Re: Formatting Re-opened Ciphertext Problem.

[Austin Obyrne <austin.obyrne@hotmail.com>]

On Wednesday, September 4, 2013 3:36:09 AM UTC+1, Dennis Lee Bieber wrote:
> On Tue, 3 Sep 2013 13:58:22 -0700 (PDT), Austin Obyrne <austin.obyrne@hotmail.com> declaimed the following: > >*Alice’s file of ciphertext is copy ‘n pasted as a Word document file in Microsoft Word for calling later to go as the attachment to the email. > Why? I presume it is a text file... Why not just attach the text file to the email... Who knows what Word might do to the contents -- not to mention having to extract the cipher text at the other end before reversing the process. (Especially as "Word document file" encompasses some four or five variants: Word 6 [I think even Word 2010 has stopped supporting that format], Word between v6 and 2007 [proprietary binary format], RTF, and the ZIPped XML format used since Word 2007). Word expects to operate on paragraphs, not plain text. >Problem. > >When Alice encrypts something like say the word ‘milestone’ her ciphertext as integers is stored as a file of some 27 integers of ciphertext – that’s ok – but when she re-opens the file if ciphertext again in her gnat 311.p editor (AdaGIDE editor) so as to make it into a Word document for sending to Bob (which AdaGIDE is an Ada IDE developed for educational usage (Air Force Academy). It is optimized to display formatted Ada source files of (relatively) small size (since GNAT works with separate spec/body files -- source files from compilers that allow multiple spec/body/packages in one file have to be "chopped" to work in the GNAT world -- so an editor doesn't have to work with significant sized files) >she can do ok) she finds that the spacing between the integers is now four spaces between each integer instead of what she would like to be just 1 conventional space. This increases the volume of ciphertext to be copy 'n pasted as a Word document considerably which she does not want. So... What character was being used in the program to separate these integers? If the program is separating each integer with a TAB character, then seeing four spaces is quite likely the correct behavior. Or could these integers be written using a formatted write specifying a fixed width, which is wider than that needed for the integer. > >The upshot is that the eventual file of ciphertext in the case of a large file (of 30000 characters actually to hand) being sent to Bob as a word document is so large now because of the enlarged spacing that his editor can’t take it and he can only decrypt a portion of the full message (which he can do ok – but stops at 992 characters instead of 30000). All of this because of the spacing in the ciphertext being 4 spaces instead of 1. > I'm pretty sure even W9x Notepad could handle a 30kB file -- so just what type of expansion is this "ciphertext" inflicting... Even a 10:1 expansion is only 300kB, which is in the noise. But again, this shouldn't matter... Just send to ciphertext file itself as the attachment, and feed that to the decipher process directly -- don't try loading into a text editor just to be copied into a Word document for sending, only to reverse that on the other end. >Question: Can Alice control the spacing of the ciphertext by any means when it is reopened after encrypting it initially in her AdaGIDE editor. (I have looked at the tools options in AdaGIDE – ‘interval’ setting? Change it to 1 But no effect) > >In other words can I somehow format the way the ciphertext reopens in the AdaGIDE editor – i.e. can I regulate the spacing to be just 1 space and not 4 spaces. > >Your help would be greatly appreciated. This scheme depends on being able to solve this problem. It is a good scheme otherwise. > >Thanks in anticipation. > >Adacrypt -- Wulfraed Dennis Lee Bieber AF6VN wlfraed@ix.netcom.com HTTP://wlfraed.home.netcom.com/

<Just send to ciphertext file itself 
<as the attachment, and feed that to the decipher process directly -- don't 
<try loading into a text editor just to be copied into a Word document for 
<sending, only to reverse that on the other end. 

Many thanks Dennis.  I am going to work on that suggestion - at this moment I am not sure if I can call the ciphertext file directly for attachment to the email but I will work on that experimentally.

What I have in my locker is some very good encryption software of my own invention that should really be implemented in purpose-built technology but that is a very hard sell to makers of that technology at the moment.

This plan of my sending the ciphertext by existing technology is a makesfift less-than-ideal alternative but if it works then it means that ordinary users can send encrypted emails from their own computers without having to go through specialised channels being provided in centrally operated (expensive)clearing houses.

Have you any experience of attaching files like this to emails without going through a word processor. - should be quite possible I think.

 Many thanks - Austin O'Byrne