Bug 101791 - KDE programs should allow saving/opening encrypted files
Summary: KDE programs should allow saving/opening encrypted files
Status: RESOLVED NOT A BUG
Alias: None
Product: kfile
Classification: Applications
Component: general (show other bugs)
Version: unspecified
Platform: Mandrake RPMs Linux
: NOR wishlist
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: kdelibs bugs
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2005-03-18 12:31 UTC by Tomasz Chmielewski
Modified: 2018-04-11 20:41 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

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Description Tomasz Chmielewski 2005-03-18 12:31:49 UTC
Version:            (using KDE KDE 3.3.2)
Installed from:    Mandrake RPMs
OS:                Linux

KDE programs (like KWord - documents, KWrite - text files, KMail - emails saved on disk, etc.) should allow saving/opening encrypted files using one unified encryption format.

This is how I imagine this could work:

1) User edits a document in KWrite (or KWord etc.)
2) User saves the document using "Save As"
3) User selects the location, name for the document, selects the checkbox "encrypt file" and saves the document
4) User is prompted to enter a password twice
5) the document is saved as "document.txt.crypt" or something like that

Using one unified, system-wide encryption format (which could be in some library) would ease writing programs which support file-encryption (because the authors wouldn't have to invent their own stuff, but use what comes with KDE instead).

If the application wouldn't (yet) support Open/Save encrypted files, a helper application (named KCrypr or similar) would allow him/her to convert the message from .txt format (or .jpg, .eml, .whatever) to .txt.crypt (or .jpg.crypt, .eml.crypt, .whatever.crypt etc.), and convert them back to not-encrypted format (enter password etc.).

This would come handy in the following cases:

1) storing documents on floppies/CDs/USB-sticks (which you can be lost)
2) storing some important documents on laptops (which can be stolen)
3) sending encrypted files in an enencrypted messages (not everyone can enable email encryption; and then read the encrypted message; KCrypt program would come handy)
4) storing important documents on a PC (not everyone can use encrypted filesystem etc.)
5) no OS / desktop environment has it yet (I think) :)


This wishlist is to *some* limited extent similar to http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=84956 (which is about KOffice only).
Comment 1 Thiago Macieira 2005-03-18 13:50:37 UTC
Did you know "amor" is the Amusing Misuse Of Resources toy application? Why did you file against it?

I guess this would be in kio/kfile, but we'd require some support from kdecore. It would be a nice feature.

Of course, people would then forget their passwords and come to us to unlock their important documents, at which time we'd tell them it's their fault.
Comment 2 Tomasz Chmielewski 2005-03-18 15:20:41 UTC
Hmm I was pretty sure I filed a bug/wishreport against "KDE - general KDE problems"... Anyway, I must have done something wrong that it filed against "amor"  :)

Well, I don't think "people would then forget their passwords and come to us to unlock their important documents" - as they don't ask questions regarding KMail if they forget their pop3 password?
Comment 3 Tomasz Chmielewski 2005-03-18 16:34:26 UTC
And to prevent people "forgetting their password -> coming to us" there could be a pop up window with a check button (don't show again) when saving an encrypted document for the first time, saying:

IMPORTANT - Encrypting files and documents
This document will be encrypted using 1024 bit alghoritm blah blah...
If you forget your password, it is impossible to decrypt this document blah blah...
Don't use weak passwords like your name or date of birth, combine digits with small and capital letters etc.


This windows could be shown once per application or once per whole system (for that user).
Comment 4 Tristan Miller 2005-11-16 20:58:14 UTC
Possible duplicate of Bug 108154?
Comment 5 Tristan Miller 2005-11-16 21:00:45 UTC
If this is implemented, please use a standard encryption toolkit such as GnuPG and gpg-agent, and allow both symmetric and public-key ciphers.
Comment 6 Christoph Feck 2009-08-27 02:36:11 UTC
Moving from "kio/kfile" component to "kfile" product, helps sorting out duplicates.
Comment 7 Nate Graham 2018-04-11 20:41:25 UTC
This kind of huge meta-task is not really well-suited for Bugzilla. If implemented, it would surely require dozens of individual Bugzilla tickets to track the work in different places. Thanks for the idea though, and we'll keep it in mind!