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* * * * * * * *************** * *************** * * * * * * * * * * THE CONFIDANT (tm) * * USER GUIDE * * * * * * * * * * *************** * *************** * * * * * * * * * * * Copyright (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage Yale Station 2902 New Haven, CT 06520 THE CONFIDANT(tm) Version 2.00 - June 1984 User-Supported Encryption Software for the IBM Personal Computer Copyright (C) 1983, 1984 by Data Sage. All rights reserved. TRADEMARK NOTICE The Confidant is a trademark of Data Sage. IBM is a registered trademark of the International Business Machines Corporation. AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE The Confidant is a user-supported or "shareware" program. User-supported software is an experiment in software distribution based on three principles: 1. You can best assess the utility of a program on your own computer. Only by using it can you see whether it meets your needs. If it doesn't, you shouldn't have to pay for it. 2. The creation of personal computer software can and should be supported by the computing community. If you use someone else's work, we think you will want to contribute a small share of the cost, just as someone who uses your work should do for you. If you are using this program and find it of value, we ask you to contribute to its support by donating $10 (suggested) to: Data Sage Yale Station 2902 New Haven, CT 06520 Companies and other organizations are asked to donate $10 for each building where The Confidant will be used. 3. Copying and sharing software is a good thing that should be encouraged rather than restricted. Data Sage grants permission to individuals and organizations to copy the program and documentation for The Confidant (tm), provided that neither the program nor the documentation is modified in any way, and that no fee or consideration is charged. However, a club may charge a small fee for the distribution cost of the diskette, provided that it informs its members of the user-supported concept and encourages them to support the program with their donations. INTRODUCTION Congratulations on choosing The Confidant. We believe you will find it a faithful friend which can provide you with privacy and security. We want The Confidant to work for you. So we have supplied you with what we believe is the best documentation available. Several files on the diskette containing The Confidant bear the extension label .DOC. Together they comprise the USER GUIDE, including: * A full Table of Contents, contained in this file (DESCRIPT.DOC), to all the documentation, so you can find what you want when you want it. This description also tells how to start The Confidant and what equipment you need. * A casebook-style Tutorial to make learning more effective and more enjoyable. It is contained in the file TUTORIAL.DOC. * A detailed Reference manual, in REFER.DOC. * A Quick Reference Card, found in REFCARD.DOC. We recommend that you print a copy of the documentation by COPYing each of the four .DOC files to your printer. What Does The Confidant Do? Here is a quick overview of what The Confidant can do for you: The Confidant encodes sensitive data, such as personnel information, payroll and income data, health records, examinations, test scores, survey data, or business plans, in order to keep them confidential. The Confidant prevents undetected accidental alteration of data, and permits only authorized persons to make intentional alterations. The Confidant protects information transmitted by communications lines from alteration as well as from unauthorized use by anyone intercepting it or trying to change it. The Confidant gives a choice of two encryption procedures. The national Data Encryption Standard (DES) provides very high security. A faster "privacy" procedure [The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-2] that is somewhat less secure provides encryption for normal use, where speed is important. The Confidant also provides the ability to enter data into the computer, to copy files, and to print files. Input to the program may come from either a disk file or the keyboard of the console. Output may be directed to a file, the screen of the console, or a printer. Who Uses The Confidant? Most persons needing occasional or routine data security should find The Confidant useful. Examples are: * Businessmen and executives who need to protect business plans and data. * Professionals, such as physicians, lawyers, or accountants who must protect the privacy of clients. * Computer users who need to transmit sensitive information over public communcations lines. * Educators with grades and examinations online. * Social and behavioral scientists who have collected sensitive data and are concerned about the subjects' right to privacy. * Individuals who want to maintain the privacy of their own personal information. The Confidant is intended for use by individuals and organizations for "normal" encryption. That is, it is meant to protect and keep confidential the routine information that individuals and companies produce. The Confidant is NOT meant to replace hardware devices where these are required. For example, Government standards require hardware encryption for Federal agencies. The American Banking Association requires hardware encryption of fund transfers between financial institutions. In addition, hardware encryption is better for "volume" encryption. If you are an individual, The Confidant will most likely meet your needs. If you are a company, or other organization, it will probably meet many of your needs. But you should check with your organization's security officers or in some other way make sure that software encryption meets the requirements you have. Having said this much, we think you will find The Confidant an invaluable tool. We hope you find a good deal of pleasure in using it. [The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-3] Enjoy Using The Confidant The Confidant is friendly and easy to use. It is also easy to learn. We hope you will begin by examining this USER GUIDE, including the Table of Contents and the Index, so you will know where to find information when you need it. Then turn to the TUTORIAL file and get started. We are always anxious to improve the program and the documentation. Please write us if you have comments or suggestions. Disclaimer We have done everything we can to make The Confidant work well for you. However, we cannot be responsible in the event of problems. In using The Confidant, you agree that in no event will you hold Data Sage liable for any damages, actual or consequential, that may arise from use of this product. * * * [The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-4] THE CONFIDANT USER GUIDE TABLE OF CONTENTS DESCRIPTION (DESCRIPT.DOC) Introduction .................................... D-2 Table of Contents of the entire USER GUIDE ..... D-5 What You Need to Use The Confidant .............. D-6 Getting Started with The Confidant ............ D-7 Index to the DESCRIPTION ........................ D-11 TUTORIAL (TUTORIAL.DOC) The Confidant and the Secret Formula ........... T-1 What is There to Protect? ..................... T-1 Encryption Vs. Passwords ...................... T-2 What is Encryption? ........................... T-3 A Little Background ........................... T-3 Copying the Master Diskette ................... T-4 Using The Confidant ........................... T-7 Getting HELP .................................. T-7 The SOURCE .................................... T-9 The DESTINATION ............................... T-9 Choosing a PASSWORD ........................... T-10 Hiding the PASSWORD ........................... T-11 Starting Encryption ........................... T-11 Fixing Mistakes ............................... T-14 "Flipping" SOURCE and DESTINATION ............. T-15 Copying ....................................... T-15 Privacy ....................................... T-18 Directory and Erase SOURCE ...................... T-19 Using The Confidant to Transmit Data Over the Telephone .................................. T-19 Index to the TUTORIAL ........................... T-25 REFERENCE (REFER.DOC) How to Use the Reference ........................ R-1 Copy ............................................ R-2 DES Decipher .................................... R-3 DES Encipher .................................... R-4 The DESTINATION ................................. R-6 Directory ....................................... R-8 End ............................................. R-9 Erase SOURCE .................................... R-10 Flip ............................................ R-11 HELP ............................................ R-12 Hide ............................................ R-13 The Keyboard .................................... R-14 Maintaining Security ............................ R-16 The PASSWORD .................................... R-17 Privacy ......................................... R-19 PROBLEM Reports ................................. R-21 The SOURCE ...................................... R-23 Index to the REFERENCE .......................... R-25 [The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-5] WHAT YOU NEED TO USE THE CONFIDANT Required * IBM Personal Computer or BIOS-compatible computer * 64K bytes of RAM * One 5.25 inch double sided double density disk drive * An IBM-compatible color or monochrome display capable of showing 80 columns. If your display is set to 40 columns, the program will set it to 80 columns with your consent, otherwise the program will terminate. Optional * A serial or parallel printer * Additional hard, floppy or RAM disk drives * Additional floppy diskettes for saving data Required Software * PC-DOS 1.1 or higher * The Confidant, which consists of nine files: * CONFIDE.EXE (The Program) * CONFIDE.HLP (Online Help File) * CONFIDE.CRY (For Use with the Tutorial) * TYPE.ME (Explains Documentation files) * DESCRIPT.DOC (Description Document) * TUTORIAL.DOC (Tutorial Document) * REFER.DOC (Reference Document) * REFCARD.DOC (Quick Reference Card) * CONFIDE.INV (Invoice form) [The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-6] GETTING STARTED with The Confidant The best way to get started with The Confidant is to get acquainted with this USER GUIDE before you try to use the program. It will be worth your time to examine the Table of Contents and then read the TUTORIAL section. The TUTORIAL will lead you in a step-by-step manner through using The Confidant. It will teach you about security. It will also entertain you, in a mild sort of way. When you read the TUTORIAL, work along with it. Put yourself in Anne Lambert's or David Lyon's place, and do what they do. But if you are impatient to try out the program, as most people are, decide which of the three systems below is most like yours. Then follow the steps outlined. You'll be using it in no time. SYSTEM 1: A hard drive and a floppy drive Step 1. Boot your computer system in the normal way. If you are using DOS 2.0, use the PATH command to set the subdirectory where you want The Confidant to reside. Step 2. Place the original copy of The Confidant in the floppy drive. Step 3. At the DOS prompt, type: Copy A:*.* C: and press the <RETURN> key. (This assumes the floppy disk drive is your A: drive and the hard disk is your C: drive. If that is not correct, substitute the correct letters for the drives.) Step 4. When the copy is finished, remove the original copy of The Confidant from the A: drive and store it in a safe place. Step 5. At the DOS prompt, log your hard disk by typing: C: (Again, assuming your hard disk is the C: drive.) [The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-7] Step 6. At the DOS prompt, type: Confide and press the <RETURN> key. SYSTEM 2: Two floppy drives Step 1. Boot your computer system in the normal way. If you are using DOS 2.0, use the PATH command to set the subdirectory where you want The Confidant to reside. Step 2. Place the original copy of The Confidant in the A: drive. Step 3. Place a blank, formatted diskette in the B: drive. Step 4. At the DOS prompt, type: Copy A:*.* B: and press the <RETURN> key. Step 5. When the copy is finished, remove the original copy of The Confidant from the A: drive and store it in a safe place. Step 6. Remove the copy of The Confidant from the B: drive and put it into the A: drive. Step 7. At the DOS prompt, log your A: drive by typing: A: Step 8. At the DOS prompt, type: Confide and press the <RETURN> key. SYSTEM 3: One floppy drive Step 1. Boot your computer system in the normal way. If you are using DOS 2.0, use the PATH command to set the subdirectory you want The Confidant to reside under. Step 2. Place the original copy of The Confidant in the A: drive. [The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-8] Step 3. At the DOS prompt, type: Copy A:*.* B: and press the <RETURN> key. Step 3. In response to the prompt, insert a blank, formatted diskette in the B: drive. Press the <RETURN> key to start copying the first file. Exchange the original and copy diskettes in response to the prompts until all files on the original diskette have been copied. Step 4. When the copying is finished, store the original copy of The Confidant in a safe place. Step 5. Press the <RETURN> key. At the DOS prompt, log your A: drive by typing: A: Step 6. At the DOS prompt, type: Confide and press the <RETURN> key. Now you're started. Press <F9> for help. We hope you enjoy using The Confidant. And we suggest that you still study the tutorial and reference guide when you get a chance. [The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-9] ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Confidant(tm) was conceived and written by Stan W. Merrill, Ph.D. He also wrote the documentation. John B. Roeder, Ph.D. edited the documentation, added indexes, and in other ways prepared the program for distribution. JoLynn Bennett helped test it. Several persons not affiliated with Data Sage gave valuable feedback. Our thanks to David Colesworthy, Morris Effron, Claudia LaRock, Gene Lyman, Helena Merrill, and Gary J. Mulligan. [The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-10] INDEX to the DESCRIPTION (DESCRIPT.DOC) C Copying The Confidant programs and documentation, 1, 7ff D Disk drives, various configurations of, 6, 7ff Display, number of columns in, 6 Documentation, 2 H Hardware encryption, The Confidant does not replace, 4 Hardware needed to use The Confidant, 6 I Improvements, suggestions for, 4 O Optional hardware devices in using The Confidant, 6 P Purpose of The Confidant, 2, 3 R Reference manual, 2 Reference card, 2 Required hardware devices in using The Confidant, 6 S Starting out, 7 T Tutorial, 2, 7 U User-supported software, 1 W Who uses The Confidant, 3 [The Confidant Description (C) 1983, 1984 Data Sage - page D-11]