Encryption

Your device's operating system likely has inherent means of encrypting data.

JwC does NOT provide such means but, if those the system makes available include a few common methods, JwC can encrypt data using them.

The following assumes your device has the requisite means.

 

All passwords are encrypted on entry.

All other stored data may also be encrypted by checking Settings | Data | Encrypt Data.

That action cannot be manually undone without uninstalling / re-installing JwC.

 

NOTE VERY CAREFULLY: Use of encryption:

Each country may have laws governing whether private individuals are permitted to maintain encrypted data and how strong that encryption may be.

 

Local laws governing confidential information may dictate affected data be encrypted.

JwC is written in the United States of America and seeks to strictly abide by all of its laws governing its use, national and local.

 

Current US law allows much freedom in this area within the US, up to a point of how strong the encryption is.

The same laws further restrict usage beyond the US and do not allow it at all within a few countries.

Thus you may only use JwC while within the borders of the country you specify when required.

 

HOW IT WORKS:

Encryption is a repeated scrambling of the contents of unencrypted data, frequently scrambling the already scrambled data dozens or hundreds of times to get a final result.

How the scrambling occurs depends on a unique "key" which may not necessarily be able to unscramble the data later.

Therefore encryption can either be reversible or not.

If reversible the "key" must either be securely stored or else recreatable by ONLY JwC. JwC uses only recreatable keys, it does not store any.

The re-creation might fail to properly generate the correct key, if so the data will be "permanently" unavailable until replaced with newly encrypted versions.

 

When a JwC user is created the password entered receives non-reversible encryption; on sign-in JwC simply compares the stored encryption against an encryption of the password then entered.

 

All other stored data uses reversible encryption which makes use of an unlocking key unique to JwC running on that device.

Besides JwC user passwords, the only other stored data that is always encrypted are any passwords you supply to external sources such as an email server.

 

If you choose to encrypt EVERYTHING ( see Respecting Individual Privacy ) all data, including the above passwords, is encrypted with an additional unlock key.

This is ALL OR NOTHING. Such data includes EVERYTHING entered into JwC after installation.

The key is unique both to the device and to the moment of creation. JwC depends on the internal security of the operating system to allow its re-creation on JwC startup.

Once done, JwC provides no mechanism to undo encrypting stored data.

If ever on startup JwC cannot unlock that data it is all purged and you will need to re-import / re-enter everything.

So it may be wise to securely store elsewhere copies of any data you do not want to have to manually re-create!


Encryption can also be used (with a special password) in emailing or storing in the cloud some JwC data.

See Settings | Defaults.