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* * * * * * * *************** * *************** * * * * * * * * * * 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]