Move to the
DESTINATION box by pressing the <RETURN> key twice."
Anne did so. "Now I just type the name of my file
over the top of the word CONSOLE," she said.
"Right," agreed David. "As you recall, a file
description has three parts: the drive, the file name,
and the file extension."
"Yes," said Anne. "The drive is a single letter
followed by a colon. The file name is one to eight
characters. The extension is a period followed by one
to three characters. Only I don't have to use an
extension if I don't want to. And I only have to type
the drive name if I want to use a drive that is not the
'default' drive."
She typed in:
B:FIZLE.TXT
"Oh," she smiled. "That should be FIZZLE. Now
you can see why I would never make it as a secretary.
I can't type."
"A perfect opportunity to point out the use of
some other keys on the keyboard," responded David. "I
suggest you move your cursor beneath the Z in FIZLE and
then press the <INS> key on the keyboard. It will
switch you into "insert mode" so you can insert
characters into the text. All you need to do is type
in a second 'Z'."
"It works," said Anne as she did it. "Also, I
noticed that the cursor changed size when I pressed the
<INS> key."
"To let you know you are in insert mode. Press
<INS> again to switch back into regular mode."
She did. "What other keys have special functions?"
she asked.
"All the keys do what the labels on them say they
do," said David. "The <DEL> key deletes the character
at the cursor position, the <HOME> key takes you to the
start of your text or your form, and so forth."
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-14]
"Now that I have the right file name, I can try
encryption again," said Anne. "I'll use the same
password as before."
She pressed the <F1> key and the screen changed.
This time there was only one rectangular box, the one
marked "Source." Anne typed in:
Franklin won his way into American hearts <RETURN>
with his aphorisms in Poor Richard's Almanac. <RETURN>
When she pressed <RETURN> at the end of each line,
no text appeared at the bottom of the screen. But she
knew the program was working because it displayed the
block number it was processing. When the numbers
stopped incrementing, she pressed the <F10> key to end.
Then she pressed it again to return to the main menu.
"How do I know it encrypted my text?" Anne asked.
"Can I see it?"
"Flipping" SOURCE and DESTINATION
"Certainly," said David. "First, I'm going to
show you a nice little convenience called the 'Flip'
key. In order to see the file you just created, you
would normally have to type its name in the SOURCE box
and the word CONSOLE in the DESTINATION box. But the
flip key does that for you, by just switching the
SOURCE and the DESTINATION around!"
He reached in front of Anne and pressed the <F5>
key so she could see what he meant. The words in the
SOURCE and DESTINATION boxes did change places.
Copying
"Now," continued David, "press the Copy key, <F4>,
to look at what is in your file. The Copy key takes a
copy of whatever is in the SOURCE and puts it into the
DESTINATION. So it will take a copy of FIZZLE.TXT and
show it on the console so you can see it."
The screen cleared as Anne pressed the <F4> key.
The familiar screen with the rectangular boxes
returned, but with only the bottom box this time. In
that box, the same kind of nonsense appeared that she
had seen before. The line at the bottom of the screen
showed how many blocks had been copied. When the
program was finished, the prompt telling her how to get
back to the main menu appeared, so she pressed the
space bar and was back at the first form.
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-15]
"To get back my original text --" Anne began.
"By the way," David interrupted, "the original
text is called 'plain text' and the encrypted text is
called 'cipher text.'"
"To get back my plain text," continued Anne, "I
don't have to change anything on the screen now. I
just press the key marked DES Decipher and it will
decipher it?"
"That's right," agreed David, watching as she
pressed the <F2> key.
Again, the bottom rectangular box appeared, just
as when Anne used the copy function. But this time,
the text was plain text. No more nonsense.
When she got back to the main menu screen, Anne
pressed the <RETURN> key to highlight the DESTINATION
box. "This time, I'm going to decrypt the cipher text
into a file, so I can edit it with my word-processing
software," she declared.
She typed the file name:
FLAT.TXT
over the word CONSOLE, then pressed the <F2> key again,
to decrypt the cipher text in FIZZLE.TXT.
When the decryption finished, she left The
Confidant by pressing the <F10> key several times.
Then she used her word-processing software to look at
FLAT.TXT.
Satisfied that the text looked just as she
expected, she typed in some more sentences about
Franklin. She saved them and exited back to the
operating system.
"Now, I can encrypt this text," she said, typing
in the command CONFIDE and pressing the <RETURN> key.
"Yes," said David. "Just remember that a word-
processing program may insert some non-alphabetic
characters into your text file. When The Confidant
decrypts an encrypted version of such a text file onto
your console, the text may not look as it did when you
typed it in. To view it the way you typed it in, you
should decrypt the text to a file, then examine that
file using the same word-processing program you used to
create the original file."
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-16]
Anne entered the file name FLAT.TXT into the
SOURCE box. She left the DESTINATION box as it was with
the word CONSOLE, and used her old password again.
------------------------------------------------------------
DOING IT
Practice entering encrypted text into a file, then
"flipping" the SOURCE and DESTINATION and looking at it.
Look at it with both the COPY and the DECRYPT options.
Here is some text to try:
Active wiretapping means that someone intercepts your
message while you are transmitting it. He changes it
quickly, then sends it on. The receiver never suspects that
the message he receives from you is not the one you sent.
Encryption helps make active wiretapping almost impossible.
------------------------------------------------------------
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-17]
Privacy
"Are you going to try out the Privacy
function?" David inquired.
"I wanted to ask about that." said Anne. "What
does it do, anyway?"
"Try it," suggested David.
She pressed the <F3> key. The destination box
filled up rapidly with nonsensical cipher text.
"It looks the same as when I used the DES Encipher
key," exclaimed Anne. "Only it's considerably faster."
"Precisely," said David. "Most people would never
be able to tell that it was not produced by the DES
algorithm, which is an extremely safe way of encoding
data. A trained cryptologist would be able to tell the
difference, after several hours of study. And he
might be able to break the Privacy code. As far as I
know, he would not be able to break the DES code."
"So this is not as safe," said Anne.
"No," said David. "But it is still very safe.
The vast majority of people will never figure out what
it produces. It is useful for encoding data that don't
have to be kept extremely secret, but that you don't
want everyone to see. That is probably 98% of the
stuff you do. So you save time by using the PRIVACY
code when you don't need the extreme protection offered
by DES."
------------------------------------------------------------
DOING IT
Try out PRIVACY. Notice how much faster it is than the
DES option. An extra use of PRIVACY is for
superencipherment, or encrypting your data twice, making it
extra hard to decode.
Use PRIVACY to encrypt a file you have Enciphered with
DES. Then decrypt it, using first Privacy, then DES
Decipher. You must decrypt in the REVERSE order you
encrypted, or decryption won't work.
------------------------------------------------------------
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-18]
Directory and Erase SOURCE
"I noted there are function keys for 'Directory'
and 'Erase SOURCE'," said Anne. "What do those keys
do?"
"As you probably guessed," said David, "the <F7>
or Directory key lists the files you have, in case you
forget the name of a file or want to check what you
have done so far. It will find just the file whose
name is in the SOURCE box, or if the SOURCE box is
empty or has the word CONSOLE in it, it will list all
the files on the default disk. The <F8> or Erase
SOURCE key erases the file whose name appears in the
SOURCE box."
"That is pretty much what I assumed," Anne said.
"I should mention that both functions allow you to
use so-called 'wildcard' characters," said David.
"That means if you have several files with similar
names, you can refer to all of them with just one
name."
"I think I know about wildcards," replied Anne.
"If I have three files, FIZZLE1, FIZZLE2, and FIZZLE3,
and I want to see a directory for all of them, I type
in
FIZZLE?
in the SOURCE box. The question mark on the end tells
the computer to find every file that starts with FIZZLE
and has any other character in the position where I put
the question mark. Then I press the <F7> key."
"And an asterisk or 'star' can be used too," added
David, "to mean 'all the positions in the file
description from here to the end.' For example, if you
want to erase all the files that start with 'FI' as the
first two letters, and end with an extension of TXT,
you would type
FI*.TXT
in the SOURCE box and press the <F8> key.
Using The Confidant to Transmit Data Over the Telephone
"I think I understand," Anne said, "Now, I want
to try --"
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-19]
At that moment two heads poked through the
doorway into Anne's office. One was Barry Crocker, the
director of the company's cafeteria, who was cherished
by everyone for his superb pastries. The other was J.
Atwood Powers, president of Icey Beverage Co.
"Hey Doc!" Crocker hollered out to David. "It
came to me the other day that Icey is really a software
firm."
The other three people in the room stared at him,
puzzled.
"Yeah, you know, our wares are soft drinks, get
it? Soft wares." He laughed boisterously and waved
his hand as he left the office, leaving the others
chuckling.
"I was hoping to see you," Powers addressed David.
"Anne told me you were bringing some encryption
software. Could it be used to send data over the
telephone?"
"What do you have in mind?" asked David.
"My wife and I are flying to Finland tomorrow,
ostensibly for a vacation. They have wonderful lakes,
and their famous saunas, you know. But the real reason
for the visit is that our scouts have discovered a
recipe for a natural soft drink that the Finns drink
during their May Day celebrations. I intend to test it
out, get the recipe, and bring it back to see if we
want to start bottling it."
"Where does encryption fit in?" asked David.
"You know how fierce the competition is in the
soft drink bottling industry. I'm sure that other
companies will be keeping an eye open to find out my
plans and even to obtain a copy of the formula if
possible."
"So you want to encrypt the formula in order to
make it incomprehensible to them," said David.
"Exactly."
"But you mentioned something about the telephone,"
said Anne.
"Laura and I are going to be away for three
weeks," said Powers. "I thought it would speed things
up considerably if I could send the recipe over the
telephone. I don't want to sound alarmist, but it is a
well-known fact that some companies will gladly stoop
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-20]
to a bit of industrial espionage if needed. And just
in case, I'd rather play safe with something as
important as the formula for a new soft drink."
"I don't see that it will create any problem at
all," said the consultant. "You can take along a
portable computer that is compatible with the ones you
use here. Add a modem to that, some communications and
word-processing software, and The Confidant and you
should have no fear."
"Can you arrange the necessary equipment and
software?"
"Sure. But you'll need some time to get
acquainted with them. When do you leave?" asked David.
"Not until evening. But I have a full schedule.
The only time open is early morning. Can you meet me
here at six a.m.?"
David groaned. "And on a Saturday, too."
"I'll arrange for us to have breakfast while we're
at it. Can you be here too, Anne? You're the obvious
person to handle the transmission on this end."
"No problem," she said. "I'll do anything for
some of Barry's pastries."
"I'm going home for some sleep," kidded David.
"Even if it is only ten in the morning now," he
laughed. "See you in the morning," he said as he left.
Atwood Powers and Anne Lambert laughed too as they
went back to their other work.
* * *
David was unloading a portable computer and a
second copy of The Confidant from his car when Anne
Lambert drove up in the morning.
"Looks like Woody is already here," she said,
pointing to another car in the lot. "Hope Barry put
together something nice for us."
Inside, they found Powers reading through the User
Guide for The Confidant, and trying it out on Anne's
computer.
"There's really nothing to this," he said. "A
child could do it once he understood the basic idea.
How about if we run through the procedure we will use
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-21]
to encrypt and transfer the soft drink formula. I
don't want to leave it anything to chance."
"Good idea," agreed David. "I think I'll have you
set up this computer and modem in your office, Woody.
Then you can go through the steps of entering the
formula, encrypting it, and sending it from there.
Anne can receive it from here, and decrypt it."
In his office, Powers plugged in the portable
computer, attached the modem cables, and switched it
on. Then he inserted his word-processing diskette in
the A drive and a blank, formatted diskette in the B
drive.
"I'll just type in a make-believe formula," he
said to David and Anne, who had followed him to his
office. In a few moments, he had created a reasonable
looking formula. "Maybe we should 'leak' this to our
competitors," he laughed. "It probably tastes awful."
Powers saved the text on the diskette in his B:
drive. "Alright," he said. "To encrypt this, I remove
my word-processing software and replace it with The
Confidant, right?"
Both David and Anne nodded.
"Then I type:
CONFIDE
and press <RETURN>. Now what?"
"Type the name of the file containing the
formula into the SOURCE box," said David.
Powers typed:
B:FORMULA.TXT
and pressed <RETURN>.
"Choose a name for the DESTINATION," Anne prompted.
Powers typed in:
B:FORMULA.CRY <RETURN>
"And then I make up a password," he said, pausing.
"Uh, David, I hope you won't feel badly. But the fewer
people who know the password for the new formula, the
better. Will you mind if I just show Anne. You can
stand behind the computer while I type it in."
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-22]
David moved back. Anne bent forward to view the
password used by Powers. When she was sure she
remembered it, she nodded. Powers pressed the <F6> key
and the password disappeared.
"Alright David," he said. "It's all clear now."
"I can tell you have the right idea about
security," said David. "The Confidant cannot do it
all. Protecting your password is the best bet."
Powers pressed the <F1> key to encrypt his
formula. When the job was finished, he pressed the
<F5> key to "flip" the SOURCE and DESTINATION. Then he
pressed <F2> to look at the decrypted version. Just to
make sure, he finished up by pressing <F4> to look at a
copy of the encrypted file. As he expected, it was
nonsensical cipher text.
"Now," said Powers, "the next step is to transmit
it to Anne's computer. Then she can decrypt it." He
removed The Confidant from his diskette drive and
replaced it with some file transfer and communications
software that was capable of sending binary files.
"Anne, make sure your machine is ready to receive, will
you?"
Anne left the room. Powers lifted the receiver of
his phone and dialed her number. "All set?" he asked
when she answered.
"Okay," she replied.
Powers placed the receiver into his modem. Then
he used the telecommunications software to transfer
B:FORMULA.CRY to Anne's machine.
"All done," he said a few minutes later. "Now we
shall see how successful this was."
Atwood Powers and David Lyons marched into Anne
Lambert's office. She had already disconnected her
modem and replaced the communications software with The
Confidant.
As she typed in the name of the source file and
the password, hidden by the <F6> key, everyone waited
expectantly.
"Here we go," she said, pressing <F2> to decrypt.
A little shout of "Hurrah" went up from all three
watchers as The Confidant displayed the correct
decrypted text on the screen.
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-23]
"I think we are going to have a very profitable
vacation," said Powers.
"Hey Doc," somebody said from behind the trio.
"I'm in the software business too, you know."
Everyone turned to look at Barry Crocker.
"Yeah," he continued. "My wares are very soft."
And he handed them a tray of fresh-baked pastries.
* * *
------------------------------------------------------------
DOING IT
By now, you should be ready for your graduation
exercise. Actually, it's a graduation gift. You have
earned a look at the secret formula that Atwood and Laura
Powers discovered in Finland. It is still in the original
form he sent back to Anne Lambert.
Powers didn't take time to convert its measurements for
production use by his company. It is still suitable for
homemade use. So if you want a head start on Icey, you
might make up a batch of your own.
If you have followed along with David Lyons, Anne
Lambert, and Atwood Powers, you should know how to decrypt
the formula. We will simply tell you that the file is named
CONFIDE.CRY. And the password is: FINNISH MAY DAY.
------------------------------------------------------------
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-24]
INDEX to the TUTORIAL
A
ASCII (code), 3
B
Block, 12, 15
C
Case, upper/lower in PASSWORD, 11
Cipher text, 16
Communications software to transmit encrypted text, 21, 23
CONSOLE, 9
Copying the SOURCE to the DESTINATION, 15
Cryptology, 4
Cursor, moving the, 14
D
Data Encryption Standard (DES) procedure, 4, 18
Deciphering, using DES procedure from a file, 16
Deleting text or characters, 14
DESTINATION of cipher text in encryption, 9, 22
of plain text in decryption, 15ff
of copied text, 15
Directory of existing files, 19
Diskette, copying and care of, 4
Disk drive, placing text on other than default, 14
Display (form), main, 7
encryption, 11,, 15
E
Enciphering using DES procedure, to the CONSOLE, 11
to a file, 14
Encryption, 3, 11
Ending encryption, 12
Erasing the SOURCE file, 19
F
File description, 14, 19
Flipping the SOURCE and DESTINATION names, 15
H
HELP displays, 7
Hiding the PASSWORD on the display, 11
I
Inserting text or characters, 14
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-25]
P
Password, management, 13, 23
as used in encryption, 3, 7
PASSWORD for The Confidant, 9, 10
Password protection system, insecure, 2, 10
Plain text, 16
Privacy encryption procedure, 18
Protection of information, 1
S
SOURCE of plain text for encryption, 9, 11, 22
of cipher text for decryption, 15ff
of copied text, 15
as specifier for Directory search, 19
Starting encryption, 11
T
Transmission of encrypted information, 20f, 23
W
Wildcard characters in file descriptions, 19
Word-processing software changes appearance of text, 16
[The Confidant Tutorial (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage - page T-26]
Directory of PC-SIG Library Disk #0230
Volume in drive A has no label
Directory of A:\
CONFIDE CRY 1600 8-18-84 11:31a
CONFIDE EXE 35200 8-24-84 4:47p
CONFIDE HLP 7426 8-18-84 12:20p
CONFIDE INV 2432 8-24-84 5:20p
CRC TXT 982 11-16-84 7:10a
CRCK4 COM 1536 10-21-82 7:54p
DESCRIPT DOC 24091 8-21-84 11:34a
REFCARD DOC 4098 8-18-84 7:49a
REFER DOC 59903 8-18-84 7:48a
TUTORIAL DOC 69139 8-21-84 10:51a
TYPE ME 882 8-18-84 12:19p
11 file(s) 207289 bytes
109568 bytes free