global menu:
This page remains incomplete: add PGP to the encryption section, add a better variety of encoder-decoder utils.
ARCHIVERS
Info-Zip-PkZip compatible file archiver
* * * * [updated 04-22-00]
"Compatible" does not equate to a cheap knock-off or clone in the case of Info-Zip. Info-Zip is format compatible with PkZip- but the resemblance ends there. The command line syntax varies from PkZip/Unzip, and additional options have been introduced. Info-Zip was developed primarily to provide cross-platform PkZip compatibility across a variety of operating systems (DOS/Win, Unix, OS/2, Mac, VMS, Linux, Amiga, Acorn, SGI, Atari, etc.). Unlike PkZip, it is also a completely free program. Info-Zip Site.
Although Zip still can't span a zip file across multiple floppies, it does most everything else as well as PKZip (compression size, speed). Zip has one compression method (deflation) and can store files without compression. Although creation of self-extracting EXE's is possible- it's not elegant, adds 30K to file size, and creates a file potentially not readable by PKZIP compatible viewers.
An alternate ZIP package (ZCRx.ZIP) contains an encryption program so that you can encrypt-protect your ZIP files.
04-00: UNZIP 5.41 released.
RK- High performance 32-bit archiver.
unrated [added 09-18-00]
Reviewed 09-18-00.
RK is a high performance archiver currently undergoing alpha development. It appears that the author intends to distribute RK under the GPL- this would be very welcome for a high performance DOS archiver. Although RK alpha version 1.03.01 (08-00) is currently lacking some basic maintenance features (e.g., no "delete file from archive" option), and is currently not optimized for speed, it already possesses several attractive features:
Requires a min. of 386+ PC and 4MB RAM (SFX archives require a 386+ target system too). Also available: Win32 console version, Italian versions. License status (09-2000): "...currently in the process of releasing the sources under GPL..."
Author: Malcom Taylor, New Zealand (2000). Home Page.
download rk103a1d.exe (alpha version [for testing purposes], 477K)
UC2- Archiver compresses files tighter than PKZIP (but...)
* * * *
...but PKZIP is the standard, regardless of it's shortcomings. UC2 was one of several file compression programs that tried to unseat PKZIP from its dominant market position. While UC2 is not "freeware" it is free for individual use. UC2's method of compression involves analyzing files for content type prior to compression. This allows a smarter and tighter compression of a set of files than is possible with PKZIP. The cost is slightly longer compression times.
Other nice features:
UC2's principal drawback is it's inability to span files across multiple floppy diskettes (includes a separate utility that performs this task). UC2 compression seems to require a large amount of memory (consistently fails under Windows on my 8MB 386/20). UC2 may leave temp files on disk. UC2 never achieved the popularity of PkZIP, ARJ, RAR, or LHA and has not seen an update since 1996. Author AIP-NL, Netherlands (1996) Home Page.
download uc2pro.exe (400K)
or uc237b.exe (400K, beta, Win95 support)
LHA- Archiver also creates freely distributable self extracting archives.
* * *
LHA is an older archiver which shares similar compression statistics with PKZip. Unlike PKZip, Arj, UC2, and RAR, LHA is true freeware, and self-extracting archives created by LHA may be freely distributed. Author: Haruyasu Yoshizaki. (1992; documentation-1996).
download lha255e.exe (65K, LHA SFX)
X1 -Super tight file archiver can also compress to common archive formats.
unrated
Although an interesting program, X1 is not recommended to most casual users of compression programs. But if you desire to create smaller archives than is possible with PKZIP, ARJ, LHA, or UC2 -and don't mind the longer compression time- you might want to try X1. X1 compresses text documents significantly better than PKZIP/Info-Zip and UC2. The degree of compression advantage for X1 is less for some file types (e.g., programs, binaries). Here is a quick and dirty compression size comparison of X1, PKZip, and UC2:
TXT file test:
Compress 8 ASCII files, total size= 1.8 MB, into single archive.
Archiver... Options .. Result
X1......... axm4 ..... archive size= 519 K, % orig. size= 28
X1......... axm1 ..... archive size= 650 K, % orig. size= 36
PKZIP...... ex ....... archive size= 668 K, % orig. size= 37
UC2........ att ...... archive size= 650 K, % orig. size= 36
EXE file test:
Compress 24 DOS/Win EXE files, total size= 1.74 MB, into single archive.
Archiver... Options .. Result
X1......... axm4 ..... archive size= 771 K, % orig. size= 44
X1......... axm1 ..... archive size= 793 K, % orig. size= 45
PKZIP...... ex ....... archive size= 814 K, % orig. size= 46
UC2........ att ...... archive size= 791 K, % orig. size= 45
Notes:
Possible disadvantages of X1:
Author: Stig Valentini (1997)
download x1dos95a.zip (298K)
UnRAR- Unpacks RAR archives.
unrated [updated 06-26-00]
UnRAR is the freeware unpacker for RAR compressed files. Since the RAR archiver is shareware, I will not describe it's terrific features except to note that it is becoming a more popular format on eastern European FTP sites, BBS's, and FIDONET. The freeware unrar.exe is included in the RAR package. RAR Home Page.
download rar250.exe (270K, RAR and UNRAR; RAR SFX); source code only: unrar250.zip (72K)
download rarx271.exe (256K, 32-bit RAR for DOS and OS/2)
OTHER FREE ARCHIVERS OF INTEREST:
unrated [section added 12-15-98]
EXE COMPRESS AND UNPACK
Familiar to most programmers and power users- but if you're obsessed with saving disk space you might want to experiment with these programs (note: If you already use disk compression software these utils won't save you much space). Power users: also see the Sudden Discharge site.
all unrated
UUE and MIME ENCODE-DECODE
UUdeview- UUE, XX, Base 64 (MIME), en/ decode. Decodes BINHEX.
* * * * *
A good, simple-to-use, multi-platform encoder and decoder package. UUEnview is capable of encoding files into UUE, XX-UUE, and Base 64 (MIME) formats. UUDeview can decode all of these plus the Macintosh BINHEX (*.hqx) format. UUDeview handles sequential and multipart files well. The program runs interactively- allowing one to make decoding decisions (e.g., renaming) based on the contents of the encoded message. Batch processing is also possible. The executable file sizes are a tad large compared to other DOS encode/decode utilities (100k each for encoder and decoder). Author: Frank Pilhofer. Germany (1997).
ENCRYPTION
Need to add public key programs like PGP. The IDEA and Blowfish algorithm private key programs listed here should be the most secure but I make no personal claims. If you want to prevent your mom or little brother from reading your love notes, any encryptor listed here should do the trick. If your mom works for the CIA, or if you intend to send/ receive sensitive information over the Net, I'd start at a different web page (e.g., See http://cryptography.org/ ).
Z-Crypt- Small, fast file encryption/decryption program.
* * *
A private key file encryption program- small, fast, and "anonymous." While Z-Crypt does not implement a well-tested cipher, it does combine several features that attempt to ensure the anonymity of encrypted files.
NOTES: Probably sufficient for non-critical needs, but cryptography experts probably wouldn't recommend it for high security uses. Unlike Tiny IDEA, Z- crypt only accepts a 1-word password, not a passphrase. A password must be typed on the command line, or included in a batch file- so there is a risk of it being seen by others. Cautions and quirks: DOS version shouldn't be used on files with Win 9x LFN's (non 8+3). Z-Crypt doesn't distinguish encrypted from decrypted files if you don't enter the proper password - if you enter the wrong password then the file gets encrypted again rather than announcing that you used a wrong password! Source included.
download zc031.zip (contains both DOS and OS/2 executables.)
Tiny IDEA- Small IDEA file encryptor and decryptor.
* * * * [updated 1-3-99]
Tiny IDEA is a tiny (500 bytes) private key file encryption program that uses the IDEA cipher. It is used to scramble files with a key, such that the original file cannot be recreated without knowledge of the key. Because Tiny IDEA overwrites files during encryption, it can also be used to destroy sensitive files. Does not scramble file names. Author: Fauzan Mirza, w/optimizations by B. Couture and M. Andreas. UK. (1996)
From the documentation:
"IDEA operates on 64-bit data blocks using a 128-bit key. No method of cracking IDEA faster than exhaustive key search (brute force) has been discovered, despite extensive analysis by professional cryptologers. As an example of IDEA's strength, imagine an incredibly fast computer that can brute force a 56-bit DES key in 1 second. This computer would take upto 194 days to crack a 80-bit key, like the one used by the NSA Skipjack cipher, and up to 149745258842898 years to crack a 128-bit IDEA key."
download idea3a.zip (version 3a, 19K)
Update 1-3-99: Mark Andreas has recently (12-98) released version 4 of Tiny IDEA, but note that it is export restricted from the USA. Some of the changes in v4.0 include smaller size (366 bytes), passphrase can be put on the command line, more. This distribution includes several variations, with different combinations of features. See Mark's crypto pages for version 4 availability and an in-depth description.
TinyFish- 5K Blowfish file encryptor.
unrated [added 9-25-98]
Designed along the same lines as Tiny IDEA, but uses a Blowfish algorithm.
Author: Dutra Lacerda, Portugal (1998)
download tinyfish.zip (10K)
Blowfish-CBC- Blowfish file encryptor.
unrated [added 9-25-98]
A simple private key file encryption program that uses a CBC implementation of the BlowFish algorithm.
Usage:
BLW-CBC (E|D) <PassFrase> <InputFile> [<OutputFile>]
| | | |
Encrypt ---+ +--- Decrypt Origin! Optional Argument
Author: Dutra Lacerda, Portugal (1998)
download blwcb15a.zip (37K)
SNOW- Conceal text message in an ASCII file.
unrated [added 5-9-98 updated 1-17-99]
"...Snow is used to conceal messages in ASCII text by appending whitespace to the end of lines. Because spaces and tabs are generally not visible in text viewers, the message is effectively hidden from casual observers. And if the built-in encryption is used, the message cannot be read even if it is detected....If a message string or message file are specified on the command-line, snow will attempt to conceal the message in the file infile if specified, or standard input otherwise. The resulting file will be written to outfile if specified, or standard output if not. If no message string is provided, snow attempts to extract a message from the input file. The result is written to the output file or standard output."
If a message (or message file) cannot be fit into the host file's available "free space," lines will be appended to the end of the file. An option does exist to adjust the length of lines which increases available message space. Optional encryption of the message is supported using the 64-bit ICE encryption algorithm in 1-bit cipher-feedback mode. Passwords can (theoretically) be up to 1170 characters in length. Simple compression of the message is also possible. Note that the original and message-containing files may differ in size, and there is no special, secure handling of passwords. Win32 console, Unix and Java versions are available from the author'spage. Author: Matthew Kwan, Australia. (1998)
Update 1-17-99: New in v11-22-98: "Files concealed with encryption using the DOS version could not be decrypted by the other versions, and vice versa....This has now been fixed...The source version, when compiled under Unix, also had a bug where it could not read data concealed by the DOS version, owing to the carriage return character appended by DOS. This has also been fixed..."
download snowdos16.zip (27K)
PASSWORD GENERATORS
1. KeyGen- Auto-generates multiple passphrases; saves to file; configurable.
unrated [added 9-12-98]
This program quickly generates multiple passphrases and automatically saves them to a user-named file. The program allows you to set options from a set-up screen: use upper and/or lower case alphabet, and/or numbers, and/or special characters; define passphrase length (10-80 characters); and define number of passphrases generated (1-999). No description of algorithm used, no source. Author: Zoltan Pupp, Hungary (1997).
download keygen.zip (8K)
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