Copernicus features encryption so that your passwords are safe from prying eyes. It is very simple to use, simply check the "Enable Encryption" check box (see figure 1) at the bottom left of the Copernicus screen, and next time you save, you will be required to enter a password which will then encrypt your user file. You will need to remember this password however, as your user file can not be loaded without it, so it may be a good idea to back up your user file onto a floppy disk (see Security). When not using Copernicus it is advised to "Logout" (see Logout) so that others can't see your passwords without entering your Copernicus password.
fig. 1
About the Copernicus Encryption.
The type of encryption used by Copernicus is a polyalphabetic One Time Pad variation and uses your password to encrypt the data. You're password is NOT stored anywhere on the computer in any way, which means that it is both impossible to retrieve it should you forget it and it can't be viewed or changed. The password you choose when you save the file is used as the encryption key, which means it is the only one which can decrypt it. While this encryption would not withstand a dedicated attack by an organisation with sufficient computing power, it is extremely hard to crack except by a great knowledge of encryption, time, and computing power (with those three things, there are very few cyphers which are invulnerable). For the purpose of protecting your data from prying people on your computer, it performs excellently.
To demonstrate my point, I will show you an actual Copernicus user file (the default one in fact that you see when the program runs for the very first time).
<dpass username="New User" >
<site >
<name>www.omegadelta.net</name>
<login userid="main" username="user1" pass="xyz" >
<comment>Main Account</comment>
</login>
<login userid="second" username="user2" pass="xyz" >
<comment>Secondary Account</comment>
</login>
</site>
</dpass>
Here is the same file, but using encryption with the password "dog"
5*95K*,D_IirOnOg4+BZ'1@9,OCo
?K.v=2&
$uxl{df_;ZePHf{Rnk:b>f3eVNc4VTh
Co6+JS6:#b~kRcS[P=X)`H8OILs5<(aYGw.0oyy]5${"[|o;=|
,K*FqZ-:>SfXy?(R@DEpZHgJ?tw(W7<
{Qdq`}?i
v#l~?e*Hle[;el#3SvH\#Md\5BE Vc,+u\Mq+]A|2?U7$6/b@uE'
KfgmSq`!;;*5squsZC{*gQ-.#Z=V<ypNA5[d
Elql`uI%
3#~K\Js
9|Qb<5Ge
As you can no doubt see, the only resemblance between the two is the layout. The text is completely scrambled, so you can rest assured that your passwords are safe in Copernicus if you use Encryption.
Copernicus uses encryption named "One Time NOC List", it was invented and written by William Denniss (the author of Copernicus) and is specified in the java package com.tanksoftware.protocol.OneTimeNOCList. The source code is freely available by downloading the Tank Software Package from www.TankSoftware.com and licensed under the GPL (like Copernicus).