Enfomi
Welcome!
Thanks for checking out Enfomi. This page will show you how to download and use the program.
Overview:
Enfomi was created because I have been dissatisfied with the offering of free encryption software out there. For a while, I have been using a PGP utility that also provided password-based encryption and created self-decrypting archives. I really liked the self-decrypting functionality but because it was Windows based I couldn’t use it on any other platform. Probably the most mobile solution would have to be something that is written in Java. Unfortunately, none of the programs I have tried seemed to have the features I wanted (for the price I wanted). Long story short – here is my take on encryption. I am not claiming that it is bug free but I have tried to take all due care to ensure the security of encrypted data. Yes, I do eat my own dog food and have been using Enfomi when necessary (to safeguard important personal data online, for example).
Features: I believe Enfomi offers the most flexible solution available online.
- It provides up to 256-bit AES based encryption (for comparison, the current military standards require 128-bit encryption for top secret documents). It supports 28 different types of encryption (many 3DES, IDEA, AES variants)
- It can create self-decrypting archives, meaning that you do not need to carry the program with you, just the encrypted file. However, due to the overhead (about 1Mb) of stuff that needs to be stored with the self-decrypting version, you can also create stand-alone encrypted files.
- It allows you to select multiple files and folders to be encrypted into one file.
- All files are zipped before being encrypted (thus making the archive a little more secure as well as saving space)
- Because Enfomi is written in Java, it should be able to run on any platform that has Java 1.5 or above.
- You should be able to run Enfomi (or a self-decrypting file created with Enfomi) simply by double-clicking on it.
Cost: Free!
License: Apache v.2.0 (BouncyCastle encryption package is licensed under their own terms – which are akin to a FreeBSD license)
Restrictions: WARNING: This program contains strong encryption functionality (in excess of 128-bit). If you do not live in the United States of America, it may be a violation of your country’s laws to download and use this program. It is your duty to review applicable laws and verify that you may indeed posess and utilize Enfomi.
How to get:
You can download Enfomi by clicking the button below. If you are not a computer geek and just want the darn thing to work, your best bet is to get the default file from the download website (click on the BIG green button on the next page).
Download Enfomi
Please be aware that if you want to utilize encryption capabilities in excess of 128-bit then you will have to download and install Unlimited Strength Jurisdiction Policy Files. By default, Enfomi uses 128-bit AES encryption which, as pointed out above, is military grade and should be enough for any purpose. However, if you feel the need for stronger encryption, you can get the necessary policy files below:
Java 5 (Java 1.5) Policy Files — Java 6 Policy Files (for all of these look at the bottom of the linked page, read the readme in each respective download for installation instructions)
How to use:
I hope that Enfomi is pretty easy and straight-forward to use. Depending on whether you are opening Enfomi application for the first time or a self-decrypting archive created with Enfomi, you may see two different screens.
MAIN SCREEN
The main screen is shown above. By default it is pre-set to encrypt files and folders that you add to the list by clicking the “+” button. To successfully encrypt something follow these steps:
- Enter passphrase in the provided box
- Choose “encrypt” (default) as your desired option
- Add files and/or directories to the list by clicking the “+” button
- Browse for a folder (directory) where you want to save your resulting encrypted file
- Review optional settings under the “Options” tab (described below)
- Click “Encrypt” and confirm (retype) your passphrase when prompted
OPTIONS SCREEN
This screen should be self-explanatory, and has been preset with the most common desired settings. Here you can change/select two things.
- Whether you want a self-decrypting archive (this is recommended and means that the Enfomi program will be packaged as part of the encrypted file that is created)
- Your algorithm of choice (preset to a very secure selection but without bothering you to install additional cryptography policies – see “How to get” for an expanded explanation)
DECRYPTION SCREEN
This screen will be presented if the file you have double-clicked is a self-decrypting archive created with Enfomi. You have a couple of choices here:
- To decrypt the data contained in the encrypted file, type in your passphrase, select the directory to decrypt data to and hit “Decrypt”
- Because the self-decrypting archive contains the whole Enfomi program, you can use any self-decrypting file to encrypt more data (that will be stored in a separate file). If you hit the “Go to main screen” button you will see the familiar screens described above and will have the full flexibility to create further encrypted files.
FAQ: I will do my best to answer any questions below, left in the comments or otherwise. Here are the most common problems and answers.
Enfomi claims that my password is incorrect during encryption/decryption even though I know I have provided the right password.
You might see this error for a couple of reasons. One of the most typical ones is that you are trying to encrypt or decrypt a file that uses encryption in excess of 128-bit and you do not have the correct policy files installed. Please look above in the “How to get” section to learn about installation of correct policy files.
Can I add more files to the already encrypted archive?
No, sorry. At this point if you want to add more files you will have to decrypt your archive, add new files and re-encrypt with Enfomi.
Will compressing my files before encryption save space?
No it will not! If you look in the features list, Enfomi already performs zip compresson on all files before encrypting them. You will not gain any benefit by compressing your files beforehand.
My files over 1.4GB in size become unusable (Enfomi cannot decrypt them again).
Sorry about that! It’s a known bug but not one I can do anything about. On Windows XP, Windows Vista or Mac OS Leopard with latest Java installed, you should not see this problem (make sure to enable Java 1.6 on Leopard as it is off by default). You are most likely to experience the bug on previous Mac OS X versions (and perhaps on Windows with Java 1.5 too but I have not verified it). This is caused by the way the Java Virtual Machine has been implemented in the earlier versions. If you see this happening, you should try to stick with encrypting files less than 1.4GB in size or breaking up one large file into smaller chunks. (I’m also considering releasing a version of Enfomi that uses LZMA compression instead of zip and thus bypassing the bug)
This page last updated: Oct. 13, 2008
I downloaded your program and I’m trying to use it but appears a message, whatever configuration chosen: “Ooops we encountered an encryption error. Please try again.”. I have all files required and payed attention in java policy files stuff. I’m using Vista x64.
Thank you.
Hey there,
Thanks for trying out Enfomi! It would help me if you could describe the error in a bit more detail. Are you trying to encrypt one file or several? Which encryption methods have you tried? Is the file on your desktop or in some shared directory? I would suggest starting with a single file and 3DES encryption and seeing if that still gives you an error. In the meantime I’ll look in the code to see why it might be erroring out. Unfortunately, I do not have Vista 64-bit so it’s difficult for me to test how well it runs though I expect it to behave the same as on other platforms.
I tried all the possible forms: single file, multiple files, single folder, multiple folders, ALL the encryption methods, self decrypting file, not-self decrypting file, on my desktop, in several other directories…and nothing!
What I thought strange is the name of future file on the “Encrypt to:” field: Whichever name I give to it, it always remains with the name “myEncryptedFile.jar”. Would have something to do with this issue?
Darn, sorry to hear that. My apologies for not getting back to you sooner, I’ve been really busy with some important events. “myEncryptedFile.jar” is working as it should. You can change it if you browse for a different directory. Right now it is just intended to provide a name if you don’t provide one (and make sure that things end in .jar). I am kind of perplexed about why it isn’t executing on Windows 64-bit. Is there a way for you to run the same jar on a Win-32 machine? It may have something to do with the encryption library only being 32bit. I’ll try to see what people say on the forums.
Alexei,
I’m having the same problem as “Cpt. Guapo”:
“Ooops we encountered an encryption error. Please try again.”
I’m using the latest/updated Mac OS X Leopard and your “Enfomi_beta1.1-JDK5.jar” that I downloaded on 12 July 2009.
I’ve tried to encrypt a file and a folder and I get the same error for both situations. Let me know if there is something that needs to be done first or setting that needs to be turned on to make this work.
Thanks!
ADK
Hi ADK,
Thanks for checking out Enfomi! Would you please provide me with a bit of info on what kind of encryption algorithm you are trying to use and how big the file is that you are trying to encrypt? Have you installed the Java Unlimited Encryption Policy Files as I described above? It can a bit a bit tricky on the mac because your Mac OS X Leopard has several versions of Java. You should locate both Java 1.5 and Java 1.6 versions and install the policy files for both. If you need more direction, let me know and I’ll be glad to help.
Also, can you try running Enfomi from terminal and see what happens? To do this, open Applications->Utilities->Terminal.app then switch to the folder where you downloaded Enfomi (typically Downloads folder – so to switch to it you would type “cd ~/Downloads” and hit enter). When you have switched to the right folder see what you get when you type: “java -version”. Then try to execute Enfomi with: “java -jar Enfomi_beta1.1-JDK5.jar” When Enfomi starts up, try to encrypt something. When you do it this way you are likely to get the same error as before but watch the Terminal as it will print a more meaningful error message. I suspect you will get something about hash size not matching. In any case, let me know what you get.
Do you have a source code download? I’ve been hunting around both sourceforge and your web site. I think you have a very good thing going on here. I wanted to retrofit your source and make it headless so I could run it from the command line. I downloaded it and used it and found it to be a pretty good thing
I’m very good at Swing APIs including the layout managers and what not. Currently, I’m trying to create a self decrypting archive that can be automated from the command line. My boss needs it ASAP so anything I can do in exchange, let me know.
Thanks in advance.
Stuart,
Sure thing. The source code is committed under the svn repository on source forge. Here is the website that will tell you how to get it: http://sourceforge.net/projects/enfomi/develop Glad to hear that you’re using it to develop a headless version. If this is something that you could publish publicly, I would be interested in seeing it.