Archive for March 2008

Self decrypting executables the 7-Zip way

2008-03-22 by Administrator, tagged as software

Everybody needs to transmit a file to a friend, colleague, etc. in the most possible secure manner once in a while. A cool feature I got to know with the PGP Desktop product line is a self decrypting executable (PGP calls them Self Decrypting Archives (SDA)). You simply use a symmetric encryption algortihm with a password and the tool generates an executable that will decrypt itself once the correct password is given. This password usually is transmitted by phone or another communication link different to the one the file is using.

With one of the latest versions of 7-Zip (my Windows compression tool of choice btw) came a new feature that one may use to copy this behaviour: encryption of archives. Today 7-Zip uses AES-256 as algorithm to encrypt packed archives. But this is not sufficient, yet. You still need 7-Zip to decrypt the file. Not if you use 7-Zip as compression algorithm and select “Cretae SFX archive

7zip_topsecret

Another reason to love this cool compression tool.

What Internet Explorer is still missing

2008-03-11 by Administrator, tagged as microsoft, software

It is very important to think out of the box every once in a while. I tend to forget this and if I am discovering something new I am always suprised why I didn’t look for it earlier. This is the case with a neat little add-on for Internet Explorer.

I am the kind of a guy who thinks: “Never touch a default system” or “Keep it simple” . This is the reason why I never install additional software on operating systems unless they add a non-existant feature that I really want. This is why I’d never install “Opera” or “Firefox” on a Microsoft machine. Why should I? I mean there already comes a good browser with it. Except the “Find” feature is really ridiculous. A stupid pop-up with no functionality at all (highlight all, find as you type, etc.).

IE_Find

This is where IE Inline Search enters the stage. I suggest you give it a try. Firefox search feeling on websites (see the search bar on the bottom of the screen). Wooohoooo.

IE_Inline_Search