This extension will add the ability of encrypting to the 'Cardfile' application. Additionally you can protect the Owner Info by encryption.
Please make a backup first. It's always a good idea to backup your device before you install a new program. Even if we have tested all of our programs very intense, because of the variety of existing programs and system configurations no one can guarantee that no problem will occur.
Transfer the Secretnames.pkg file to your Newton OS device by using an appropriate package installation program, like NBU, NCU or the Newton Package Installer.
After installing Secret Names please reboot your Newton device by hitting the Reset-Button on the back.
After installing you will find a little button with a lock in the button line of the cardfile.
In addition the action picker will be extended by 'Protect' and 'Unprotect'. These are present only if the cardfile is unlocked.
The lock in the button line shows the state of the cardfile application. If it is locked, the names marked with 'Protect' are not available.
Tap on the lock button and you will be asked to enter a password - remember the password! After that the encrypted names are being decrypted - if the password is the right one.
The cardfile application is now unlocked. Now you can protect or unprotect the desired names using the action button. If you unprotect a name that was protected it will not be encrypted on locking the cardfile. Accordingly a protected name will be encrypted on locking the cardfile.
If you tap the lock button again - which will BTW display an opened lock now - you can change the password or lock the cardfile.
Of course you have to know the old password if you want to change it. So no one can change your password if she/he will find your Newton unlocked.
Have you select 'Lock' the marked names will be encrypted and are disappearing from the display.
You can choose to use Triple DES for encrypting the names too. Especially for users of a MP2x00 the slower encryption should not be a problem.
In addition you can activate the encryption of the data in the 'Owner Info'. This is the place, where among other things, your credit card data and password for email accounts will be stored. If you have activated the encryption the owner info will get encrypted using Triple DES on switch off. On switch on it will decrypted after entering the valid password. To make sure you can use the Newton even if the owner info is encrypted the following parts are not included in the encryption:
Name, Address, Card Layout, Company, Email Address
Note: Even if the Newton OS can set a PIN on using the 'Owner Info' application you can get access the data using a soup editor - like the one in the SBM Utilities. Only encryption can protect from that.
You can test the unregistered 'Secret Names' for 30 days. After that you can't encrypt data no more. Of course you can decrypt your encrypted data furthermore.
The unregistered 'Secret Names' will not encrypt names no more after 30 days.
If you wish to test the program only, simply dismiss the registration screen by tapping the close box.
Enter your Registration Number and tap on "Register". The Registration Number will contain numbers only. You can double tap the input line to display the numeric keyboard.
To get a registration number you have to pay the registration fee of $15. You can do this online via
or using Newton Register by tapping on the "Use Kagi" button. As note please enter the name as given in the Owner Info settings or the Serial Number as shown in the registration slip (not the one from the back of your Newton). We will send you your Registration Number per email within the next few days.
If both methods are not acceptable for you, please read on http://www.kagi.com about the other possibilities. Please note that registering online or using Newton Register will accelerate the reception of your Registration Number.
Its comprehensible that everyone wants to know how save is the data. We have decided to use the DES algorithm which is known for high security. In contrast to many other methods your data are not endangered by reengineering the encrypting program - besides it is unnecessary because the algorithm isn't a secret. By the way: Our implementation of the DES isn't a cripled one, it will use the full key length!
Note: Even the DES is accepted as very secure and the program has been tested intense the author will not be responsible for any disadvantage because of 'cracking' encrypted informations.
Triple DES will encrypt the data three times using the DES algorithm. There are different ways to do that. In Secret Triple DES EEE using three different keys is implemented.
Accordingly to the DES specification a key of 64 bit will be used. Because 8 bit are used for parity checking, there are effective 56 Bit.
Triple DES uses three keys each of 56 significantly bits. This will result in a key length of 112 up to 168 bit - depending which expert you will ask.
It depends on your security needs. There are special machines which can crack data encrypted with simple DES in only a few days.
For higher security, especially for data changing rarely, we recommend using Triple DES which isn't crackable today.
We have invested many hours of programming time only for optimizing the encrypting part. Depending on your Newton OS device the speed will be 4 KB up to 40 KB per second. On triple DES it will be a third.
On locking the cardfile the password will be scrubbed out.
Even it is possible we don't recommend that, because it can easily happen that the names on the storage card will became a different password than the names in internal store. This would be avoided by saving the password in the Newton - but that would be insecure.
It depends on the state of the cardfile application. If the cardfile application is unlocked the names will be tried to decrypt with the same password as the internal names. A message will appear if this fails. If the cardfile application is locked the names on the card will remain locked also.
The names will going encrypt automatically on switching off. This will happen also if the Newton goes sleep byself.
Why do you need that program then :-)
We are thinking the encryption will be used chiefly to access the several informations on one touch. If you would use a different password on every name you even could remember the name itself. Of course provided that the passwords are proper passwords and not things that hackers are trying first!
No!
As said: The password will not be stored in the Newton. Of course you can try systematic to find the password. For DES the statistic says it will take only 1000000000 years if you try one code per second.
If you mean, it is possible to find a Triple DES password by trying then think about that:
Assumed you have a really fast computer which will take only one nanosecond per try. So you can try 1000000000 passwords per second. Although it will take about 1017 years. Even if you have one million of such computers, the time will reduce to 1011 years. Do you really want to wait so long?