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What is the difference between Kryptel and Silver Key?
Kryptel was designed for safe file storage, and Silver Key
for safe file transfer. Both are based on the same crypto components
and provide the same encryption strength, but the different
design goals lead to several major differences in implementation.
- Kryptel
- Kryptel includes additional code for erasing sensitive
data and all possible memory traces as soon as the data
are no more required.
- Silver Key
- Silver Key assumes that your computer is a safe place, so
it does not care much about data traces in memory. Silver Key
provides very high security when it is used
for sending files over the Interner, but it is probably not the
best choice for a general-purpose encryption tool.
- Kryptel
- Kryptel container can be easily modified; you can
add or remove files.
- Silver Key
- Silver Key parcel cannot be modified, nor
can you view its contents.
- Kryptel
- If you send a Kryptel file to
another person, the recipient must have Kryptel installed
in order to access the data.
- Silver Key
- Silver Key parcel includes the decryptor program as part
of the file, so the recipient does not need additional software
to decrypt it. In addition, Silver Key lets you create rather
sophisticated decryption scenarios - you can even include the
uninstaller!
In short -
If you want to encrypt a file to keep it safe - use Kryptel.
If you want to send a file securely over the Internet - Silver Key is the best tool
for it.
Can your program lock my notebook
so no thief could use it?
No program can protect your
computer. You can protect your data, that’s all.
Can I encrypt my e-mail?
You can encrypt a file or a text message. How will
you send the resulting Silver Key parcel is up to you - you can
attach it to an e-mail message, or you can store it on a diskette and
send it with a pigeon. Silver Key does not rely on a specific delivery
method.
Does your software use public key encryption?
No, our software uses secret-key encryption.
Many people don't really need public-key encryption, they just
think it is 'better'. In fact, the opposite is true: secret key algorithms are
faster and more reliable. If you are new to encryption software, please read our
Quick Intro to Encryption -
it will give you an idea what is what.
Can your program make my file
invisible (impossible to delete, etc.)?
No. There are several programs on
the market that offer such capabilities, but we don't think it is a good idea.
The level of protection gained by such methods is very low and simply gives you a false
sense of security. If you really need to restrict access to your files, consider
using Windows NT/2000/XP security. Just remember that no access restriction system
can protect your data reliably; the only way to provide real security is to use strong
encryption.
Exactly how strong are these
ciphers?
It is impossible to measure cipher
strength. Generally speaking, a cipher is strong until somebody proves it is
weak, so it is mostly a matter of trust. However all the ciphers we provide got
a lot of attention from cryptanalysts, and no practical weaknesses were
discovered. Because of this all of the supported ciphers (with exception of
DES) are considered very strong.
Please note that DES cannot be
trusted because of its very short (56 bits) key. It is still well suited for
home use unless your children are interested in cryptography.
Which cipher is the strongest one?
Nobody knows for certain. From the practical
point of view any of them except DES is a good choice.
Rijndael was adopted recently as Advanced
Encryption Standard (AES). It is a very reliable and
fast cipher; if you are unsure what to use - use AES
Serpent and Twofish are other AES finalists,
and like all AES candidates they were thoroughly investigated
for possible weakness.
Blowfish is known for some time already
and is used by many programs.
Triple-DES is the oldest cipher, but this is
probably an advantage. There is no other cipher researched
this well.
Blowfish uses the longest key.
Does this mean it is the strongest cipher?
It might, and again, it might not. The cipher
strength mainly depends on the general cipher design, not
on the key length. The key length must be long enough
to make brute keysearch impossible, that's all. As far as the
key length is sufficient - say, 128 bits - increasing the length
does not add to the cipher strength.
Do encrypted files contain my
password in some form?
No. This is the reason why the
program cannot determine why a decryption operation has failed.
How many characters of a password
are really used?
All password characters are significant;
Kryptel uses the HAVAL hash function to convert them to an internally used
binary key. The exact algorithm depends on the cipher – for example, AES
directly uses a HAVAL value, while Blowfish concatenates a 256-bit
HAVAL result with the actual password characters.
Silver Key uses MD5 hash function to convert a
password to the corresponding 128-bit key.
How long should a password be?
Say, 40 characters and more should
provide a decent level of security. If you use a shorter password, there is a
risk that the password will be brute-forced. The program Help contains
a more detailed discussion.
What information can be obtained
from encrypted file?
If the file has been encrypted
with a binary key, then it contains the key ID, from which an adversary can
know the time when the key (not the encrypted file) has been created. No
specific information is present if a password or a raw key has been used.
Please remember that Silver Key Description
text is not encrypted. All other parcel data - including even
the color of the custom background - is encrypted and cannot be
acceessed without knowing the right password.
Why do you keep the name of the
used cipher in the open? Doesn't it weaken the protection?
It doesn’t. Any serious cipher is
designed with the assumption that an adversary knows all about the cipher and
its implementation. If security is based on hiding the cipher algorithm, it is
a clear sign of very weak security. There are a lot of examples; the
last one is the story about breaking the DVD protection (DeCSS program).
Given an encrypted file, can the
computer which has been used for producing it be traced?
No, the program uses or stores no
system-specific information.
Kryptel creates strange files...
If you turn on the option 'Show hidden files' in your file
manager, you might see strange files in the directory where encryption occurs
with names looking like 8AB59B31820F0000-6F060000-4D75603B.
Those files are produced by the shredder. File shredding is
a lengthy process, and in order to avoid name conflicts, the shredder
renames the files in the shredding queue before processing. The strange names
you see in the directory list are temporary names of the files being shredded.
Simply ignore them; they will disappear when the shredder finishes processing.
How can I prevent other users from using Kryptel (Silver Key)?
Log in as administrator and open the Crypto Settings panel. Open the User Interface group and turn on the
Advanced Settings option. Click the Access Control parameter and select Edit List
in the drop-down list. Check the users that are allowed to use Kryptel and press OK.
This feature is not available if you run Windows 95/98/ME.
How can I remove the Kryptel (Silver Key) icon from the desktop?
How can I change the location of the Kryptel (Silver Key) program group?
If the access control system is active (see the question
How can I prevent other users from using Kryptel (Silver Key)?)
Kryptel (Silver Key) creates its desktop icon and program group dynamically.
This means you cannot delete the desktop icon or move the program
group manually because the program will re-create it next time the system starts.
In order to remove the Kryptel or Silver Key desktop icon or move the Kryptel (Silver Key) program group
open the Crypto Settings panel and select the Kryptel (Silver Key) page.
Open the Integration group and select the desired options.
You can specify a multi-level program group name - just separate the subgroups with
the backslash character. For example, if you want to move the Kryptel group
to Programs->Security->Kryptel, enter Security\Kryptel.
How can I change the encrypted file icon?
We don't think there is much sense in changing the associated icon (this trick won't
fool a serious opponent), but yes, you can do that.
Open the Windows Explorer and select the Tools / Folder Options command.
Switch to the File Types pane and select the edc (or ebk) extension.
Press the Advanced button and change the icon to anything you wish (see
screenshot).
I am upgrading to Kryptel 5.0... Should I decrypt my files?
No, you will have no problem decrypting older files with Kryptel 5.0 and higher.
We recommend decrypting filesets, not ordinary encrypted files.
Kryptel 5.x uses a different fileset definition format and does not recognize older filesets so
we recommend decrypting all filesets before installing Kryptel 5.x. However this is not a
requirement. If you have installed Kryptel 5.x and have some older filesets encrypted,
you cannot decrypt it in a single click using the Tray Utility 'Decrypt fileset'
command, but you can open and decrypt the fileset .edc file with the Kryptel Browser.
Is there a limit on the file size or on the number of encrypted files?
Neither Kryptel nor Silver Key have any file size limit, but Windows does. The resulting file cannot be
larger than 4Gb if your system is Windows 95, 98, or ME. The same restriction applies for FAT32-formatted
Windows 2000/XP volumes. Additionally, Silver Key allows you to create an encrypted file of any size,
but Windows will not run a too large executable.
There is a limit on the number of encrypted files depending on your system configuration.
You might get an error message if you try to place several millions files in a single
container. However this number is so unrealistically large that for all practical purposes
it is the same as 'no limit'.
What about encryption speed?
This heavily depends on the number of files because the file open operation may take considerable time.
For example, encrypting a 10Mb file will take a second or two, while the time, required to encrypt 10,000
1kb files, will probably be close to several minutes. This is a Windows limitation; if you copy the files
with the Windows Explorer, you will see exactly the same picture.
In general, our products work very fast. The encryption takes almost the same time as
simply copying the files to another directory.
Is it safe to buy online?
Buying
from a reputable company is generally safe. Our orders are processed by
Atlantic Coast of America Corp. (SWREG).
They process orders for many other sofware products and have quite a good
reputation.
If you are still unconvinced, please consider ordering by mail or phone (toll-free).
My card keeps being rejected...
We don't process payments and never see
any card or transaction details.
SWREG FAQ
contains a discussion of typical reasons for transaction failure.
I don't have a credit card...
You can pay by check or wire transfer.
Please start your order as if paying by credit card - on the
page you enter your name and address select "By check or wire"
and follow the instructions on the next screen.
Do you accept Purchase Orders?
Sorry, we don't accept Purchase Orders.
However we can issue an onscreen Pro-Forma invoice for
you to print out. To do this please order online as if by credit card
and on the page you enter your name and address click the "By Pro-Forma Invoice"
button. You can then print out the next screen which also gives you instructions how to pay.
I have not received my license key.
The most common reason is a typing error in
your e-mail address. Please
contact us
and we will fix the problem.
Please keep in mind that order verification may take
24-48 hours.
How can I enter my license key?
Double-click the Kryptel or Silver Key desktop icon to run the Control Center (you can also run it
pressing Start / Programs / Kryptel / Control Center).
Open the Program Settings group and select the Enter license codes item.
If we are sending encrypted Silver Key files to our clients,
how many licenses do we need?
If you produce encrypted files on a single computer,
you need a single-user license only. Decrypting a Silver Key parcel
does not require a license, so the number of parcel recipients
does not matter.
Are upgrades free for registered users?
YES, upgrades are free! And we intend to keep
them free in the future!
I have not received my package yet...
Our programs are distributed in electronic form only. In order to install a program please go to the
download page and click the
appropriate download link. When the distribution file is downloaded, run it to complete the installation
process.
The newly installed program is fully functional, but limited to 30-day trial. In order to remove the time
limitation, follow the procedure described in your registration letter.
I can't decrypt my file. How can I
restore my data?
Is there any backdoor?
I forgot my password. You probably have a universal key...
Sorry, no. No backdoor, no master
key, nothing of that kind. It is not technically possible to provide a master
key without completely compromising security. Anybody with access to your
computer could easily replace the public part of our master key with his own master
key, and get full access to your data.
Try to recall your password; this is the only way to get your
data back. Remember that password characters are case-sensitive. Punctuations
marks are also significant - check your password carefully, maybe you
missed a comma or a period.
In general, use passwords
carefully. They are hard to remember, they can be easily stolen with a Trojan
program or by intercepting electromagnetic emittance of your computer, and they
are very inconvenient to use. Consider using binary keys where possible.
The trial period has expired and
I can't decrypt my files now. Should I purchase the program to get my files back?
No, you need not. You can decrypt even with an expired trial version.
Only the encryption function is disabled when the trial period is over.
There must be some other reason, a wrong password
in the first place. If you are sure the password is right and still
cannot decrypt the file, please
contact us.
Note that we cannot recover a lost password
nor will we try to recover it.
I cannot encrypt (decrypt) files on CD-RW.
You cannot write directly to CD-RW; you must use a
specialized program like Easy CD Creator or Nero Burning
because CD-RW is not a read-write device really - it
is a read-only device like CD-R except it can be erased.
You can encrypt or decrypt file on CD-R or CD-RW as long as
you don't try to place the resulting file on the same device.
Drag-and-drop or the Explorer right-click menu won't work there; right-click
the files, drag them to your hard drive holding the right button, and select
Encrypt Here.
You can also use the Kryptel browser (Silver Key shell).
Silver Key files don't decrypt on the receiving end...
My mail server rejects emails with Silver Key attachments...
MS Outlook blocks Silver Key attachments...
Some Internet Service Providers block executable attachments
as a measure against spreading of virus and trojan programs. Unfortunately,
Silver Key self-decrypting parcels are also executables, so depending on your
(and the recipient's) ISP policy you may have a problem sending them.
If the recipient cannot receive parcels from you, or receives
them corrupted, the chances are the problem is a by-product of virus protection.
The best way to solve it is to send non-executable parcels, however your corresondent
should install the free Silver Key Extractor.
If that is not possible, try to use any archiver (WinZip or a similar program)
to place the file into an archive. The recipient will have to unzip
the executable file and run it as usual.
If you are using the command-line interface, a typical error is a missed /x switch. For example, the command
SkCmd /e parcel.exe ...
will create a non-executable parcel because there is no /x switch, but the output file
will have the .exe extension anyway. An attempt to run it will result in a system error message.
Windows Explorer shows such a parcel with the generic icon instead of the Silver Key parcel icon.
Explorer crashed after upgrading to Kryptel 5.0...
This error is caused by a bug in the Kryptel 4.x uninstaller (it does not restart the system
leaving the uninstall process incomplete). Simply restart your system to finish Kryptel 4.x uninstall.
Encrypt (Backup) command displays unexpected dialogs...
Sometimes you might observe a strange behavior of the Kryptel Encrypt
or Backup command. It displays unexpected dialogs, asks irrelevant questions,
and in general does not do what you expect it to do from reading the
program documentation.
The answer is simple: it is not a Kryptel command
(read more...).
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