Northwest Division
USAF MARS
Created May 2015 by AFE0TM
Encryption Wizard
Encryption Wizard (EW) is a Java file and folder encryptor for the protection of sensitive information (FOUO, Privacy Act, CUI, etc.). EW encrypts all file types for data-in-transit protection and can also enhance data-at-rest protection (data on your computer).
Without requiring installation or elevated privileges, EW runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, and other computers with Standard Edition Java.
EW comes in two versions; EW-Public and EW-Govt. USAF MARS uses the EW-Public version. Anyone can download and use EW-Public and it is free to users.
Encrypted information should never be discussed in the open on our nets or on e-mail. That also includes an information such as passphrases ... do not say them in the open.
Forms that contain personal information are generally sent encrypted, with some exceptions. You will thus need the eWizard to view changes to your MARS status.
You are ready to download the eWizard software. I've included the Quick Start below to guide you through the process.
This is where you get the Wizard: http://www.spi.dod.mil/ewizard.htm
Also from this site you should download the user manual. It is an Adobe Acrobat file, and it will help to answer any basic questions you may have.
as of 02 Dec 14
--- Quick Start Guide
1. Download and install Oracle Java from http://www.java.com. (Most computers already have Java installed.) You are looking for the blue Standard Edition of Java.
2. Download EW-Public from http://spi.dod.mil/ewizard.htm. It will be version v3.4.5, 3 Dec 2014 or later.
3. Open the .zip file and extract the contents. We strongly recommend extracting the files rather than simply browsing inside the .zip file.
3a. If on MacOS, select the files and choose File > Get Info (or press Command-I) and make sure the access under "Sharing and Permissions" includes read permission.
Go to Settings > Security and Privacy, and change "Allow application downloaded from" to "Anywhere".
4. If on MS-Windows, MacOS, or a Linux graphical desktop, double- click the .jar file to start.
If at a Linux command line, type "java -jar EW-Govt-3.4.5-FIPS.jar" or "java -jar EW-Public-3.4.5.jar"
5. Optionally, in Windows click 'Install' under the Tools menu to make EW more user-friendly. In Linux, a wrapper script can be created to ease command-line use.
6. Drag-and-drop files/folders into the Encryption Wizard window. 7. Click 'Encrypt' for individually encrypted files or 'Archive' for a many-into-one, compressed, and encrypted file. 8. Enter your key(s) and optionally enter meta-data. 9. Your file is now encrypted.
10. To decrypt, drag the .wzd/.wza file into Encryption Wizard and click 'Decrypt' for individual files or 'Expand' to unpack an encrypted archive. If installed, you may double-click the encrypted file.
Encryption Wizard's key shortfall remains Java's lack of smartcard (CAC/PIV Card) support in Windows 64-bit systems using Java 7 and earlier. Support is present starting with Java 8.
For more information, consult the Help menu within Encryption Wizard, the enclosed Encryption Wizard User Manual (a .pdf file), or our website at http://spi.dod.mil .
Now you should have the Wizard on your computer. Next you will need an
encrypted file to run through the program. We encrypt certain e-mail attachments due to the nature of the information on the attachment - it can be personal
information or other sensitive information.
Save the encrypted email attachments to a computer folder on your desktop. If you do not save the attachments to your computer first, the Wizard cannot work on them.
Types of Wizard Formats
The Wizard has two formats. .wzd files and .wza .
• wzd files are those normally created by the Wizard. They are individual files.
• wza files are Wizard archive files. Archives place many files/folders into one encrypted file. They act similarly to WinZip or other file archive utilities, except that they include strong encryption and reveal nothing about the files they contain. The user manual provides more information on archives.
Wizard can also create folders and sub-folders. In the future we may do that using a different product, an off-line encryption software. For now, just know that Wizard is capable of creating folders, although we do not currently use those.
Decrypting a File
From your computer where you store your encrypted files, drag and drop the .wzd file into this screen. Then press the Decrypt button. The next screen asks you to enter the passphrase.
• If the passphrase is correct, the file will decrypt and be automatically moved to the location you chose.
• If the passphrase is incorrect, you will get an error: "Error opening input ... Invalid passphrase used to decrypt file." For the solution, look to when the encrypted file was sent to you (see the information below).
Passphrases
The Wizard uses passphrases to encrypt or decrypt. A list of passphrases will be sent to you in an encrypted file. You are to only use the passphrases that we send to you.
Once a year passphases are selected and a list is created. Looking at the two columns on the list you will see that it is easy to determine which passphrase to use, for example, if you are decrypting a document that you just received in the month of July. Select the month in the left-hand column, and look to the right for the actual passphrase.
Please store this information in a secure area.
Creating an Encrypted File
Once the file is encrypted, it shows in the Wizard window.
Ask/Keep/Delete Files
Versions of Encryption Wizard prior to 3.1.1 would encrypt and decrypt files “in place” – if a file was encrypted, the original unencrypted file was deleted;
conversely, if a file was decrypted, the originally encrypted file was deleted. This option was added to permit the user to select one of three options:
• Always delete the original form of the file (default behavior for versions < 3.1.100)
• Always ask about removing the original form of the file.
While you learn to use the program you should choose to "Keep files". Later, when you get comfortable using the program, you can make other selections. Just make sure that you do not lose your original encrypted file, or it might be difficult to get another copy to decrypt again.
Upgrading Installations of Encryption Wizard
(“Optional ‘Install’ in Windows”), then we recommend that the tools be re-installed when a new edition of Encryption Wizard is placed on your computer.
Running "Uninstall" on the older version, followed by "Install" on the newer version, is ideal. If the older version is no longer available, then simply run "Uninstall" and "Install" on the newer version, waiting for the confirmation popup in between. You may find shortcuts to the older version remaining in, for
example, the Start Menu; these can easily be right-clicked on and deleted. Before performing the "Install" step, we also recommend running the Encryption Wizard JAR file from its unpacked distribution folder, that is, the folder created when you unpacked the original .zip file.
If the "Install" process finds a copy of the User Manual in the same folder as the JAR file, then the manual will also be installed and reachable via the Start Menu.
Additional Training
YouTube has additional training on MARS COMSEC. Press Ctrl + mouse click to take you to each video. Or, search on YouTube for MARS COMSEC.
1. Introduction
2. Installing Encryption Wizard 3. Keys
4. Using eWizard
5. RMS Express TELNET
