Security

How do I set/change my password?

Click on the Options menu and select Change User Password.

You will need to enter your current password (unless you have a blank password) to create a new password.

What is Extended Security?

Extended Security enhances The Journal's normal security by adding an additional layer of protection, and a couple of security-related options.

The Journal's "basic" security is quite good, more than most people will ever need. Extended Security builds on that to make The Journal as secure as possible.

Learn more about Extended Security.

What kind of encryption does The Journal use?

Passwords

Passwords in The Journal are never stored in the database without being "hashed".

Passwords are hashed with the MD5 algorithm produced by RSA Data Security, Inc. This is a one-way hashing algorithm, making it nearly impossible to guess the password from the hashed value.

Encryption

Entries stored in The Journal are always compressed before encryption. The compression removes redundant information from the entry, making the encryption somewhat more secure.

Compression of entries uses the LZH5 compression algorithm (a Lempel-Ziv-Huffman algorithm) programmed by South Pacific Information Services Ltd. This is very similar to the compression used by the LHarc utility.

Encryption of entries uses the Twofish block cipher designed by Bruce Schneier. Encryption keys are created using the intervals between certain keyboard and mouse events. The event intervals are measured in 1/1,000,000ths of a second over a period of time and provide a reasonable amount of "entropy" to keep them from being predictable.