Frequently Asked Questions

I forgot the passphrase, I can not extract my embedded data. Can you help me?
Yes, with some advice: be more careful next time. There is no way we could help retrieve embedded data without knowing the passphrase.
CryptoBola is in the business of making data safe from prying eyes. If we knew any method to retrieve embedded data without the passphrase (except via a few thousand years long lasting brute attack with thousands of computers), then we would be working on another, better product instead of selling this one.
How can the target file of embedding be smaller than the original JPEG basis?
There can be several reasons causing this:

-some irrelevant information present in the original may have been dropped,

-the modified data may have been compressed more effectively than the original data.

Note:

-the process of embedding does not add any image data, it only changes the existing one,

-change in the file size during the process of embedding does not reflect any change of the picture quality or distortion.

Why does the message displayed after embedding show much lower distortion than the validation indicated just before?
The validation calculates the maximal distortion, which would be caused if every bit of the original data involved in the embedding process were changed. However, in average only half of the stored bits are different from the original content, i.e. roughly half of the involved bits remain unchanged. Correspondingly, the actual distortion is usually close the half of the indicated maximal distortion.
Why is the name, type and size of the embedded file not stored when embedding?
Storing such data could be used as a basis to determine if there is some data embedded in an image. Though it would not help retrieving the data itself, it could shorten the effort a brute attacker has to make to recognize that an assumed passphrase does not yield in any useful result.
Why are two files resulting from the same basis, the same embedded data using the same passphrase different?
In order to make the life of wannabe-code breakers less boring.
Why can't the embedded data be extracted from a JPEG file, which has been created by another CryptoBola JPEG program?
At least one of the involved CryptoBola JPEG programs is an evaluation copy.
The evaluation programs embed the data in a way, that only the same evaluation copy can extract it.
Can I embed a picture in another one?
Yes, depending only on the size of the image file to be embedded and on the embedding capacity of the basis image.
What kind of data can be embedded?
Any data. Neither the embedding nor the extraction process analyzes the content of the data. Although some data may not be displayed/edited correctly in the Edit/View dialog, even such data can be embedded respectively saved as file.
I don't trust CryptoBola JPEG with the cryptographic strength of encoding/embedding. How can I make it even stronger?
Well, to be suspicious is almost a must in this business. Anyway, you can encode (and evtl. compress) the data by some other product before embedding it.
Why do I sometimes see much less data in the edit window, than expectable from the length indicated by the extraction?
The formatting control information in a rich text file (for example text coloring, font selection) can occupy quite much storage; the effect is visible in rich text mode,
Why do I receive some garbled data when extracting, instead of what I had embedded?
The passphrase specified at extraction does not exactly match the one, which had been specified at embedding. The extracted data has nothing to do with the embedded data.
Why do I receive some garbled data when trying to extract from an image, which does not contain any embedded data, or it does but I entered a wrong passphrase?
The embedding scheme is intentionally designed that way, in order to render brute attacks useless. The idea is, that a brute attack can't rely on the early recognition of an incorrect passphrase: almost every possible passphrase allows for the extraction of some data, although that has nothing common with the originally embedded data, assumed that some data has been embedded at all.
How can I render embedded data invalid (destroy within the image) while keeping the image file?
Embed some other data of a size comparable to the size of the initially embedded data.
A function specifically for this purpose is in development. Check back at the CryptoBola site time and again to see if the new version with this functionality has been released.
Can I change the passphrase of the embedded data?
Only by extracting and embedding it again (this is very simple; the data does not have to be saved between the two processes). Repeated embedding of the same data may increase the distortion; the displayed distortion is not reliable, for it shows the changes compared to the last state, i.e. after the distortion caused by the previous embedding process.
A function specifically for this purpose is in development. Check back at the CryptoBola site time and again to see
Can I embed several files successively in the same image?
Yes, but only the last one will be retrievable. Every embedding process destroys the previously embedded data.
How can I embed several files in one image?
Use some archivation or compression program, for example WinZip® to create a single file and embed this one.
Can I modify an image, which contains some embedded data?
Any modification by a JPEG editing program, or even saving the image data without actually changing the image renders previously embedded data inaccessible in most cases.
How can I move CryptoBola JPEG to another drive or folder?
Simply by moving/copying all files from the original folder. If a shortcut has been created, then the drive and folder has to be changed in the shortcut; this can be achieved by right-clicking on the folder and displaying its properties. The "Target" field contains the drive, path and program name.
Does CryptoBola JPEG conduct any communications via TCP/IP or any other way?
No! CryptoBola JPEG neither initiates nor accepts any communication by any method (except the dialog with the user, of course). We suggest running some packet sniffer program in order to analyze the communications traffic if you suspect that some unaccounted-for communication take places while CryptoBola JPEG is running. See our Privacy policies.
Does CryptoBola collect any data about the users, the computer, activities on the computer, etc.?
No! CryptoBola does not collect any such data, except those listed explicitely in the Privacy policies section. We are in the business of selling our software, not the data of our customers. See our Privacy policies.

Home Modified: 2005-03-28