You can submit a bug report from the Start Menu. Click Start, then Programs, then Interscope BlackBox and then Submit Bug Report and your browser will be pointed to our problem submission database. We welcome and apreciate your help.

You can check out the BlackBox User's Guide. Click Start, then Programs, then Interscope BlackBox and then User's Guide. This will open up the help file and covers all issues related to using Interscope BlackBox.

Alternatively, we provide support to registered users and at express request we can also provide printed documentation.

2. Install/Uninstall Questions

BlackBox will install its files in 'C:\Program Files\Interscope BlackBox' on Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows ME if you didn't change the program files directory. This is also true for Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 with the mention that you must have Administrator rights in order to install BlackBox.

You simply open Control Panel and double click the 'Add/Remove Programs' icon. From the installed program list select Interscope BlackBox and click on Add/Remove. Yes, it is as simple as that. Do not forget also to decrypt all files you already have encrypted before you uninstall BlackBox.

In case you keep encrypted files, you cannot decrypt them after uninstalling BlackBox (except any self-extracting encrypted archives you have created). However, you can reinstall BlackBox at any later time to decrypt your files.

If you already installed Interscope DES Encoder/Decoder 1.0x, you simply install Interscope BlackBox over it. The only thing you should do after this is to delete the folder in wich Interscope DES Encoder/Decoder was installed ('C:\Program Files\Interscope DES Encoder').

'Houston, we have a problem'. We really have a big problem. You cannot decrypt a file without the original password. If you lost your password you cannot read the file anymore. Sorry, we cannot decrypt those files either. Do not send us encrypted files to decrypt them for you because you have lost your password. We cannot decrypt them. So please be very careful with your passwords.

From Windows Explorer navigate to the folder you want to encrypt files from, right-click it, select Encrypt... and provide a password. All files in that folder and also in all subfolders will be encrypted.

Select one or more files from Windows Explorer right-click them, select Encrypt... and provide a password. It is like encrypting one single file. All selected files will be encrypted with the same password. This only works for files that are in the same folder.

If you are using BlackBox 2.x or later, you can also encrypt files that are spread across your disks at once by adding them in your security set and then locking the set.

Most probably you have selected both encrypted files and files that are not encrypted. If some files you selected are not encrypted and you are using version 1.x of BlackBox, the Decrypt... option does not appear in the context menu.

If you have BlackBox 2.0 or later, please be aware that there is possible to configure it so that some files are excluded from encryption (protected from being accidentally encrypted). To achieve this BlackBox will simply not show the Encrypt... option for such files. Files can be excluded either by name or by attributes.

To check your exclusion list, click Start, then Programs, then Interscope BlackBox, then BlackBox Options and go to the Exclusions tab.

Yes, you will be able to decrypt files you encrypted with previous BlackBox versions.

You can decrypt files encrypted with BlackBox 1.x only if you used the Standard DES mode (this is default when you install BlackBox 1.x). The Fast DES mode is no longer supported. If you have files encrypted with this mode, decrypt them before upgrading.

You get that error message because somehow the DES engine that BlackBox is using to encrypt files is not registered. You probably had an earlier version of BlackBox installed or also have InstallMaster on your computer (since these also use the same shared DES engine) and something went wrong when you uninstalled/reinstalled BlackBox.

You can fix this easily by searching for the file des32x.dll (or idesx30.dll in version 3.0 or later) on your hard drive and then running the following command in a command prompt window:

   regsvr32 "path_to_file\des32x.dll"

Yes, you can. Just make sure the folder where you installed Interscope BlackBox is in your search path (see the environment variable PATH).

Please note that BlackBox will not work while you are booted into Command Prompt Only mode.

To see what command line parameters you can use with BlackBox from the command line, start a command prompt window, then type in the command below (with no parameters):

   ibbx

This will bring up a dialog explaining all possible command line parameters and switches.

4. Registration Questions

No. You most probably mistyped it. The registration code is case sensitive so this may be the reason for typing it wrong. Another reason may be that you mistaken the upercase letter O for the number 0 or mistaken lower case letter l for number 1, or vice-versa. Look carefully at your registration code and enter it again. We recommend that you copy it from the e-mail you got from us and and paste it in registration dialog box using the Windows clipboard.

Starting with version 2.0 of BlackBox, you no longer receive a registration code. Insted, you'll get a license file. You should save it as ibbx20.lic if you have BlackBox 2.x or ibbx.lic if you have BlackBox 3.x or later and then copy it in the folder where you installed Interscope BlackBox (usually 'C:\\Program Files\\Interscope BlackBox\\x.x'). This will unlock your copy of BlackBox.

5. Cryptography Questions

DES (Data Encryption Standard) is the cryptographic algorithm used by Interscope BlackBox to protect your data. Starting with BlackBox 3.x you can install aditional algorithms into BlackBox, however DES is the default one (the only one included in the install kit you download from our site).

DES is a FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) approved cryptographic algorithm as required by FIPS 140-1. It is described in detail in the ANSI X3.92 standard.

DES is a powerful encryption algorithm. With the version of the algorithm we used in BlackBox (56 bit key DES in ECB and CBC modes) no technique other than trying all possible keys using known input and output for the DES will guarantee finding the chosen key. As there are over 70,000,000,000,000,000 (seventy quadrillion) possible keys of 56 bits, the feasibility of deriving a particular key in this way is extremely unlikely in typical threat environments.

Moreover, if the key is changed frequently, the risk of this event is greatly diminished. However, the feasibility of computing the correct key may change with advances in technology.