encrypt decrypt file

At the moment, Toucan is set up so you have plausible deniability. There's no way to tell that a file has been encrypted or what it was encrypted with other than the fact that it won't open if you try it out. So, it's up to you to keep track of what you have encrypted and what you haven't. That's one of the reasons it's billed as a tool for advanced users.

Unfortunately, I don't think there's any way to recover your files as you have no idea what state they were in (how many times encrypted/unencrypted, which ones were, etc). And, if you try to decrypt a file that isn't encrypted, it winds up corrupted. There is no way to recover it.

I've suggested to Steve (the author) that he add a file extension of .tenc and only decrypt those and not encrypt them (a 2nd time) as it may be more important to prevent users from mistakenly messing with a file than it is to ensure plausible deniability.

I have just tried encrypting a text file and a 7z archive (574Mb). This apparently had no effect on either of the files. I can open them and read them as normal. Also, the encryption was astonishingly fast - practically instantaneous even for the large 7z archive. My conclusion is that encryption is broken. I haven't tried decryption, but I guess that if this does work, or at least do something, then this might explain why Quiddelbacher had problems.

Paul

I tried using this program on a test directory and I couldn't access any information on it upon trying to decrypt. I also mistakenly forgot to select a file directory and it started encrypting the whole drive which, as it turned out, to be completely unusable which caused me to have to redo the whole drive. With 2 out of 2 problems, I think this program is best avoided.

I've tried using Toucan to encrypt a file, I have located the file, marked it, chose a password and clicked "Encrypt". All I get back is:

Starting...

Time: 11:22:32

Failed to encrypt G:\Documents\privat\Private Dokumente\diners.jpg
Time: 11:22:37

Finished

I can open the file as before.

I have learned from a previous post in this thread, that my password must not exceed 16 characters, so I changed my password, to no avail.

What am I doing wrong?

Hi Steve,

no, neither.

Ok, I just tried with different files and file types on different drives, and I always get the same error message and the file opens normally. I have no idea what the problem is.

hi steve,

not broken, but you were right with your guess. It does work on a different computer! I don't know if that has to do with Vista (where it didn't work) vs. XP (where it works fine!), or the administrator rights (no rights on the Vista machine, full rights on the XP one).

Thanks for your help, I hope you find out how to solve the issue, it would be a shame if I couldn't use it at work.

lg
niki

yes it is very restricted in every possible way. so basically I can only use software that does not require any administrator rights or access to any administrative or system folders.

Shame. All other portableapps that I use work fine on this computer. Thanks anyway for your efforts!
lg
niki

Hi!

Thanks for the update, now it all works fine even on the work computer!!
(At least I assume, it was your update, because our IT department also did an update last week).

best regards,
niki