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Have you ever needed to enter a username and passphrase, but you didn't have it
with you?
Do you store your authentication credentials on a unprotected thumb drive,
or worse, on a piece of paper in your pocket?
Would you like the ability to encrypt multiple large files simultaneously, writing them to disk *OR* tape, with
a very small memory footprint?
If you answered yes to any of these, this application can help.
Many of us need anywhere/anytime access to our "private" data. More importantly
we need to ensure that the access and our data are secure. The goal of this
application is to deliver an easy and intuitive tool to provide secure
anywhere/anytime access to your data, allowing you to carry sensitive
information (account numbers, login credentials, etc.) on your thumb drive
without worrying that your data will be compromised should the thumb drive be lost.
In addition, this application can also encrypt any existing files you may have,
keeping them protected as well.
This application was designed to be installed to and executed from a
thumb drive; a thumb drive that can be plugged in to any Java enabled computer.
As an enhancement, the application is also delivered via JNLP (Java Web Start)
to add a few additional features (desktop icon, control panel configuration,
etc.) that we have come to expect. Using either mode of installation, this
application will encrypt your data, rendering it useless to anyone that does
not have the encryption key. In addition, the application provides configuration
options that allows full interoperability among different installations; a file
encrypted "on the road" using the using the thumb drive installation can be
decrypted on another machine that has the JNLP installation.
Briefly, here's how it works: PDS provides a multi-window editor for your files.
To open a file, select it and provide the passphrase. Files can be opened in
read-only (view) mode or read-write (edit) mode. The encryption key protecting
your data is kept a KeyStore, and both the key and the KeyStore are protected
by passphrases. Without the correct credentials, the key remains secured and
your data cannot be decrypted. In addition to the ability to securely view and
edit PDS files, this application also provides the ability to encrypt and
decrypt your existing files.
If you use this application, a single passphrase can protect all your sensitive
digital information. Or, if you prefer more than one passphrase, each file could
be protected by up to two unique passphrases.
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The goals of this software package are:
* Provide secure access to confidential data from any Java enabled device.
* Support the creation of encrypted data files.
* Ensure that data in the files cannot be easily compromised.
* Provide a multi-document application editor for encrypted files.
* Have the application, a single JAR file, reside on a thumb drive.
* Provide the Ability to plug a thumb drive containing this application into *ANY*
modern computer, especially a public computer, and securely use the application
to access your data.
* Provide a fast, platform-independent encryption engine for all file formats.
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With this application there is no need to install software on every computer
you want to use; all the software is contained in a single JAR file.
A JAR file implies Java, which means that this application should
run on any machine with Java (1.6+) installed.
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As mentioned above, this application provides a *SECURE* text editor that allows you
to enter data (login information such as usernames or passphrases, account information,
etc.) and save it securely to your thumb drive or Workstation. The data can be
retrieved later, but only by using the passphrase (or passphrases, if you desire).
Best of all, there are no temporary files left behind.
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In addition to the text editor, this application also provides a fast encryption engine.
This engine can be used to encrypt your existing files, whether they are in Word, Excel, PDF
or any other format you have. They can be encrypted using the same key (and passphrase)
or a different key. You designate the key you wish to use.
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As a part of the design, you can make your data protection as simple
(one passphrase for everything) or as complex (multiple keystores, multiple keys,
with different passphrases for every keystore and key) as you like.
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Clearly this application will not suit everyone. There could be some desired
functionality that is not currently provided for by this application. Or, you may find that
your needs could be more easily met using another application, one you might already
have. For example, simply encrypting files can easily be done with programs like 7-zip
or WinZip. A limitation of these programs however, is that they do not provide a
secure way to view or edit your files.
Instead, they rely upon other programs such as Vi or Notepad
that create "temporary" files on the filesystem. (These temporary files may exist
long after you have gone.) PDS provides a secure editor that does not create
temporary copies of your files on the filesystem. Additionally, PDS **scrubs passphrases
and data from memory** immediately after use.
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If this solution doesn't fit your needs, some other quality options include:
Logio Secure Password Organizer
Password Manager
eWallet
RoboForm
1Password
KeePass
TrueCrypt
For more on this topic, see:
NPR's article
NPR's follow-on article
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If you do try PDS, note that it receives most of its testing on Linux
and Windows; it has received limited testing on Solaris and the Mac.
Having a modern JRE (Java 6+) is the only known requirement.
This application is under development; new features are being added and
bug fixes are being incorporated.
Code contributions to this project are more than welcome !!!
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