Multiple Passwords

[Peter]

I have been using the original version of Axcrypt successfully for many years.  I previously used different passwords to secure different files (because I could then share some, but not allow access to everything).  Having just upgraded to V2 it seems as though this facility has been lost?  Is there any way of using different passwords for different files (without setting up a number of different accounts and corresponding email addresses)?

[Jason]

No, this is no longer possible.

https://forum.axcrypt.net/blog/use-of-different-passwords/

[Peter]

Thanks Jason.  I have reverted to the earlier version which better suits my purposes – thanks for keeping web links to the old versions!

Whilst I appreciate the thinking behind using the same password as the encryption key and to sign in to the website, I wonder whether a future release might at least offer an option of using a password to sign into the site, but a different encryption key.  This could then be extended to support multiple encryption keys.  It can’t be uncommon for users to require different keys for different files?

[Jason]

My opinion is that it would be preferable to have the encryption password distinct from the website password although this was originally discounted on the basis of maintaining simplicity.

A potential solution would be to do what some large websites do. When the user wants to login they get emailed a unique link or a one-time code. This avoids the password dilemma entirely and can be further secured with 2-Step Verification.

[Ryan]

I also have used the old version of AxCrypt and had gotten into the habit of using different passwords for different batchs of files. This post cleared things up. But I would personally benefit from having multiple passwords or key-chains for files, I feel it less secure when everything I want to encrypt has the same password weirdly.

[SvanteSpectator]

Hello Ryan,

Did you read the blog post link above?

[Matt B]

Frustrating. There are practical reasons why a user might need/want to use different passwords to encrypt different files,  especially if certain files need to be shared with specific parties.

[SvanteSpectator]

Hello Matt B,

If certain files need to be shared with specific parties, the key sharing feature should be used instead of different shared passwords! It allows seamless sharing of encrypted files, without sharing of any passwords. It uses strong public key cryptography to achieve this.

[Peter]

Hi Svante,

I read the blog post link and it makes sense. I like how you take into account even the actual human behaviour. Thank you.

[Author]

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