Password Encryption
Written October 2019
Beginning with A-Shell 6.5.1670, password data is encrypted within the edit control, preventing it from being snooped on by external system utilities. To help manage the feature, two new type codes have been defined:
Value |
Meaning |
|---|---|
||* |
enable password encryption |
|* |
disable password encryption |
Eventually the feature will become enabled by default, but initially during beta testing, it has to be explicitly enabled. The recommended way to do this is by adding SBR=INFDEF:||* to miame.ini, or use the SET INFDEF command from the dot prompt for ad hoc testing.)
The feature only applies when the following type codes are also set:
Value |
Meaning |
|---|---|
S |
security field |
|G |
GUI |
|E |
field remains displayed as a edit control when inactive |
When all of the conditions have been met, password edit controls will exhibit the following behavior:
| • | The contents are encrypted as they are loaded into the control and decrypted as read back out again. |
| • | You can TAB through the field without changing it, but any data entry into the field will first clear it. So you can't just change or add a single character to an existing password field. |
| • | An "eye" icon will be displayed at the end of the field. Clicking down on the icon reveals the password, clicking back up re-masks it. Note that due to some display-related mysteries within the implementation of the Windows edit control, the eye may not always be visible; in such a case, moving the mouse over the end of the field should redisplay it. |
History
2019 October, A-Shell 6.5.1670: Add INFLD password encryption to A-Shell.
