[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello Mathieu,

That version is long since outdated. Why would you want to download it, and where did you find a reference to it? The current version is 2.1.1464.

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello Ryan,

This is the “Secured Folders” feature. It means you can designate a folder, typically a synchronized folder with your cloud service that is being monitored for updates and changes. If you have iCloud, One Drive or Google Drive installed AxCrypt will automatically create a “My AxCrypt” folder there also.

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello Brooks,

Ok, it’s a little more complicated but I usually try to simplify it with the statement “An AxCrypt-encrypted file will always be possible to open if you know the original password used to encrypt it”.

Perhaps a better wording than “the original password used to encrypt it” would be the “the password used when the file was most recently (re-)encrypted”.

With AxCrypt 2, there are other factors involved as well. Here’s a more detailed description:

– The actual key used to encrypt the file is a purely random 128 or 256 bit key generated internally by AxCrypt. You never see this key. It’s called the Master Encryption Key in AxCrypt, in the literature it might be called a Session Key.

– This master key, is in turn encrypted essentially with your password. In AxCrypt 2, this is the password you used to sign in to AxCrypt with.

– With AxCrypt 2, you also get an AxCrypt ID which in technical terms is a RSA 4096-bit key pair. This is used for the key sharing feature, where an encrypted file can be shared with others and they can open it with their own passwords.

– Your own AxCrypt ID is also used to encrypt the master key. So for each file, the master key is encrypted at least twice – once with your password, and once with the sharing (public) part of your AxCrypt ID.

– If you use the key sharing feature, the same master key will be encrypted once for each recipient you share the key to the file with.

Now, if you change the password for your AxCrypt account, what really happens is that the secret (private) part of your AxCrypt ID is re-encrypted with your new password.

Let’s for this example also say that you’re sharing the key with one recipient.

You’ll be alice@axcrypt.net. Your friend recipient will be bob@axcrypt.net .

You have an AxCrypt password for alice@axcrypt.net : Secret4Alice

Your friend bob@axcrypt.net has password : Bob4Ever

You sign in to AxCrypt with ‘Secret4Alice’.

You encrypt a file ‘CoolStuff.txt’.

AxCrypt generates a master key and encrypts ‘CoolStuff.txt’ into ‘CoolStuff-txt.axx’, and embeds the encrypted master key twice: once using your password ‘Secret4Alice’, and once using your AxCrypt ID.

You share the key to the file with bob. Now the master key is encrypted three times in the same file: once using your password ‘Secret4Alice’, once using the ‘alice@axcrypt.net’ AxCrypt ID and finally also using ‘bob@axcrypt.net’ AxCrypt ID.

It can now be decrypted with the password ‘Secret4Alice’ since it for one can decrypt the master key directly in the file, but since that is also the key to the encrypted AxCrypt ID you have, the master key can also be decrypted using that.

It can also be decrypted by Bob, since he has access to his private AxCrypt ID part, and can thus also decrypt one of the three copies of the master key embedded and encrypted in the file. Bob uses ‘Bob4Ever’ as his password for AxCrypt, so that’s the password that he is using to open the file.

—

Now you (Alice) change your AxCrypt password to ‘NewGood2Go’. This causes your (Alice’s) AxCrypt ID to be re-encrypted with the new password.

—

The situation we now have is that the file ‘CoolStuff-txt.axx’ can be opened with three different passwords:

1) The original password used when the file was encrypted: ‘Secret4Alice’.

2) The password to Alice’s AxCrypt ID: ‘NewGood2Go’.

3) The password to Bob’s AxCrypt ID: ‘Bob4Ever’.

This is what I mean that the file can always be decrypted with the original password used to (re-)encrypt the file.

—

Finally, you Alice decide to open the file and edit it. This causes ‘CoolStuff-txt.axx’ to be re-encrypted. Since you changed your AxCrypt sign in, you’re now using the password ‘NewGood2Go’ as the ‘original’ password. The file can now only be opened with two passwords (but actually in three ways):

1a) The original password used when the file was encrypted: ‘NewGood2Go’.

1b) The password to Alice’s AxCrypt ID: ‘NewGood2Go’.

2) The password to Bob’s AxCrypt ID: ‘Bob4Ever’.

—

Ok, I need to write this up with a few illustrations ;-)

 

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Ok,

Thanks for all the info.

Actually, what you’re saying about the install of the latest version makes me think that there is a problem is with your machine, possibly in combination with some problem with AxCrypt.

There is really no way that the AxCrypt installer could do remotely what you describe, unless something in your system is severely broken. There is also absolutely no difference whatsoever between the 2.1.1460 and 2.1.1464 installers, only very minor differences to the actual executable being installed.

You’re also on a rather old system, with a lot of history presumably (unless you happened to install Windows 7 recently of course). You might not by any chance be using some kind of Windows Explorer replacement or similar software as well?

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello John,

Thank you for working with us to determine the cause of this behavior.

As you noted, there is no difference in double-clicking or right-click AxCrypt | Open. That is expected.

You seem to have found something when you say that it sometimes opens twice. We’ll have to stress test that and see if we can reproduce it.

I did notice though that you’re not running the latest version of AxCrypt. Please always ensure that are running the latest and greated, especially when testing things out.

May I ask what version of Windows you’re using, and also what viewer you are using for pictures?

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello John,

I’m sorry, I was not clear enough. Of course I don’t want you to send any real content files! No, what I meant was the configuration text files that are located in %localappdata%\AxCrypt (this is above the ‘randomly’ named folders where you saw the decrypted images).

These files are named ‘FileSystemState.txt’, ‘ReportSnapshot.txt’, ‘UserAccounts.txt’, ‘UserPublicKeys.txt’ and ‘UserSettings.txt’.

Once again – the only time that AxCrypt creates decrypted in ‘random’ folders below %localappdata%\AxCrypt (where you found them) is when you double-click an AxCrypt file to open it directly.

This can in turn lead to another situation – if you *edit* the files after this type of open, *and* do a ‘Save As’, you may inadvertently be saving new copies to the temporary folder. These may then be left around, and it’s a known issue for this very special case.

I’m guessing the files in question were leftovers from your ‘playing around’ time. Perhaps you cleared all settings, or reinstalled AxCrypt or did something similar while they were there. In this case, yes, AxCrypt will lose track of them. I’ve added an issue to handle this situation also. You can follow progress here: https://bitbucket.org/axantum/axcrypt-net/issues/214/scan-temp-folder-for-unknown-files-during .

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello John,

The files that go into the “Recent” tab are the only ones that are temporarily decrypted to %localappdata%\AxCrypt. These are only files that are “opened” – i.e. not decrypted manually, but opened, viewed while remaining encrypted (or updated if you’ve edited the file). Files that you for example decrypt using the AxCrypt Windows Explorer context menu right click | AxCrypt | Decrypt do not go there, nor are they temporarily or in any other way decrypted to the %localappdata%\AxCrypt subfolders.

The icon will become red for the duration that you are signed in and AxCrypt has a record of any file being decrypted temporarily to %localappdata%\AxCrypt.

If you could please email the text files you find in %localappdata%\AxCrypt to support att axcrypt dott net, we’ll take a look at them and see if we can determine what has happened. To what’s in them, just open them with notepad – they are just regular text files.

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello John!

In the main window, there’s a tab named ‘Recent Files’. This is a list of files that you’ve worked with recently. This list is persisted to a file, and that’s also where it’s recorded where and if a file is open that needs to be cleaned.

The icon is only red when there’s  a need to clean something. As I said, mostly it’ll do it automatically.

You do need to be signed in also for the icon to be active, since it may need to re-encrypt modified files and it can’t do that if you’re not signed in.

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello,

This is caused by not instructing AxCrypt to clean up these temporary copies. This is indicated by AxCrypt enabling the red broom icon:

When you click that it’ll clean up. In most situations, AxCrypt will clean this automatically but in some cases it can’t determine if it can do so safely, then you decide by clicking that icon.

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello,

I can see nothing really wrong. Your account is verified, and you have successfully signed in as late as today.

You’re not showing all the screens I think?

I’ve tried a number of scenarios, but I cannot reproduce this at all. One thing that has been an issue before, is that the windows become positioned wrongly – even off screen.

Another idea would be if for some reason the settings file has become write protected.

Can you please try to reset all settings and then sign in? Also ensure that there are no running instances of ‘AxCrypt’ in Task Manager. If there are – terminate them.

The setting is under ‘Arquivo | Opcoes | Limpar todas as configuracoes e Sair’ (sorry for not having the right keyboard to write the characters correctly).

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello Fabio!

Please post screenshots of the situation where things go wrong, it’s a little hard to determine exactly what your problem is.

Also, in order to check your account we need your registered email. Please send it to support att axcrypt dott net (replace as obvious) if you don’t want to publish your emailadress here.

Finally, don’t try to do all those ‘tricks’ – you’re just going to get into deeper trouble. AxCrypt works as it is – or it doesn’t in which case we need to fix it.

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello,

Ok, then. The next time, if any, that you can’t sign in please take a screen shot of the situation then, with the error and send to the support email.

Good luck!

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello Killian,

I take then that you updated to the most current version of AxCrypt and thereafter it all worked as it should? Good luck!

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello Killian,

I’m sorry to hear you’re having problems. I’d like to ask you for your account email, and some screenshots to help you resolve your problem. If you’re uncomfortable with posting that here, please send an email to support att axcrypt dott net .

(Replace ‘att’ and ‘dott’ with the obvious. Misspelling intentional. We get enough spam as it is!)

[AxCrypt SupportModerator]

Hello Gopalakrishnan,

Thanks for your feedback!

We’re grateful for all comments, and we’re working continuously on improving the experience for existing as well as new users.

 

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