Tamper-proof way of storing files external to exe (images, configuration files etc)
in [Visual Basic]
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From: Tony Toews [MVP] on 4 Nov 2009 22:43 "Karl E. Peterson" <karl(a)exmvps.org> wrote: >> I will need to update files related to my project regularly (through a >> separate downloader) and would like to store everything in some sort of >> container that can't be edited or modified on the client's machine. How >> should I go about this? > >Alternate Data Streams? Interesting article you wrote. However I'm quite leary of security by obscurity. Tony -- Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/ For a free, convenient utility to keep your users FEs and other files updated see http://www.autofeupdater.com/ Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/
From: Karl E. Peterson on 5 Nov 2009 13:17 Tony Toews [MVP] wrote: > "Karl E. Peterson" <karl(a)exmvps.org> wrote: > >>> I will need to update files related to my project regularly (through a >>> separate downloader) and would like to store everything in some sort of >>> container that can't be edited or modified on the client's machine. How >>> should I go about this? >> >>Alternate Data Streams? > > Interesting article you wrote. > > However I'm quite leary of security by obscurity. Yeah, it's not really security. Just a handy place to persistently cache reproducible data. I think Microsoft's use of it to tag downloaded files is just asinine, myself. Image thumbnails, though? A case could be made, given a clear user-initiated toggle. -- ..NET: It's About Trust! http://vfred.mvps.org
From: Tony Toews [MVP] on 5 Nov 2009 17:24 "Karl E. Peterson" <karl(a)exmvps.org> wrote: >And, I'm pretty >sure most articles, including mine, say that the ADS "goes away" if you copy/move >the file onto a non-NTFS volume. Or put the file in a zip file, delete the original and move it back out? Tony -- Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/ For a free, convenient utility to keep your users FEs and other files updated see http://www.autofeupdater.com/ Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/
From: Tony Toews [MVP] on 5 Nov 2009 17:25 "Nobody" <nobody(a)nobody.com> wrote: >You could use password protected ZIP files with Info-Zip like was suggested >in this thread. See "Visual Basic 5/6 code for the Infozip DLLs" sample at >this link: > >http://home.modemss.brisnet.org.au/~mlevoi/dos.html > >In particular, UnzipFile(). If the DLL finds that the ZIP file is password >protected, it calls the callback function UZDLLPass(). The sample prompts >the user to enter the password using InputBox() function, just change it to >a fixed password. I have used this DLL to UnZip files, but didn't use the >password feature. > >Also, unzip to locations that are writeable by the user, such as AppData >folder. Do not use "Program Files" because it's not writable by default by >members of the limited "Users" group. Search the newsgroups for "vb >CSIDL_APPDATA" for sample code. Sure, but as soon as you put the file on the hard drive, someone watching with a file monitor utility could grab it. Tony -- Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/ For a free, convenient utility to keep your users FEs and other files updated see http://www.autofeupdater.com/ Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/
From: Karl E. Peterson on 5 Nov 2009 18:15
Tony Toews [MVP] wrote: > "Karl E. Peterson" <karl(a)exmvps.org> wrote: > >>And, I'm pretty >>sure most articles, including mine, say that the ADS "goes away" if you copy/move >>the file onto a non-NTFS volume. > > Or put the file in a zip file, delete the original and move it back > out? Yeah, it looks like WinZip doesn't preserve the ADS, either. -- ..NET: It's About Trust! http://vfred.mvps.org |