Visual Basic Instinct : Cryptography

Cryptography

This section is destined to explain cryptography from the VB point of view. Custom controls and DLLs will be available for download, but no in-depth analysis of any algorithms will be performed. You will have to look that up in one of the cryptography sites.

	Algorithms
Source code or components for specific algorithms.

	Frequently Asked Questions


	A Cryptographic Intro
Bokler Software has written a basic introduction to cryptography.

	Applied Cryptography
Applied Cryptography is a good introduction to encryption technology. As a first-time cryptography reader, I found the book easy to understand and well written, although a few chapters might require you to read them through two or three times before you understand what it says.

	AspEncrypt
An ActiveX component providing cryptographic functions like secure email, digital certificiates, and hashing. The component will integrate with various mail clients to send secure email, and has built-in support for key and certificate generation.

	Blackthorne Enterprises
Blackthorne Enterprises develops custom control using Visual Basic 5.0. They have a limited product catalog as of now, but that is bound to improve.

	Bokler Software
Bokler Software specialises in cryptographic controls, using the open DES and SHA standards for encryption and hashing.

	Crypto OCX

	Cryptography for Visual Basic
This book is targeting the CryptoAPI, a Windows interface to cryptography. In my opinion, the coverage is fair, but not what you would expect from this kind of book. At least it wasn't what I had expected. If you want to read about cryptography, chances are you're better off with another book.

	DEScipher OCX

	ebCrypt
A free cryptographic DLL supporting the commonly used algorithms.

	Electronic Privacy Information Center
The EPIC contains loads of information on political aspects of encryption and privacy.

	Introduction to Cryptography
The purpose of this article is to provide information in the area of practical cryptography of interest to anyone wishing to use cryptographic software. I have mostly avoided discussion of technical matters in favor of a more general explanation of what I regard as the main things to be understood by someone beginning to use encryption. Those wishing to get more deeply into the theoretical aspects should consult Bruce Schneier's book (see bibliography at end).

	National Institute of Standards and Technology
The National Institute of Standards and Technology maintains the U.S. official cryptography standards, and recently announced the winner of proposals for a new standard. This new standard, called Advanced Encryption Standard or AES, will replace DES as the main cryptographic algorithm in American systems. The NIST also host a series of documents on other algorithms under U.S. government control.

	Windows Cryptography Overview
An overview of Microsoft's CryptoAPI with tools. This is a good reference, but it requires you to translate C type declarations to Visual Basic.