This is the main status page of the Blackbird Encryption Project. Check here often for what is going on with Blackbird development and testing. If you are exploring a new frontier for Blackbird on your own, submit the information to the project so it can be noted on this page.

August 5, 2009
And so, grinding forward and through, not knowing what lies beyond, taking chances and pressing with all the doubts and fears of which it could be described only in the relaxed atmosphere of the past tense...

February 27, 2009
Nothing new - the Nevermore Video Tutorial is completed and in place. Nothing currently in work beyond consideration level.
Given that, how about you? What do you want? Perhaps we can break out of this bubble from which all real world computer needs are not known (that bubble is also known as "Seattle") and ask you, the end user, what you would like to see. Drop a line and tell it.

February 06, 2009
There are currently no new projects in development. However a video tutorial for Nevermore is in progress and going well thanks to Camstudio.
In the meantime, some of the Blackbird Core encryption entities have been successfully loaded into a JavaFX applet. Initially there was trouble with the CodeMeter and WibuKey implementation because these systems are third party requiring a runtime for the devices being installed. Therefore they need to make native calls to access the hardware device. The solution to this problem was to select "Self-signed Applet" in the project configuration panel of Netbeans. However the other encryption entities do not need this (though only Twofish was tested this way) to operate, the automatic copy to the System Clipboard through a clicking event is broken if the applet it not signed. Whether or not there will be a "BlackbirdFX" is still in question but the question is answered: yes, it can be done.

February 03, 2009
"Quoth the Raven..."
Nevermore is out! Tutorial is constructed and the tutorials page updated. Source code and project files are available. Unfortunately it still does not work on the Mac. Light testing on Linux. Expect lack of perfection but it must be used to be abused and abuse is a means of tempering the steel.
Nevermore development started 12-03-2008. Released on 02-03-2009. Some respite from the coding grind for a while and then.......

January 29, 2009
Tests for Nevermore on MacX using JRE 1.5 are failing. This is due to a certain class in Swing simply not being available in the JRE for MacX 10.4 and lesser. This was expected and most unfortunate. There was an attempt to create a Netbeans project using the Platform Manager and an installation of 1.5, but the DropPanel class, a Bean, this will not be possible. However Crow will work on a Mac X platform still as it only uses a basic AWT.

January 28, 2009
Raven is ready to quote... Nevermore is near completion and all that's left is final testing and the online tutorial. Finally it works on Linux for the anachronistic ones. There have been major updates to the PAD class in Blackbird Core and MINK. Objective is to have this out by weeks end.
Of particular note is how Nevermore can provide for group members (of an "encryption group" - people all sharing the same set of PAD Key Sequences) to update each other with new sequences when they find their supply of unused PAD Sequences getting low. This was an adaptation of CBC algorithm to the PAD encryption system that lets messages larger than the key be encrypted in a manner similar to AES CBC. However Nevermore provides the option to encrypt that output of the PAD CBC with Twofish in CBC mode as well.

January 11, 2009
Nevermore development continues. This is going to be sharp. Nevermore will be breaking a rule of PAD and adapting a stream cypher version of it so that it, while breaking the rule, is also only capable of noticing that. This allows group encryption to self-update through the same message format pipeline. It will also contain automatic update features and simplify a lot of the use of PAD Encryption. What a perfect project for this time of the year.

December 29, 2008
Nevermore still in development. Because if the need to draw upon resources in both the Blackbird core applet classes and MINK, there had to be some restructuring of both programs. This makes code reuse easier, but was a lot of tedious work.
Meanwhile, as the program is going to use some advanced controls, far beyond the simplicity of Crow, and put less user interface directly to the management of PAD sequences, this creates a lot of GUI work that is also time-consuming and tedious (especially when drunk with egg nog). Currently the bulk of the interface is worked out well, and though the control can invoke the old PAD Encryption Control Panel, a more advanced version is being designed and tested to reflect the goal toward simplicity.

December 12, 2008
A new program for the better utilization of PAD encryption has been in development for over a week now. It's called "Nevermore". So far the tricky GUI issues are still being worked out, then it will be time to drop the core in and get the motor start.
Nevermore will be a Java application suited for running on the desktop. Stay tuned.

November 27, 2008
Yes it's that day for the bird! OK it's not the Blackbird. But it's bad enough without calling this project the "Turkey Encryption Project". Would it garner more or less respect for that? Who knows.
The Blackbird Core and Crow (respectively as it uses the core or is there an echo in here?) get an upgrade that, as usual, that not garner a new version increase. Now they are using the System Clipboard to reduce the errors that come from the drag copy and paste methods of getting data from or to files, and such measures, that are error prone. In particular, errors of missing bytes on the encryption systems, except perhaps ROT13, will propagate through the decryption, so if something is missed there is trouble and it does not decrypt and everybody complains and the lead programmer (Doktor Jeep AKA crap-flinging monkey) will be up all night. So... Blackbird and Crow are updated, in download and source. 1:20 AM PST and all is well. Today is Thanksgiving Day. There are still some things to be thankful for.

November 18, 2008
The Blackbird Core is getting a minor upgrade. The output of the cyphertext fields will be going direct to the clipboard on click event, to cut down on mistakes that occur from having to drag highlight and copy manually. Crow is also getting its cyphertext input box changed to take in whatever is in the clipboard. These are simply changes to make usage easier.
Meanwhile, there is no final decision on asymmetric encryption going into the Blackbird Core. Though CodeMeter has this capability and that may be implemented in the future (the code is already tested), asymmetric encryption is already well-done by some of the various PGP programs already freely available and there is much work to get done elsewhere so that reinventing the wheel may not be worth the time.

November 3, 2008
With most of the changes in place, tests still need to be done and the programs need to be swept for debug code. There is also indecision for what to do with PAD Key sequences in the Crow program when loaded. This is not decided yet.
Meanwhile, the lack of traffic here is no big deal. This project will remain available regardless of how few of those who clamor for encryption as if their lives depended on it actually use it. Sure it's easy to be dramatic and act like the jackbooted thugs are pounding on your door, then go ATVing and drinking beer or watching football games the next day, only after filling my ear with all this critical alarm crap and how I need to make myself useful and am not doing enough. But who is the one up to 3 AM most nights working on this?

October 31, 2008
Crow improvement continues in earnest. Because of the one-user quality of Crow, using the Blackbird Core Encryption is proving to be error prone. Therefore new functions and operations are put in place to allow pegging that system to an individual user and automatic setting of user identification variables in the Encryption Control Panels of those Encryption Entities that rely on User Id - Password/Initialization vector pairings. Much remains unchanged for those that do not have these attributes.
Blackbird Core gets some added utility functions for this, but currently there is a bug in handling of initialization vector entries greater than 16 bytes to the CodeMeter system, the function for external vector settings is returning a false negative for that. This can be easily solved in several ways, but which way is not yet decided.

October 28, 2008
More improvements to Crow were done last week but today the website tutorial is completed to show these changes. Crow is turning out to be more popular than expected, and so more issues turn up faster. Crow will be updated some more, in particular in the case of PAD File handling. To do this as elegently as was done with the Blackbird Core, MINK was modified to encapsulate it's features so that too can be "dropped" into Crow. The work on MINK is already done, but it's not released yet until fully tested.

October 21, 2008
Crow gets yet another update. So to make sure that encryption of online persistent data can use more complex passwords, and given that a shorter password could be used on an encrypted storage file, the user should not have to enter their own password for that file every time, but at the same time not have to do that every time they want to encrypt something with their own handle. So a "pegged" identifier will be used in Crow so that those looking to get out messages quicker need only know how to decrypt their file with a password, but Crow will handle automatic entry of passwords and initialization vectors for Encryption Entities that use them.

October 17, 2008
Crow getting some signifigant updates in the application side of things. Now having multiple Identifiers per password or vector entry to ease the task, and using (initially) Twofish to give the user the option to save their collection of passwords and vectors into an encrypted file for reloading later. Some minor improvements along the way as well. As of Friday night 10-17-2008 everything up to date (or I die here at the Desk of Doom).

October 08, 2008
Crow is complete, and the tutorials for it are written. Today the new files are uploaded, and the website gets a downloads page for distributions seperate from the source code download page.
All pages needing update done.

October 01, 2008
Introducing..... Crow
Thanks to the anachronistic types who do not use Java in their browsers, or have old browsers for which their systems will not allow the present trappings of Java and Javascript that the applet needs, and last but not least those whose networks block it, Blackbird is getting a "flat" output format that will be decrypted by another utility program that will be made available shortly.
This program, Crow, will be a simple Java application that intends to use the basic AWT (though older flavors of Linux have been seen to use the Swing components of MINK) that users can use to decrypt "flat" entries of encrypted data. All they need to do is copy the encrypted entry from the web page or forum post (or wherever they get it since is simple text) and paste it into Crow's window.
At it's core, Crow will use Blackbird encryption entities with slight modifications and thus have the ability to generate encrypted data with the same capabilities as the applet. There is intended due diligence to keep these packages on the same level of development. Crow is expected to be completed this week and made for release. Flat output for the Blackbird applet is already in place and tested, but not yet released. MINK will remain as it currently is, being simply a tool for PAD key generation and management.

September 27, 2008
Mode 1 Deployment and all the other needs are done. So far testing is good on all systems but these are not extensive. So some bugs could pop up.
All code updates and mods for Mode 1 are completed.
Some improvements on code made where needed. (annotated in source code).
Fixed a bug in the string parser that was, depending on the class, crashing either the upper level or the lower level decryption calls.
Added for Mode 1 a "kick" menu function to initiate the decryption loop in cases where the page is already loaded.
All documentation updated on the website.
New source code with all changes packaged up and uploaded to website.

September 25, 2008
Blackbird Mode 1 testing complete, and a success. Blackbird now works properly "reaching" into an IFRAME containing encrypted information, and decrypts it. But (there is always a but) when surfing around with this setup, there is no applet loading that triggers decryption, such as with the case with Mode 0 Default and initiated decryption calls (such as when adding ID and Vector/Password information). This means that the applet, to work right in Deployment Mode 1, needs some kind of triggered decryption call, or something to trigger it to hit the IFRAME DOM and decrypt whatever entry it finds there.
The biggest problem with Mode 1 was that the phpBB3 forums required custom BB code, since the applet would not work with the BB code and the server is what does the coverting from BB Code to HTML that the applet needs. One solution for this is to allow HTML in postings on a forum or blog entry, but this can result in a website being hacked and is too high a security risk. Therefore, custom BB code has to be added to the server for converting to HTML on page display, and in addition to that, the applet needs to be modified to give a choice for outputting BB Code instead of HTML as it currently does. This fix, which can help the applet go live, requires vastly more coding and work.
As Gimli would say "What are we waiting for?"

September 24, 2008
Blackbird Mode 1 testing in forum protection is failing due to limitations of HTML entry into forum posts. This was not a completely unforseen problem, but newer systems have heavier limitations on HTML entry as a security measure. A solution to this will be to allow custom UBB code that converts to the HTML entry that the applet needs in the DOM.

September 22, 2008
Deployment Mode 1 Blackbird tests using IFRAMEs are a success! Further testing planned. Changes will be available and permanent this week.

September 16, 2008
The original attempts at "second mode" Blackbird are failing. There is an issue with access across the DOM into the display frame. This simply does not work, and it's mainly a HTML issue.
The next step is to explore the use of IFRAME and see how the DOM can be accessed from there. There could be trouble with this if the applet attempts to hit the DOM of the IFRAME that is getting it's source from a different URL.

September 09, 2008
Evidently the Blackbird applet has some issues regarding deployment. In particular, adding the Applet tags might be very difficult for some online forums and blogs because they are built by template libraries that are difficult to modify. Not everybody is well versed in that procedure, and therefore Blackbird is going to get "deployment modes".
Deployment Modes for the applet will include the standard "default mode", mode 0, that Blackbird is currently built for. This means the APPLET tags are simply in the same level of the Document Object Model (DOM) as the encryption entries. It's a matter of putting the APPLET tags right into the page that needs the encryption or decryption operations.
It is possible to use FRAME HTML features and source a website from a secondary location into that frame, and possibly put the applet in the parent of the DOM but have the Javascript callback "reach" into the frame DOM. This will be the next mode of Blackbird, the intention being that an applet can be served from a third party location, or perhaps from an HTTP service operating on the client machine and serving the applet but pulling the target website into the frame of the local HTML document. This has the added benefit of letting the client maintain their own signed applet in their own machine or internal network. It's a very simple solution.
Using a system of "modes" for this allows further expansion in the way the applet can be used, and this will be set via the parameters in the APPLET tags.
These changes are now in development.

September 09, 2008
The WibuKey encryption system was causing the Applet to crash in some cases where it could not recover from a failed attempt to load the DLL for the runtime in those cases were the client has no WibuKey runtime installed. Naturally one could expect that the applet would be configured properly for intended clients having this device, yet not trapping such exceptions that get thrown is poor practice.
This is now fixed, and the revised source code is available for download.

August 29, 2008
CodeMeter encryption now using the initialization vector with identifier. This is similar to the identifier-password arrangement of Twofish, which is due to both systems using AES in CBC mode. CodeMeter us more advanced however and much of the encryption key is safeguarded in the license entry chosen for the encryption while the Twofish implementation in Blackbird is simply building an initialization vector out of the password.
Changes made in the CodeMeter tutorials. This is an improvement that is not cause for a new version, as this change is made during late development and originally planned for version 0.9.

August 25, 2008
CodeMeter Asymmetric Encryption is being looked into at this point but the mastery of the complicated API (and knowing whether or not Blackbird is capable of using it) are lacking. In this kind of encryption, the routines of which mainly intended for authentication, a CodeMeter stick can generate a public key that can be broadcasted for encrypting messages and keep the private key safe in the chip for decrypting messages. The keys are generated by Eliptic Curve Cryptography.
Once the C++ version is working, conversion to Java will commence. Then it's on the the signing and authentication features.

August 21, 2008
Forums installed but not active at this point.

August 20, 2008
The CodeMeter encryption system is capable of using an initialization vector in the CBC encryption, but this is not implemented (vector is zeroed out in source code). The init vector will make possible further customization of the encryption through a CodeMeter device. Modifications to the CodeMeter implementation have begun, and the vector control will be similar to the current implementation of Twofish.

August 15, 2008
www.ravenproject.us is now ON LINE. All file transfered by command line FTP (old school).

August 14, 2008
Bug fix for applet regarding array operations not yet applied to MINK. This will crash on a Mac X system. MINK updated in Twofish class to prevent problems. The Mac X JRE is lacking an Array class and isEmpty() String function.

August 13, 2008
Tutorials completed, license information added to website and source code files for Blackbird and MINK.

August 8, 2008
Licensing of Blackbird and the requirements of GPL, and 3rd party systems in review. Source code cannot be made available until these issues are ironed out.

August 7, 2008
Applet tested across multiple platforms throughout July.

• Internet Explorer and Firefox on Win XP and Vista
• Safari and Firefox on MacX
• Firefox on Linux.

July 31, 2008
Development of this website begins.

July 26, 2008
Found a need to add a specific identifier for Twofish encryption entries of a web page, mainly due to a problem that multiple Twofish encrypted entries to a web page would all get an attempt at decryption with a password that did not originally encrypt them, and the result of perhaps one properly decrypted message, and the rest coming back as junk. This is not fixed and multiple Twofish-encrypted messages on a single page are possible.

July 9, 2008
Applet completed. Testing for the remaining month. Some issues encountered. Noted in source code.