PC World 2001 June/PCWorld_2001-06_cd.bin/Software/TemaCD/emf/MF.DOC

Text File | 2000-11-01 | 37KB | 731 lines

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    * Welcome to Encrypted Magic Folders (EMF)

    Version 00.09.1

    Encrypted Magic Folders (EMF) provides automated & transparent
    encryption.  Select folders whose files you want encrypted and EMF
    not only makes those folders and files completely invisible to others
    but decrypts and encrypts the files automatically and transparently
    as you use them.  You won't even know you're using encrypted files as
    EMF does all the work behind the scenes.

    If you wish you can establish five different accounts so everyone
    using your computer can create their own invisible folders that only
    they have access to.

    If you share your computer or own a laptop you need EMF.  Use it to
    protect files you don't want others to delete, modify, view, or use.
    If you have a laptop use it to protect files you wouldn't want others
    to get if, heaven forbid, your laptop gets stolen.  Keep your
    important files safe.  Protect them with EMF.

    * Why Encryption?

    EMF has a smaller brother called Magic Folders that does everything
    EMF does except encrypt the files in your hidden folders.  (In
    addition Magic Folder's registration fee is half that of EMF)  Do you
    need the extra protection encryption provides?  It depends.  Magic
    Folders does a good job of hiding your folders but the data remains
    on your disk in its original format.  Specialized disk editing
    software that bypasses the operating system can still find your files
    and data.  In addition, if someone were able to uninstall or disable
    Magic Folders then your hidden folders would become visible.

    Encryption protects against this.  Because the files in your
    encrypted folders are encrypted they're protected even if someone
    uses a disk editing program or defeats EMF.

    * How Secure is it?

    EMF's encryption offers good protection and excellent speed.  It
    hasn't been broken yet.  It is, as far as we know, exportable.  THERE
    IS NO BACKDOOR.  Should you forget your password there is nothing we
    can do to decrypt your encrypted files.

    Quite a few people ask us how big EMF's key size is.  They've learned
    from other encryption programs that the bigger the key the stronger
    the encryption.  This really doesn't apply to EMF.

    We developed our own encryption instead of using a standard because
    we wanted EMF to be able to decrypt at the byte level.  In this way
    we only need to decrypt/encrypt the data your programs require and
    not the entire file.

    In theory, because we decrypt at the byte level, the biggest key we
    could use would be 8 bits - which is a joke.  So instead of
    decrypting every hunk of data using the same key, as most other
    encryption programs do, we developed an algorithm to vary the key
    based on the data's location within the file.  In this way we get
    both high security and high speed.

    Having said that, truth is, most encryption isn't "cracked" by
    breaking the algorithm, it's done by guessing the password.  Brute
    guessing of passwords tends to level the playing field tremendously.
    We actually have an advantage because we aren't an established
    standard.  Because we're small and relatively obscure chances are no
    one will take the effort to write a password guessing program (which
    incidentally would violate copyright and intellectual property laws.)
    Even if someone were to go thru all this effort we could easily
    change the encryption method for the next update.

    If we used an established encryption method like DES or Blowfish then
    your files would probably have to be fully decrypted when opened,
    would exist on disk as unencrypted while you're using them, and then
    would need to be encrypted when closed.  This has multiple
    disadvantages.  First, if your computer shuts down while you have
    "encrypted" files open, then those files would be unencrypted.  This
    doesn't happen with EMF as your encrypted files are always encrypted
    as stored on disk.  The second disadvantage is that it slows things
    down tremendously.  As an example, let's say you retrieve your email
    and your email program needs to add today's message to the end of
    your 3MB email file.  If we used a standard encryption method
    requiring the decryption of the file before use then the entire 3 MB
    file would have to be decrypted, your 300 byte message added to the
    end and then the entire file encrypted again.  With EMF, no
    decryption would need to take place, and the only data needing
    encryption would be the 300 byte message.  MUCH faster.  Around
    20,000 times faster in this example!

    If you still think you'd like to see us use a standard encryption
    method like DES or Blowfish, or have any other suggestions, let us
    know and we will consider your input in future updates.

    * System Requirements

    EMF requires Windows 95/98. (It works with FAT16 and FAT32)  Although
    it will hide your folders in Win 3.1 and DOS, Auto-Cryption (the
    automatic decryption and encryption of files in your encrypted
    folders) will not work unless you are in Windows 95/98.  In addition,
    EMF will not hide your folders/files in 32 bit file access in Windows
    for Workgroups or Windows NT.  It's not for use on shared LAN drives.

    * Copyright and License

    EMF (tm) is copyrighted 1997 by RSE Incorporated.  Parts of the
    program are proprietary.  Do not use the software unless you agree
    NOT to unassemble, disassemble, reverse engineer or use any other
    means to examine or modify the code of any of its files including
    MAGIC.EXE, DISABLE.COM, DECRYPT.EXE, PW.EXE, TB.EXE and MF.EXE.

    "Encrypted Magic Folders" is licensed "As is" without any express or
    implied warranties whatsoever.  In no event shall RSE Inc. be liable
    for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including
    without limitation, special, incidental, consequential or other
    damages.  Your rights may vary based on your state's laws.

    By choosing to install "Encrypted Magic Folders" you signal that you
    understand and agree to abide by the above.

    * How much?

    EMF is shareware.  You're freely given this copy in order to evaluate
    it.  If after a 30 day evaluation period you decide to continue using
    EMF then you must become a registered user.  You can register
    instantly by modem (select "Register Now" under the "Registration"
    menu) or by sending the registration fee of $59 plus $2 shipping ($5
    overseas) to:

        EMF Registration                 Mastercard or Visa customers:
        6373 Villier                 http://www.pc-magic.com/register.htm
        Nine Mile Falls, WA 99026        E-mail: [e-mail]
        USA                                  Fax: [phone]


    Make check in US funds drawn on a US or Canadian bank payable to RSE.

    You're encouraged to freely distribute copies of EMF.ZIP as long as
    you don't modify the files in any way.  DO NOT distribute the
    individual, extracted, files; only EMF.ZIP.

    As a registered user you'll receive these additional benefits:

    1.  No more annoying messages (and delays) asking you to register.
    2.  The latest version of EMF.
    3.  Free updates for 6 months (If you download them)
    4.  The latest full function evaluation versions of our other
        shareware including our popular "Remind Me!" programs.
    5.  Technical support
    6.  A sincere "Thank you" for supporting our efforts to develop quality
        software and offer it at reasonable prices.

    Site licenses are available, as well as quantity discounts.  Send
    email to [e-mail] for details.

    If for some reason you decide not to register EMF please send us e-
    mail and let us know why.  We're always trying to improve our
    products.

    * Installation

    If you haven't already installed EMF you need to do so now.  Run
    "INSTALL.EXE" from within Windows.

    * Disk compression software

    If you have disk compression software like Stacker or DoubleDisk make
    sure that the line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file that runs EMF (MF.EXE,
    or whatever you renamed it during installation) occurs AFTER the line
    that loads your disk compression program.

    * Selecting your magic folders

    Magic folders are folders you want to make invisible.  You designate
    which folders you want to be magic folders by selecting the "Add"
    button at the top of the screen.  Click on the desired folder and
    then on "Hide" if you just want to hide it but not encrypt it, or
    "Hide and Encrypt" if that is your choice.

    EMF not only makes the files in your magic folders invisible it also
    makes any sub folders invisible too.  The same holds true for
    encryption.   For example, if you designate "C:\TAXES" as a
    hidden/encrypted folder then all the files in "C:\TAXES\BUSINESS"
    would be hidden and encrypted too.

    * Hiding System Folders

    We got a lot of requests to allow EMF to hide folders normally hidden
    from the user with the System attribute.  In this way you can hide
    folders such as your "Favorites" list in NetScape and IE4.  So
    reluctantly I agreed.  However keep in mind that we can only hide the
    files, we can't control how programs, or Windows, will react when it
    can't find your hidden files.  All sorts of serious trouble could
    occur.  If you encounter any problems at all with EMF and you have
    hidden System folders (EMF will let you know with a warning when you
    attempt to add a System folder to your hidden folder list) then
    remove the System folders and see if the problem goes away.

    * Making your magic folders invisible

    Your magic folders are invisible from the time you start your
    computer until the time your computer is turned off unless you
    deliberately make them visible as explained below.

    * Making your magic folders visible

    To make your magic folders visible run EMF (in the Accessories group,
    or by pressing the hot-key you established during installation),
    enter your password, and then select "Make Folders Visible".  This
    gives you instant, complete, and normal access to all your files,
    including the files in your magic folders.  As a shortcut you can
    just enter your password and click on the yellow folder button on the
    password screen.  This will grant you access without taking you into
    the full program.  It also puts and icon on the taskbar that you can
    click to instantly hide your folders without having to start EMF
    again.  In the Properties menu you can set "PW 'Enter' as icon" to
    make pressing Enter after your password act the same as clicking on
    the yellow icon.

    Likewise, to make your magic folders invisible again just run Magic
    Folders, enter your password and select "Make Folders Invisible" or
    use the shortcut and just click on the "Please enter your password"
    message when prompted for your password.  Your magic folders also
    become invisible again if your re-boot or turn off your computer.

    All the folders/files on your list become visible/invisible when you
    select "Make Visible" or "Make Invisible".  You don't need to select
    the folders you want each time you enter your password.  If you only
    want certain folders to be visible on your list to be visible and
    not all of them (and vice versa) then create seperate accounts with
    each subset belonging to a different account and password.

    * PW.EXE

    Note: PW.EXE works only inside a DOS window, it does not work when
    you boot to DOS.

    If you put the PW.EXE file in your \WINDOWS directory then you can
    enter your password from the DOS prompt just by enter "pw".  Although
    I can't imagine how you would use it - a couple of users have asked
    that we let them enter the password from a command line.  You can use
    PW.EXE to do this by appending your password after the "pw".  For
    example if your password is "hello"  you could enter "pw hello" at
    the DOS prompt and it would grant you access without you having to
    physically type in your password.  If so inclined you could put the
    "pw hello" in a batch file so that access is granted anytime the
    batch file is run.

    We have also been asked to add a command line option that would let
    you enter your password AND disable Auto-Cryption.  This would be
    useful for making your files visible for a backup but leaving them
    encrypted so the backup copy is of the encrypted files.  Simply
    append a " /x" to your password to invoke this option.  In other
    words entering "pw hello /x" would enter the password as "hello" and
    disable Auto-Cryption - if the password is correct.

    * Special Functions

    Selecting "Functions" from the top menu lets you change your
    password, switch to another account (if you know its password), and
    remove your account.  The Master Account can also change EMF's hot-
    key, make a new KeyDisk, create new accounts and un-install EMF.

    * AutoStart

    You can use EMF to control access to your computer by having EMF ask
    for a password during boot-up.  In this "AutoStart" mode, EMF gets
    your password, makes your magic folders visible and then exits.

    You have two options when installing AutoStart.  Both deal with how
    incorrect passwords are handled.  The first option lets you attempt
    to enter the password just once.  If incorrect then the user is
    granted access to the computer but all magic folders remain
    invisible.

    The second option lets you attempt to enter the password three times.
    After three tries the computer is shut down.  In other words, only
    those with Magic Folder accounts will have access to the computer.

    In both options AutoStart looks for your KeyDisk if the password is
    not valid.  Therefore you can still use the KeyDisk to gain access
    should you forget your password.  And as always, you can use DISABLE
    on the KeyDisk to uninstall EMF should you not be able to access EMF
    within Windows.

    AutoStart just makes your magic folders visible.  You still run
    EMF (in the Accessories group) to modify your magic folder list and
    all other Magic Folder functions.

    Enable or disable AutoStart using the "Properties" menu.

    * Multiple Accounts

    EMF lets you create up to five different accounts, each of whose
    magic folders are invisible to the others.  In this way each user of
    your computer, or member of the family, can have their own magic
    folders.  You could also use this feature to group similar files
    together so that working on one group doesn't expose the others.  For
    example, one account for financial data, one for business, one for
    personal documents, etc..

    Only one account's magic folders can be visible at a time.  In other
    words when someone successfully enters their password, all magic
    folders are made invisible.  If that person exits by selecting "Make
    Folders Invisible" then all magic folders remain invisible.  If they
    exit with "Make Folders Visible" then only their folders become
    visible, all others remain invisible.  For example if you make your
    folders visible, and your son comes along and uses EMF to make his
    folders visible, then yours become invisible.

    If you create multiple accounts you can't make all files on the
    computer visible at one time without uninstalling EMF.  Remember this
    when making backups.  It also means you don't want to make multiple
    accounts if you have a disk fix or defragmenting utility that reports
    more errors when folders are invisible than when they're visible (see
    WARNING section below).

    Only the master account can create new accounts.  This doesn't mean
    however that the master account has access to all accounts.  Each
    account can change its password.  Let's say you want to give your
    spouse a private account.  You'd select "Functions" then "Create New
    Account" and enter the new account password as requested.  You would
    then tell your spouse the password you used to establish the account
    and they would run EMF using that password, select "Functions", and
    select "Change Your Password".  Now they have their own account, with
    a password only they know.

    Unlike the master account which can use the KeyDisk to get access
    should the password be forgotten there is no way another account can
    make their magic folders visible if they forget their password -
    other than uninstalling EMF.  Don't forget your password(s)!

    * Scrambled Filenames

    Filename Scrambling renames the files in your hidden folders to
    something non-descript when your folders are hidden.  For example,
    95BIZTAX.DAT might become ZBAAafA.~^A.  The benefit is that if
    someone were to disable EMF the names of your files would give no
    clue as to their contents.

    Unlike file encryption, the unscrambling of filenames does not occur
    as you use each file but is done all at once when you enter your
    password.  Likewise filename scrambling is done when you hide your
    folders, shut down, or enter another password.  This means you must
    wait during these events while the filenames in all your encrypted
    folders are scrambled or unscrambled.  It also means that if you turn
    off the computer (without using Shutdown) while your folders are
    visible then your filenames won't be scrambled.

    You can enable Scrambling for some or all of your hidden, encrypted
    folders.

    Note1:  Filenames in excess of 190 characters will not be scrambled.

    Note2:  For files that have long filenames the long filename will be
    restored but there is no guarantee that the short filename alias will
    be the same.  For example, if you have a file called "95 Business
    Taxes.DAT" that has an alias of "95BUST~3.DAT", then the long
    filename of "95 Business Taxes.DAT" will always be restored but the
    alias "95BUST~3.DAT" may not be, as Win95/98 automatically generates an
    alias of its choosing when the file is renamed.

    Note3:  On some systems (depending on disk size, FAT type, partition
    size, and cluster size) the operating system slows down
    significantly when unscrambling folders with a lot of files.  You may
    want to spread files over several directories.  On one test we
    calculated the time it would take to scramble 1000 filenames.  When
    all the files were in one directory it took a whopping 31 seconds.
    When spit into 2 directories (of 500 files each) it took 16 seconds.
    And when split into 4 directories (of 250 files each) it only took 9
    seconds.  All for the same number of files.


    * WARNING

    If you use a disk fix or defrag utility other than SCANDISK, DEFRAG,
    Norton Disk Doctor, or Norton Speed Disk then you MUST test them to
    see if they are safe to use with EMF.  The danger is that they may
    see the space allocated to your invisible files (including your
    password info) and free it thereby deleting all your invisible
    folders and files.

    With over 150,000 people trying EMF and Magic Folders the only disk
    utility we've heard of that becomes confused is CHKDSK.EXE which is
    why we disable it so it won't run when EMF is installed (as long as
    it is named CHKDSK.EXE).  There are situations where you may need to
    copy or access CHKDSK.  For example, Win95/98 puts CHKDSK on the
    bootable recovery disk it creates.  For this reason you can disable
    CHKDSK protection in the "Properties" menu thereby making CHKDSK
    temporarily accessible.

    To test your utilities (if not listed above) :  Run your disk fix or
    defragmenting utilities when your Magic folders are visible and
    invisible.  DO NOT FIX ANY ERRORS THEY MAY REPORT.  If more errors
    are reported when your folders are invisible then do one of the
    following:

    1.  Remove the utilities (so you can't use them) or remove EMF.

    2.  Use only one account in EMF (just use the Master
    Account already created) and move the offending utility into one of
    your invisible folders.  That way it can only be used when all
    folders and files are visible, and thereby safe.

    If the errors reported are the same when your magic folders are
    hidden as they are when magic folders are visible then you can use
    the utility without concern.

    If you find an offending utility PLEASE send the results of your
    testing to [e-mail]

    For those interested in the technical details, this is why CHKDSK
    (and maybe others) get confused.  Disk fix and defragmenting
    utilities bypass the operating system and directly examine your disk.
    In this way they can see the space allocated for your invisible
    files.  Instead of directly examining the disk to see which files
    belong to this allocated space (as smart utilities do) they instead
    ask the operating system.  Since the operating system doesn't see
    your magic folders when they're invisible these utilities assume the
    space allocated to your invisible files should be freed.  Freeing
    this space will obviously delete your invisible files and folders.
    On the other hand if you don't create any additional Magic Folder
    accounts except for the Master Account created during installation
    then you can put the offending utility into one of your magic
    folders.  In that way it can only be run when all folders and files
    are visible to the operating system.

    WARNING TOO!

    DON'T hide folders that contain critical system files.  By default
    your folders are invisible until you use EMF to designate them as
    visible.  If Windows needs a file that exists only in one of your
    hidden folders then it won't be able to find it until you make the
    folders visible.  If you accidentally hide important system files
    then you'll need to run DISABLE on your KeyDisk to uninstall EMF and
    then re-install it.  See "Problems?" below.


    * Things to remember

    Moving files out of an encrypted folder:

    Files in encrypted folders are encrypted only while they reside in
    the encrypted folder.  For example, if you make your folders visible
    and then copy a file from an encrypted folder to a normal folder the
    destination file will be decrypted because it's not in an encrypted
    folder.  The only exception are files moved to the Recycle Bin (or
    Norton's Protected Recycle Bin) as a result of being deleted from an
    encrypted folder.  These files are not decypted when moved to the
    recycle bin.  In other words encrypted files deleted from within an
    encrypted folder will also be encrypted in the Recycle Bin.

    Backups:

    Some backup programs won't backup your magic folders unless they are
    visible.  Remember, if you have multiple accounts you can't make all
    files visible at once, you can only make the magic folders of one
    account visible at a time.

    Because files are only encrypted within an encrypted folder, copying
    a file from an encrypted folder to an unencrypted folder decrypts the
    file.  This is true for backups as well.  You can get around this by
    disabling "Auto-Cryption" from within the "Properties" menu.  This
    temporarily disables the automatic decryption of your encrypted files
    thereby allowing your backup program to copy them to your backup disk
    without EMF automatically decrypting them first.  You can also use
    this function to verify that files in your encrypted folders are
    really encrypted.

    You can also use PW.EXE to enter your password and disable Auto-
    Cryption from DOS or a batch file in preparation for doing a backup.
    See the PW.EXE section above.

    Networks:

    Do not use EMF on a file server for a LAN.  The files in your
    encrypted folders will always be encrypted of course but the LAN will
    be able to see your hidden folders.

    However, EMF works great protecting files on your local workstation's
    drives that are not accessible to the LAN.

    "Boot to DOS":

    If you exit by booting to DOS the visibility of your magic folders
    remains the same in DOS as they were when you exited Win95/98 but the
    files in your encrypted folders won't decrypt as you use them.

    Shortcut:

    If you've made your magic folders visible and you want to make them
    invisible again, just start EMF and click on the "Please enter your
    password" message.


    Another Shortcut:

    You can just enter your password and click on the yellow folder
    button on the password screen.  This will grant you access without
    taking you into the full program.

    Another Shortcut:

    If you exit EMF by clicking on the yellow folder button on the Main
    Screen, then not only will your magic folders be visible, but the
    "Hide M-folders" icon will appear on the Task Bar.  You need only
    click on this "Hide M-folders" icon and your magic folders will be
    instantly hidden.  Notice that the "Hide M-folders" description only
    appears for 5 seconds and then disappears leaving no evidence that
    EMF is present.

    Changing the Hot-Key:

    If Windows doesn't honor our request to establish a hot-key (or
    change it using "Change HotKey" in the Functions menu) then you'll
    need to do it manually:

      Right click on "Start"
      Click on "Open"
      Double click on the "Programs" folder
      Double click on the "Accessories" folder
      Right click on the Encrypted Magic Folders icon
      Select "Properties"
      Click on the "Shortcut" tab
      Change the "Shortcut key"
      Click on "OK" to finish

    * Making EMF tougher to defeat

    Note: As there are multiple options, please read this whole section
    before making a decision as to what, if any, method you will
    implement.

    EMF does a great job of keeping your files protected and invisible if
    its loaded and running.  If no one knows EMF is running then they
    won't have any reason to defeat it.  EMF is totally transparent to
    the non-authorized user .  If we broadcast the fact EMF is protecting
    your files then a nosey user could try to disable it.  This isn't
    as much of a concern with EMF as it is with Magic Folders because even
    if someone disables EMF and your files become visible your encrypted
    files still remain encrypted.

    However, if you wish, there are things you can do to make EMF more
    difficult to defeat.  During installation MF.EXE is renamed to the
    new name you give it.  You can make multiple copies of this renamed
    file, giving each copy a different name, putting them in different
    directories, and running each of the different copies from within
    your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  Someone would then have to remove all
    references to the renamed EMF files in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file before
    EMF would be defeated.  Don't worry about loading Magic Folders
    multiple times as it only loads itself once regardless of how many
    times it is run.

    You can also use this "multiple load using different names" method in
    the SYSTEM.INI file.  Look for the section "[386Enh]" and add a line
    underneath it that says "device=" followed by the full pathname of
    the renamed MF.EXE file.  For example, if during installation you
    rename EMF to SYS_MGR, and the Encrypted Magic Folders files are in
    C:\MF,  then you would add the line: "device=c:\mf\sys_mgr.exe".

    You can also use REGEDIT.EXE to modify the registry files.  If you
    don't know what the Registry is or how to use RegEdit, or you don't
    understand the following directions, then DON'T try this.  DO NOT ask
    us for help if you mess up your registry.  Microsoft technical
    support won't even take calls on the registry.  You're on your own.

    Windows 95/98 depends heavily on the registry so ALWAYS backup the
    registry files (SYSTEM.DAT SYSTEM.DA0 USER.DAT USER.DA0) to a floppy
    before modifying the registry.  Use REGEDIT to hi-lite the

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/VXD

    key.  Making sure you've selected the "VXD" key select "Edit" then
    "New" then "Key" and enter whatever you want the key to be named.
    Double click on your new key to open it.  Then select "Edit", "New",
    and "String Value" and enter "StaticVxD".  Then double click on the
    "StaticVxD" and enter the full pathname of the renamed MF.EXE file.
    Since most people aren't stupid enough to mess with the Registry,
    and you're hiding the purpose of this key fairly well, this is a
    fairly secure method of assuring that EMF runs whenever Windows 95/98
    does.  Note: Win95/98 Safe Mode doesn't use the registry, but EMF uses
    another method to load in Safe Mode.

    You can protect against someone booting from a floppy system disk by
    having your BIOS boot only from C: drive and then password protect
    access to your BIOS.  Then if you need to boot from A: you enter the
    password to modify your BIOS, change the BIOS to allow booting from
    A:, and then reboot with the system disk in A:.  Not all BIOS can be
    password protected.  If you don't understand this paragraph then
    don't do it.  You really don't want to get locked out of your BIOS.

    If you decide to load EMF using any of these methods keep in mind
    that using the "Uninstall" Utility within EMF (or DISABLE on your
    KeyDisk) only un-installs the initial copy of EMF.  You'll need to
    manually remove all other references to the renamed MF.EXE file in
    your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (and SYSTEM.INI and Registry if appropriate).

    * Uninstalling EMF

    You can uninstall EMF using the "Uninstall" function within the
    "Fuctions" menu inside EMF or by using DISABLE on your KeyDisk.  If
    you have multiple accounts with encrypted folders then you'll need to
    go to each account and use the "Remove this account" function in
    "Functions" to remove each encrypted account before uninstalling.  If
    you orphan any encrypted files (this could happen if you have
    multiple accounts with encrypted folders and you use DISABLE to
    uninstall) then run "DECRYPT.EXE" to decrypt them.

    If you've done any of the things described in the previous section to
    make EMF harder to defeat then you'll need to undo those things
    manually - EMF does not undo them for you automatically.


    * FAQs  (Frequently Asked Questions)

    "What is DECRYPT.EXE for?"

    To decrypt any encrypted files that may be stranded after an
    uninstall.  See the previous section for details.


    "Sometimes after making my magic folders invisible they still show up
    in directory listings, even tho I can't access them or their files.
    Why?"

    Many programs keep their directory listings in memory.  So if you
    have the program do a directory search before hiding your folders
    the program will continue to use the old directory information even
    after you hide your folders.  Explorer does this.  To make matters
    even more complicated sometimes programs won't refresh their listings
    even when told to do so.  This is probably because Windows notices
    nothing has changed in the disk cache so it feeds the same directory
    information as it did previously.  In the properties menu select
    "Update Explorer" and "Write to Folders" and see if that does the
    trick.

    In some cases you can't even force the program to update it's
    listings.  For example, we did some tests hiding the "Documents"
    System folder.  Sometimes it would accurately reflect whether it was
    hidden or not, but sometimes it wouldn't.  It would show the list of
    documents when they were hidden (although clicking on the document
    wouldn't work) and sometimes it wouldn't show the document list even
    tho it was visible - and we couldn't find any way to force it to
    update it's listing.  We can only hide/un-hide the files.  We can't
    control how programs react to this.


    "Sometimes icons on my desktop that point to hidden folders
    don't look right, even when the folders are visible.".

    In the Properties menu select "Update Desktop".  EMF will then tell
    the desktop to update everytime the status of your hidden
    files/folders changes.


    "I'm having problems with my disk compression software"

    Check the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and make sure the line that runs MF.EXE
    (or whatever you renamed it during installation) is being run AFTER
    the line that loads your disk compression software (Stacker,
    DoubleDisk, etc..).


    "I forgot my password.  What now?"

    Master Account:

    Put your KeyDisk in the appropriate floppy drive.  Run EMF and
    attempt to enter a password three times.  After the third attempt EMF
    will attempt to read your Password from your KeyDisk.


    "Can I use EMF to encrypt files to be shared with others?"

    EMF is not meant to be used this way.  There are a multitude of
    programs that do this well.  EMF is used only to protect sensitive
    data and programs on your computer.  But if you must, you can disable
    "Auto-Cryption" in the "Properties" section and copy the desired
    encrypted file from your encrypted folder over to a non-encrypted
    folder.  The file will remain encrypted because you have temporarily
    disabled Auto-Cryption.  The end user can then use DECRYPT.EXE to
    decrypt the file, which of course requires knowing your password.

    Other Accounts:

    You'll need to have the Master Account uninstall EMF, re-
    install it, and then re-create a new account for you.

    If neither of these work then use DISABLE on your KeyDisk to
    uninstall EMF.  Then re-install it if you wish.


    "I want to un-install EMF but I forgot my password so I
    can't use the EMF Uninstall function.  What now?"

    Uninstall using DISABLE on your KeyDisk.  If that doesn't work then
    manually uninstall.  See the Uninstall section above.


    "I can't rename the parent folder of a magic folder when it's
    invisible."

    That's correct.  EMF doesn't mark your folders with a special secret
    sign to indicate they're magic folders.  It just uses the list of
    magic folders you create.  If someone renamed the parent directory of
    a magic folder then that folder would no longer match the list of
    magic folders and would therefore become visible.

    * Technical Support

    NOTE: If you have hidden System folders then remove them from your
    list and see if the problem persists before you contact us for help.
    In addition, read this Help file (particularly the FAQ section)
    before contacting us.  We are a small shop.  We would rather spend
    our time improving our products than answering questions already
    addressed in the docs.

    We prefer to offer technical support thru email.  It's easier to
    reach us that way (as we're out of the office a lot) and you receive
    written instructions to help resolve your problem.

    All users can contact us via e-mail: [e-mail]


    * Latest Version

    You can always find the latest versions of all our software on our
    WEB page at:  http://www.pc-magic.com

    Thank you for taking a look at EMF.  Hope you find it worthy of your
    support.