Readme File for Yaps 2.5
========================

Copyright (C) 2002 MSB Software Engineering
All Rights Reserved.

Yaps (Yet Another Password Safe) stores your passwords and other 
confidential information on your Palm, using 256-bit encryption.
Access to the safe is password protected with automatic lock-out
when the device switches off, or you go to another application.

Other features include ease of use, import and export to Memo, 
masked or hidden records, fully implemented Palm search.


What's new in Version 2.5
=========================

- New: You wanted it, you've got it! Notes can now also be encrypted.
  By default "notes' encryption is on, but if you upgrade from an older
  Yaps you can enable the option in the menu Options -> Preferences.
- New: In the main view you can now delete all passwords in the current
  category. Menu Record -> Delete All. Note, if the "All" category is
  selected "Delete All" does not work. Be careful with this function!
- New: The password field is automatically erased, when you enter a
  wrong password during login.
- New: The registration code entry has been removed. No registration 
  code is required.

- NOTE: If you are use the Yaps Viewer, get a new Version (1.1) which 
  can read the encrypted notes.
- See the notes on "Upgrading to a new Version" below.


What's new in Version 2.4
=========================

- Fix: PalmOS passes the pen-up event from the app launcher to Yaps
  when it is started. This sometimes caused a character to be typed when 
  using the login keyboard. 


What's new in Version 2.3
=========================

- New: A 'fast entry' keyboard has been added to the login form. You can
  even draw a pattern instead of writing a password. The grafitti area 
  can still be used even if the keybord is visible.
- New: The password entry is masked when the keyboard is switched on.
- New: The number of lines that can be displayed in the "Record" view was
  increased to 125.
- Fix: If the palm is switched off while in edit mode and no login is done, 
  when it is switched on again, for example by starting another app caused
  Yaps to crash.
- Fix: Duplicating records that don't have a name caused Yaps to crash.
- Other: Extensive tests were made to check compatibility to the M505 and
  Palm OS 4.0.


What's new in Version 2.2
=========================

- A nasty bug slipped in, which causes a Fatal Error when doing a global
  search and the "Encrypt User ID and Location" is active. 


What's new in Version 2.1
=========================

- New: A splitter has been added in the Main View (List). You can click 
  the gap between the two columns and shift the split point left or right.
- New: You can now have the User ID and Location encrypted as well. See
  preferences. It is on by default, but when you upgrade you must explicitly
  activate the option. In this mode the external find only searches the 
  name and note field. The rest are encrypted and cannot be searched.
- New: The internal find (click Find while in Yaps) has been enhanced 
  to include the Info field in searches. Now all but the password field
  are searched.
- Fix: A few minor memory leaks have been removed.
- Fix: The entries were only being sorted by name, not location when the 
  name was identical.
- Fix: Some users were concerned about the data being visible for about 
  1/2 second on the Visor before the login dialog was displayed. This has
  been changed, nothing is shown before the password has been validated.
  I'll emphasize again, no passwords were shown, it's physically impossible 
  for the app to decrypt passwords without the user entering the login 
  password.
- Fix: A backdoor. It was possible to enter Yaps without a password by 
  using the external find and clicking a result of a text found in a note.
  However, same as above the encrypted fields were not shown.


Upgrading to a new Version
==========================

I've taken all the care I can to insure that no problems will occur when
upgrading to a new version. Just to be on the safe side, before you upgrade
synchronize your PDA and copy the YapsDB.pdb file from your desktop onto a
diskette, if you haven't already done so.

When upgrading, just install the new version over the old version. Don't
remove Yaps from the PlamOS device. That way all your passwords will stay 
intact.


Why did I write Yaps?
=====================

I wrote it mainly for myself and for the challenge. These were my 
requirements:

- I wanted an app to store my Internet and computer passwords.
- The app should be locked by a password, which must be entered not only
  when the app is started, but also when the device switches off and is 
  switched back on.
- If my Palm gets lost or stolen I don't want anyone to have access to 
  the passwords.
- The data must be encrypted so no one can read the database either on 
  the device, or from the backup PDB file.
- The app should lock itselt automatically. No manual "hide records".
- It must be easy to use.


Application Details
===================

- Import/Export
The export format is a comma separated format (CSV). The export function
creates a memo with the title "#Yaps Data,2#". To see the memo you need 
to switch to the Memo application. The primary use of the export is to
get your password onto the PC to print them without having to install a
special Conduit.

Only the records that are currently visible when you select the export 
function are exported. To export only a certain category switch to that 
category before selecting export. Likewise records that are imported are
saved in the current category.

- Fonts
You can change the fonts independently for the Main View, Record View and 
Edit View. Go to the respective view and select menu Options -> Font.

- Sort Order
The Main View by default displays the records sorted by Name. You can
have the records sorted by Location. The setting can be found in the menu
Options -> Preferences.

- Registration
The Login dialog by default displays "unregistered". To have your name
there get your free personal registration code from the Yaps Web site.
Go to the Yaps menu -> Options -> About and click the Register button 
to enter your name and the code.

- Custom fields
Yaps doesn't allow you to add custom fields for the entire database, but
you can have custom fields on a per record base. Use the Info field; e.g.
Account Nr: 1234.5677855.543. In the Yaps View it appears like an
additional field.

- Other Features
The rest of the application should be easy to understand. Just try it.


Initial Password
================

When Yaps is started for the first time it creates a new database. A
message is displayed, then the standard "Login" form will be displayed.
This first time you can enter any password you want to, that will be
the password you require in future to enter Yaps. You can change the 
password anytime using the Yaps menu.

The registration code you receive when you register Yaps has nothing to
do with the password. The registration code allows you to have your name
appear in the "Login" and "About" form, when you follow the registaration
instructions above.


Backup of Passwords in Yaps
===========================

Many users realize how important their passwords are, when their Palm
gets broken. If you hotsync PalmOS makes a backup copy of the Yaps 
database on your desktop. The file is called YapsDB.prc. Don't let
that be your only copy, make a safety copy of YapsDB.prc onto diskette
or tape every now and then.
 

Restore Yaps onto a new device
==============================

To restore Yaps and the passwords onto a new PDA, use the normal
install tool that comes with the hot sync manager. Select both the 
Yaps.prc file and the YapsDB.pdb file on your desktop, then sync. 
If you don't select the YapsDB.pdb file Yaps will create a new database.


How safe is Yaps?
=================

Yaps uses 256-bit encryption based on the Blowfish algorithem. The two 
fields "Password" and "Info" are encrypted when they are stored in the 
database. The key itself is not stored anywhere in the Palm device, so 
there's no way to find it using reverse engineering. 

The key itself is generated based on the password you specify to enter 
Yaps. Passwords are generally the weak point of any such system, since
people tend to use short passwords, especially on a PDA. The key is
expanded to 256-bit even for short passwords, so the encrypted data is 
safe. To make it hard to crack the password, if someone steals my PDA, 
I use the Palm shortcuts. When entering the password I write one or two
characters and have Palm expand a shortcut effectively giving me a long
password phrase.


License Agreement
=================

If you use this software you indicate your acceptance of the 
following license agreement and warranty.

You may use this application for free.

Disclaimer of Warranty

THIS SOFTWARE AND THE ACCOMPANYING FILES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND
WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY
OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.
The user must assume the entire risk of using the program.


Product Support
===============

If you have any comments or found bugs mail them to:
yaps@msbsoftware.ch

Further information and the latest updates can be found at:
http://www.msbsoftware.ch

24.01.2002, MSB Software Engineering.
