Version History

Every new version has improvements and changes behind the scenes, but those will rarely be called out here as they would provide no useful information to the end user.

3.4.5
  • Changed the "restart with full logging" capability to pull in additional, previously unavailable, debugging text.
  • Changed the reading of smart cards to provide a modest speedup when reading large numbers of certificates/identities from a card.
  • Changed default password length in the generator to 12.
  • Fixed a bug with the command-line parser when calculating file hashes.
  • Fixed a bug where certain environments could prevent proper loading and migration of saved options.
3.4.4
  • New command-line password generator capability.
  • New During cipher operations, if the source is a temporary file, behave as if "ask for output locations" is always on, using a safe starting destination. This should help when opening files directly out of other software (for example, encrypted email attachments won't be decrypted into some obscure location buried in the filesystem).
  • Changed the logging subsystem; the Log window and similar outputs should be much less cluttered and noisy now.
  • Changed minor improvements to the graphical UI: link directly to the local application data folder (buried and hidden by default on some platforms), improved messages during Windows install/uninstall, much faster password generation under unusual criteria, try to catch accidental uses of "Decrypt" on archive files.
  • Fixed the various smartcard windows to not explode if an access check is done without a card, but a card is inserted before the check times out. (The card should be properly detected in such a case.)
3.4.3
  • New for the File Info dialog:
    1. A 'Location' line with the full path to the file in question (good for finding output files after encrypting/decrypting, if you forget where the original file was)
    2. Clicking the 'Location' opens a file manager in that path, with the file in question selected if possible
    3. Double-clicking a file in the main GUI opens the File Info dialog
  • Fixed the Password Generator to give up if it cannot create a passphrase within a time limit; particularly stringent creation parameters can take excessively long.
  • Fixed the Password Generator in those custom builds which require password complexity to be enforced. During encryption, the generator tab's "Add" button will once again not become clickable until a password is generated which meets the same requirements as one typed in by the user. To see which parameters have not been met by a given generated password, hover the mouse over the grayed-out "Add" button. (The "Copy" button remains active for all generated passwords regardless of complexity requirements.)
  • Changed the various tests performed during startup. More errors in unusual situations should be handled properly, and users on some platforms should see faster startup times when using the GUI.
  • New check for Keychain files (*.wzk) in the Data Path during startup. Users will be prompted to open or skip any Keychains found in that folder, just as they have been for Keychains found in the current directory at startup. To find the exact Data Path for your system, see the System Info window in GUI mode, or use --sys-info on the command line. (Windows users may not have an existing Data Path until performing the optional install step under the Tools menu.)
  • Internal changes to code supporting custom build configurations. This has no visible effect on standard EW-Govt or EW-Public editions.
3.4.2
  • Fixed a bug where users of the Government FIPS edition storing public keys in their Keychains, or using a CAC/private key to encrypt their Keychains, could find themselves unable to re-open the stored Keychain file. Version 3.4.2 can re-open such Keychains and will automatically correct them to be usable again with older (or non-Government) versions.
  • Changed keytool wrapper utility will store public certificates in Base64 encoded PEM format instead of binary DER format, to be accessible to more tools, and will display its command line for users who need access to options beyond what the wrapper utility offers at any given time.
3.4.1
  • New keytool wrapper utility for interactively creating a public/private keypair, reachable under the Tools menu.
  • New command-line capability to extract metadata into a file during decryption operations. The file can be edited by hand, and can be used to apply metadata during subsequent encryption operations.
  • Fixed stored options to use a portable file rather than the native Java Preferences system. Air Force users of certain SDC versions should no longer encounter problems with stored options. (The file is in the 'Data Path' location shown in System Info.)
  • Fixed startup issues when trying to run EW when the JAR file is on specific kinds of network storage. Air Force users of certain SDC versions will see warnings and instructions at the very beginning rather than eventually running into problems later.
  • Fixed some startup and logging problems occasionally seen when running in a text-only environment.
  • Fixed restarting with JVM options inherited from the environment which also contain unprotected whitespace. Air Force users of certain SDC versions should no longer see the restarted window vanish.
  • Fixed temporary files handling on Windows systems with unusual temporary folder settings. Air Force SDC users should no longer see temporary files left behind after exiting (which were being cleaned up on the next run anyway but took up space in the meantime).
3.4.0
  • Move to Java 7 as minimum JRE version
  • Store and restore file attributes inside archives
  • Support for 256-bit AES
  • New command-line interface
  • Secure erasure and checksum/hashing without running the main GUI
  • Lots of under-the-hood improvements
3.3.7
  • Fix lost directory prefixes during drag-and-drop actions
3.3.6
  • Text input fields should always grab keyboard focus
  • Properly store, restore, and retrieve user options during startup
  • Make error handling more robust
3.3.5
  • Text search for Keychains
  • Alphabetical sort for Keychains
  • XML import for Keychains
  • Command line option for hashing files in MD5 or SHA256
3.3.4
  • Improved drag and drop interface for Keychain GUI
  • Reduced window size to work with netbooks and small pixel windows
  • Added additional capabilities to the command line interface including passphrase generation
3.3.3
  • Added capability to copy/paste hashes in File Info
  • Added Generate passphrase capability
  • Modified Keychain GUI to use menu and shortcut keys instead of buttons
  • Added XML export capability for Keychains
3.3.2
  • Fixed File Info hash error
3.3.1
  • Fixed Drag n Drop window refresh
  • Fixed Error when deleting last file in list
  • Fixed error where initial sort did not work
  • Fixed error where duplicate files where allowed to be added
3.3.0
  • Changed ATSPI Technology Office to ATSPI Technology Branch
  • Added option to specify target directory or filename for encryption or decryption
  • Added a keychain capability for storing passphrases and public keys
  • Modified the input wizard for encryption and decryption to increase user functionality
  • Added command line options to open a default keychain, overwrite files, and use a X509 certificate file to encrypt files
  • Added additional error feedback for users to reduce use of the log for error information
  • Added the ability to configure the pkcs11 library used for CAC communication
  • Added the ability to open multiple file info dialogs that contain the MD5 and SHA256 hashes
  • Added support for multiple CAC readers
  • Added new System Information dialog for better problem feedback from users
3.2.10
  • Modified CAC/PIV Dialogs to comply with accessibility reqts
  • CAC/PIV selection dialogs default to key with name containing 'Encryption' or 'Key Management'
3.2.9
  • Specified CAC and PIV for PKI cards in dialogs
  • Fixed background characters for PKI card dialog
3.2.8
  • Modified help to include organizational changes.
  • Switched order of buttons in metadata panel
  • Added user option to show or hide metadata panel
3.2.7
  • Fix issue with using older version of ActivClient if multiple instances were installed
3.2.6
  • Added support for using OpenSC libraries for Linux
3.2.5
  • Fix issue with using ActivClient 6.2
  • Documentation updates
3.2.4
  • Switched buttons on metadata panel
  • Documentation updates
3.2
  • Enterprise features
  • Soft private key support
3.1
  • Redesigned file format supporting multiple passphrases, file integrity checks, and digital signatures
  • More robust CAC support
  • Streamlined UI
2.2
  • Multi-file archive support
  • FIPS version available
  • Archive compression
  • Public Key encryption via CACs and CAC certificates
  • Performance improvements for large file lists
  • Sorted file list
  • Integrated message/error log
2.0
  • Entirely new code-base
  • Simplified interface supporting drag-and-drop
  • Integrated help system
  • Hot keys for most operations
1.0
  • In-place encryption of individual files
  • Passphrase-based keys
  • 128-bit AES