Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

I installed Bionicpup on a USB stick and tried to decrypt with Bcrypt and I managed only one bfe file (the least important) and after 22 attempts
I managed to get the original data; i will try all night for others but i have my doubts.
I will keep you informed if I don't fall asleep.

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Doing research I have now read that 'bcrypt' is no longer supported as it had compromised encryption.
A big trouble since I will not be able to recover my sensitive data.
Now even if I installed Bionicpup on a USB stick I would not be able to decrypt sensitive data; a really nice problem.

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Hello everybody.
I ask you for help as I have three important files (.bfe) that I created with 'bcrypt' but I can't find it in Synaptic Focalfossa (Ubuntu 20.04).
Can anyone tell me how to download it?
Otherwise I'll be in trouble.
thanks sonia

Hi sonia maybe try on Fossa the deb package from Debian Buster (download and install):
https://packages.debian.org/buster/amd6 ... t/download

Fred

Bcycrypt uses Blowfish which is now considered too weak. Theoretically, it could be broken. As far as I know, it has not been broken yet.

In the latest builds ob bcrypt, encryption has been disabled, so you can not encrypt using the latest bcrypt, but the decryption part still works. You can still decrypt bfe files using the latest version of bcrypt.

If it does not devrypt properly, it can be because:

1) The password is wrong, or
2) The bfe file has been corrupted.

It is easy for a file to get corrupted (changed, so it is not exactly the same as the original.)
It can be corrupted when copying or moving the file.
It can get corrupted if the media that the file system is on does not work perfectly. Files on CDs, DVDs, and flash drives might to get corrupted.
Sometimes, if you copy the file again and again, it might copy properly, without corruption.

The trouble with encryption, is that if you forget the correct password, or if the file is corrupted, it can not be recovered.

It is a good idea to have checksums like md5sum of important files like this soe you would at least know if the file is corrupted or not.

There are programs that might help to copy the files from a damaged CD or DVD.

Having backups is always a good idea.

dvdisaster can help with new backups.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvdisaster

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvdisaster are available for Linux.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parchive

thx Williams, many thx
sonia
P.S.
a question: what could i use instead of bcrypt to encrypt files? ----> found, I will use 7z looks like good command utility

fredx181 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 11:05 pm

Hi sonia maybe try on Fossa the deb package from Debian Buster (download and install):
https://packages.debian.org/buster/amd6 ... t/download

Fred

MARVELLOUS!
100 kisses, sonia

P.S.
a question: what could i use instead of bcrypt to encrypt files? -------> found, I will use 7z looks like good command utility

7z should be good. It uses aes 256 for encryption.
To encrypt files or dirs from the command line you can do this:

7z a -mhe=on -p filename.7z mydir/

-mhe=on encrypts the file names as well as the contents of the files.
Without -mhe=on the filenames in the 7z archive can be listed without the correct password.

There is nothing wrong with bcrypt, except it uses blowfish, which uses 64 bit blocks. 7zip uses aes with 256 bit blocks.
Blowfish is weaker than aes 256, but it might be good enough for your purposes.

This is a bit like bcrypt, but uses aes 256.
https://www.aescrypt.com/

The password is a weak link when using encryption.
If you forget or lose your password, you can not get your data back.
https://www.packetizer.com/security/pwgen/
https://secure.packetizer.com/pwgen/

Another problem is bit rot. File may not copy properly when copied or moved. And hard drives, flash drives, optical drives, etc are not perfect, Encrypted files may be damaged with no chance of repair, even if only 1 bit is corrupted.

It's a good isea to keep backups of important files. Hashs like md5sum or sha256sum etc can tell you if a file has been damaged.

Parchive can be used to make parchive files that can later test and repair damaged files.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parchive
7z does not have the ability to repair damaged 7z files.

OHHH ! thx Wil, lots of useful information, I will treasure it.
sonia