Crypt2 B4X (B4A / B4J) Reference Documentation
ChilkatCrypt2
Current Version: 11.6.0
Chilkat.Crypt2
Encrypt and decrypt strings, files, byte arrays, and Chilkat buffer
objects using configurable algorithms, modes, keys, IVs, padding, and
encodings.
Compute message digests and keyed message authentication codes for text,
files, byte data, and in-memory buffers.
Create and verify signed data, detached signatures, opaque signatures,
and certificate-based signature formats used in many security workflows.
Use CAdES-related options when advanced CMS signature profiles are
required for compliance or interoperability.
Derive keys, generate random bytes, create one-time passwords, and
prepare keying material for cryptographic operations.
Encode and decode binary data using formats such as Base64, hex, URL
encoding, and other supported binary encodings.
For an extended overview, see
Crypt2 Class Overview.
Encrypt, decrypt, hash, sign, verify, encode, and authenticate data.
Chilkat.Crypt2 is a broad cryptographic utility class for
applications that need symmetric encryption, decryption, hashing, HMACs,
key derivation, random data generation, one-time passwords, binary encoding,
PKCS#7/CMS signatures, CAdES options, and certificate-based public-key
encryption and decryption. It works with strings, files, byte data,
BinData, and StringBuilder objects, making it useful
for both small in-memory operations and file-based cryptographic workflows.
Encryption and decryption
Hashes and HMACs
PKCS#7 / CMS signatures
CAdES support
Key and random utilities
Encoding and data conversion
BinData, or StringBuilder. Check
LastErrorText when diagnosing algorithm, key, certificate,
signature, or encoding issues.
Declare / Initialize / Dispose
Sub Process_Globals
Private obj As ChilkatCrypt2
End Sub
' Call Initialize before first use -- typically in AppStart (B4J)
' or Activity_Create (B4A):
obj.Initialize ' classes without events
obj.Initialize("evt") ' classes with events: "evt" becomes the
' prefix of event Subs such as evt_PercentDone
Creates the underlying native Chilkat object. Classes that support events take an EventName argument: it becomes the prefix of the event Subs (<EventName>_AbortCheck, <EventName>_PercentDone, <EventName>_ProgressInfo); classes without events take no arguments. The native Chilkat library loads automatically on the first Initialize — from the APK on Android, or extracted from ChilkatB4J.jar on Windows/Linux/macOS.
True if Initialize has been called and the native object exists.
Explicitly frees the underlying native object. Calling Dispose is optional — every ChilkatCrypt2 is also freed automatically when garbage-collected — but is recommended for long-lived objects holding sockets, sessions, or large buffers. A disposed object can be re-Initialized.
Properties
AbortCurrent
AbortCurrent As Boolean
Setting this property to True will abort the current method, but only for those methods having an Async alternative. The property automatically resets to False at the start of each method and after an abort. Both synchronous and asynchronous methods can be aborted; synchronous methods require setting this property from another thread.
BCryptWorkFactor
BCryptWorkFactor As Int
The BCrypt work factor determines the computational cost of BCryptHash and BCryptVerify . It represents the base-2 logarithm of the number of hashing rounds. For instance, a work factor of 12 corresponds to 2^12 hashing rounds. This cost factor is designed to make computations challenging enough to deter brute-force attacks.
The work factor must be set between 4 and 31, inclusive, with a default value of 10.
BlockSize
BlockSize As Int
This property indicates the block size in bytes for the chosen encryption algorithm. For instance, if the CryptAlgorithm is set to AES, the BlockSize is automatically set to 16 bytes. In contrast, the block size for the ChaCha20 streaming algorithm is 1 byte.
CadesEnabled
CadesEnabled As Boolean
This property applies to all PKCS7 signature creation methods. When set to True, it ensures the inclusion of required attributes (such as content-type, message-digest, and signing-certificate-v2) to qualify the signature as at least a CAdES-BES signature. By default, this property is set to False.
CadesSigPolicyHash
CadesSigPolicyHash As String
This property is for PKCS7 CMS signatures that wish to include CAdES signature policy attributes. Set it to the base64-encoded hash of the policy document at the CadesSigPolicyUri using either SHA256 or SHA1.
CadesSigPolicyId
CadesSigPolicyId As String
This property is for PKCS7 CMS signatures that wish to include CAdES signature policy attributes.
The CAdES Signature Policy ID is an object identifier (OID) included in a CAdES signature that specifies the exact signature policy the signer followed. It is the OID associated with the policy URL. An example OID would look like this: 2.16.840.1.101.3.2.1.48.1
An application that wishes to include signature policy attributes should set all three properties: CadesSigPolicyHash , CadesSigPolicyUri , and CadesSigPolicyId .
CadesSigPolicyUri
CadesSigPolicyUri As String
This property is for PKCS7 CMS signatures that wish to include CAdES signature policy attributes. The signature policy URI in a CAdES digital signature is a link that points to a document describing the rules and conditions under which the signature was created.
Typically the Signature Policy URI in a CAdES signature points to a .der file, not a PDF or human-readable document.
For example: http://example.com/policies/my-policy.der
Charset
Charset As String
This property specifies the character encoding used to represent text as bytes for encryption and hashing. By default, it uses the computer's ANSI charset, such as Windows-1252 for locales like the United States, United Kingdom, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Most applications are advised to set this property to UTF-8. Chilkat plans to change its default to UTF-8 in a future major version to align with current standards. The current default of ANSI stems from a time when UTF-8 was not widely adopted.
CipherMode
CipherMode As String
Sets the cipher mode for block encryption algorithms (AES, Blowfish,TwoFish, DES, 3DES, RC2). Possible values are CBC (the default) , ECB, CTR, OFB, GCM, and CFB. These acronyms have the following meanings:
CBC: Cipher Block Chaining,ECB: Electronic CookBookCTR: Counter ModeCFB: Cipher FeedbackOFB: Output FeedbackGCM: Galois/Counter ModeXTS: AES-XTS (starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.91, only works with AES encryption)
The GCM (Galois/Counter Mode) is available with any cipher having a 16-byte block size, such as AES. The CFB, OFB, CTR, and GCM modes convert block ciphers into stream ciphers. In these modes of operation, the PaddingScheme property is unused because no padding occurs.
Starting in v9.5.0.91 Chilkat supports AES-XTS mode. XTS mode additionally uses a tweak key and tweak value, which are set via the XtsSetEncodedTweakKey, XtsSetEncodedTweakValue, and XtsSetDataUnitNumber. (The latter two functions provide alternative means of setting the tweak value.) Chilkat fully supports AES-XTS mode with ciphertext-stealing, which means it will correctly encrypt/decrypt data with size not divisible by the block size (i.e. divisible by 16 bytes).
CmsOptions
CmsOptions As String
A JSON string to manage additional CMS (PKCS7) signature and validation options. Possible options are:
- boolean
OmitAlgorithmIdNull: Set this JSON member totrueto omit the explicit NULL within an AlgorithmIdentifier ASN.1 within the PKCS7. This should almost never be used, but helps for rare cases where a validator dislikes the explicit NULL being present. - boolean
ValidateTimestampTokens: Tells Chilkat to also validate the timestamp tokens when validating a signature that includes a timestamp. - boolean
ConstructedOctets: When set totrue, tells Chilkat to use theASN.1 constructed octetsformat for the data contained in the CMS (PKCS7) signed-data. - boolean
CanonicalizeITIDA: This applies toEgypt ITIDA, which requires signed documents in a CAdES-BES CMS format, using ITIDA’s JSON canonicalization (for JSON payloads), with only the Base64‑encoded signature attached - not the original data itself. When set totrue, Chilkat willautomatically do the special ITIDA JSON canonicalization.
CryptAlgorithm
CryptAlgorithm As String
Selects the encryption algorithm for encrypting and decrypting. Possible values are:
| Algorithm | Type | Symmetric? | Key Size(s) | Block/Stream | Mode of Operation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
aes |
Block cipher | ✔ Yes | 128, 192, 256 bits | Block (128-bit) | CBC, CTR, GCM, etc. | Widely used, FIPS-approved |
pki (Public-Key Encryption) |
Asymmetric | ✗ No | 1024–4096+ bits | N/A | N/A | Used for key exchange, not bulk data |
chacha20 |
Stream cipher | ✔ Yes | 256 bits | Stream | N/A | High speed, secure, designed for simplicity |
des |
Block cipher | ✔ Yes | 56 bits | Block (64-bit) | ECB, CBC, etc. | Deprecated, insecure |
3des |
Block cipher | ✔ Yes | 112 or 168 bits | Block (64-bit) | ECB, CBC, etc. | Legacy use, weak by modern standards |
rc2 |
Block cipher | ✔ Yes | 40–128 bits (variable) | Block (64-bit) | ECB, CBC, etc. | Obsolete, variable strength |
blowfish2 (Blowfish) |
Block cipher | ✔ Yes | 32–448 bits (variable) | Block (64-bit) | ECB, CBC, etc. | Fast, but 64-bit block size is a limitation |
twofish |
Block cipher | ✔ Yes | Up to 256 bits | Block (128-bit) | ECB, CBC, etc. | AES finalist, secure and flexible |
pbes1 |
Key derivation | ✔ Yes | Based on underlying cipher | Block (varies) | PKCS#5 v1.5 | Obsolete, uses DES/RC2 |
pbes2 |
Key derivation | ✔ Yes | Based on underlying cipher | Block (varies) | PKCS#5 v2.0 | Modern, supports AES, SHA, etc. |
arc4 (RC4) |
Stream cipher | ✔ Yes | 40–2048 bits (variable) | Stream | N/A | Deprecated, insecure due to biases |
DebugLogFilePath
DebugLogFilePath As String
If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.
Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.
Possible causes of hangs include:
- A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
- A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
- An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.
EncodingMode
EncodingMode As String
The EncodingMode property specifies the binary encoding format (e.g., base64, hex, base58, base64url)
used by functions ending in "ENC", like EncryptStringENC and DecryptStringENC.
For encryption functions, EncodingMode determines the encoding of the output. For decryption functions, it specifies the encoding of the input data.
A list of supported binary encodings is available at the link below.
The default value is base64
FirstChunk
FirstChunk As Boolean
Using the FirstChunk and LastChunk properties is the way to do streaming encryption or decryption with Chilkat.
By default, both FirstChunk and LastChunk are set to True, indicating that the data passed to the encryption or decryption method is the full amount. To process data in multiple chunks, adjust these settings as follows:
1. For the first chunk, set FirstChunk = True and LastChunk = False.
2. For intermediate chunks, set both FirstChunk = False and LastChunk = False.
3. For the final chunk, set FirstChunk = False and LastChunk = True.
You can feed data chunks of any size, regardless of the encryption algorithm's block size (e.g., 16 bytes for AES). Chilkat will handle buffering and, upon receiving the final chunk, pad the output to the appropriate block size according to the selected PaddingScheme.
HashAlgorithm
HashAlgorithm As String
Selects the hash algorithm used by methods that create hashes. The valid choices are sha256, sha384, sha512, sha3-224, sha3-256, sha3-384, sha3-512, sha1, md2, md5, haval, ripemd128, ripemd160,ripemd256, or ripemd320.
(Chilkat supports SHA-2 because it includes the SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512 hash functions.)
The default value is sha256.
Note: The HAVAL hash algorithm is affected by two other properties: HavalRounds and KeyLength .
- The HavalRounds may have values of 3, 4, or 5.
- For HAVAL hashing, the KeyLength can be 128, 160, 192, 224, or 256.
HavalRounds
HavalRounds As Int
Applies to the HAVAL hash algorithm only and must be set to the integer value 3, 4, or 5. The default value is 3.
topHeartbeatMs
HeartbeatMs As Int
The interval in milliseconds between each AbortCheck event callback, which enables an application to abort certain method calls before they complete. By default, HeartbeatMs is set to 0, meaning no AbortCheck event callbacks will trigger.
Methods with event callbacks include: CkDecryptFile , CkEncryptFile , HashFile , and HashFileENC .
IncludeCertChain
IncludeCertChain As Boolean
This applies only to creating digital signatures. By default (True), any additional certificates in the authentication chain are included in the PKCS7 digital signature.
InitialCount
InitialCount As Int
The initial counter for the ChaCha20 encryption algorithm, which has a default value of 0, is pre-agreed by both the encryptor and decryptor.
IterationCount
IterationCount As Int
The iteration count in password-based encryption (PBE) establishes the computational difficulty for encryption and decryption, thereby enhancing resistance to exhaustive search attacks. The default iteration count is 1024, which is considered low, so it is recommended that applications increase this number when using pbes2 encryption.
PBES2 Iteration Count Recommendations
Aim for a 100–200 ms derive time on your target hardware.
-
Server/Desktop:
100000 – 1000000+ -
Mobile/Embedded:
50000 - 100000
Benchmark annually and increase iterations as hardware improves.
topKeyLength
KeyLength As Int
The key length in bits for symmetric encryption algorithms. The default value is 256.
LastChunk
LastChunk As Boolean
LastErrorHtml
LastErrorHtml As String
Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastErrorText
LastErrorText As String
Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
LastErrorXml
LastErrorXml As String
Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastMethodSuccess
LastMethodSuccess As Boolean
Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: True means success, False means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.
MacAlgorithm
MacAlgorithm As String
Selects the MAC algorithm to be used for any of the Mac methods, such as MacStringENC, MacBytes, etc. The default value is hmac. Possible values are hmac and poly1305.
NumSignerCerts
NumSignerCerts As Int
This property is set upon verifying a digital signature and indicates the number of signer certificates. You can retrieve each signing certificate using the LastSignerCert method with an index ranging from 0 to NumSignerCerts-1.
OaepHash
OaepHash As String
Selects the hash algorithm for use within OAEP padding when encrypting using pki with RSAES-OAEP. The valid choices are sha1, sha256, sha384, sha512,
The default value is sha256
OaepMgfHash
OaepMgfHash As String
Selects the MGF hash algorithm for use within OAEP padding when encrypting using pki with RSAES-OAEP. The valid choices are sha1, sha256, sha384, sha512, The default is sha256.
OaepPadding
OaepPadding As Boolean
Selects the RSA encryption scheme when encrypting using pki (with a certificate and private key). The default value is False, which selects RSAES_PKCS1-V1_5. If set to True, then RSAES_OAEP is used.
PaddingScheme
PaddingScheme As Int
This property defines the padding scheme Chilkat uses for adding padding to input data during encryption and removing it during decryption. It is applicable only to symmetric block ciphers, such as AES, Blowfish, and Twofish, which require input sizes matching their exact block size. Padding ensures the last block is completely filled.
The possible values are:
-
PKCS#5/PKCS#7 (RFC 1423)
default
Each pad byte = number of padding bytes.
Block size: 8
Data: "HELLO" (5 bytes)
Padding: 0x03 0x03 0x03 -
FIPS 81
Last byte = count; others = random.
Block size: 8
Data: "HELLO"
Padding: 0xA4 0x2F 0x9C 0x03 -
Random
All pad bytes random; decryptor must know original length.
Block size: 8
Data: "HELLO"
Padding: 0x7D 0x20 0xCB 0x81 -
Null (0x00)
Pad with zeros; no padding if already exact.
Block size: 8
Data: "HEL" (3 bytes)
Padding: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 -
Space (0x20)
Pad with spaces; no padding if already exact.
Block size: 8
Data: "HEL" (3 bytes)
Padding: 0x20 0x20 0x20 0x20 0x20
PbesAlgorithm
PbesAlgorithm As String
If the CryptAlgorithm property is set to pbes1 or pbes2, this property defines the symmetric encryption algorithm to be used for password-based encryption (PBE). The default is "des". Applications should set this property equal to "aes".
PbesPassword
PbesPassword As String
The password to be used when the CryptAlgorithm is "pbes1" or "pbes2".
Pkcs7CryptAlg
Pkcs7CryptAlg As String
This property determines the underlying symmetric encryption algorithm when the CryptAlgorithm property is set to pki for selecting PKCS7 public-key encryption.
The default is aes.
Rc2EffectiveKeyLength
Rc2EffectiveKeyLength As Int
The effective key length (in bits) for the RC2 encryption algorithm. When using RC2, set both the KeyLength and Rc2EffectiveKeyLength properties to values between 8 and 1024, inclusive. The default setting for both is 128.
The default value is 128
RC2 is an old symmetric encryption algorithm, now considered insecure due to its small key size and vulnerability to cryptanalysis. Modern algorithms like AES are recommended instead.
topSigningAlg
SigningAlg As String
This property applies when creating RSA signatures.
It defines the RSA signature scheme. The default is PKCS1-v1_5. You can change it to RSASSA-PSS (or pss) to use the RSASSA-PSS signature scheme.
-
PKCS#1 v1.5
Older, deterministic scheme.
- Simple padding.
- Vulnerable to certain attacks if not used carefully.
- Still widely used for compatibility. -
RSASSA-PSS
Newer, probabilistic scheme (recommended by modern standards).
- Adds random salt for each signature.
- More secure against chosen-plaintext and padding oracle attacks.
- Recommended by modern standards like PKCS#1 v2.1 and FIPS.
SigningAttributes
SigningAttributes As String
Contains JSON to specify the authenticated (signed) attributes or unauthenticated (unsigned) attributes that are to be included in CMS signatures. The default value is:
{
"contentType": true,
"signingTime": true,
"messageDigest": true
}
UncommonOptions
UncommonOptions As String
This is a catch-all property to be used for uncommon needs. This property defaults to the empty string and should typically remain empty.
Can be set to a list of the following comma separated keywords:
UseConstructedOctets- Introduced in v9.5.0.83. When creating opaque CMS signatures (signatures that embed the data being signed), will use theconstructed octetsform of the ASN.1 that holds the data. This is to satify some validators that are brittle/fragile/picky and require a particular format, such as for the ICP-Brazil Digital Signature Standard.
UuFilename
UuFilename As String
When UU encoding, this is the filename to be embedded in UU encoded output. The default is file.dat. When UU decoding, this is the filename found in the UU encoded input.
UuMode
UuMode As String
When UU encoding, this is the file permissions mode to be embedded in UU encoded output. The default is 644. When UU decoding, this property is set to the mode found in the UU encoded input.
VerboseLogging
VerboseLogging As Boolean
If set to True, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is False. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.
Version
Version As String
Methods
AddEncryptCert
Adds a certificate for public-key encryption. To enable public-key encryption with digital certificates, set the CryptAlgorithm property to pki. Call AddEncryptCert separately for each certificate you wish to use for encryption.
Any of the Encrypt* methods will do RSA public-key encryption when the CryptAlgorithm is set to the keyword pki. The output is a PKCS#7 enveloped-data secure container.
AddPfxSourceBd
Adds a PFX file to the object's list of sources for locating certificates and private keys during public-key decryption or signing. To add multiple PFX sources, call this method multiple times. bd should contain the bytes of a PFX file (also known as PKCS12 or .p12).
Note: Information about the certificate(s) needed for public-key decryption are included in the PKCS#7 enveloped-data. Chilkat will automatically find a usable certificate and private key from sources like Windows certificate stores, the Apple keychain, or other sources provided by the application.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
AddPfxSourceFile
Adds a PFX file to the object's list of sources for locating certificates and private keys during public-key decryption or signing. To add multiple PFX sources, call this method multiple times.
Note: Information about the certificate(s) needed for public-key decryption are included in the PKCS#7 enveloped-data. Chilkat will automatically find a usable certificate and private key from sources like Windows certificate stores, the Apple keychain, or other sources provided by the application.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
AddSigningCert
Call this method once per certificate to add multiple certificates for signing. If signing with a single certificate, then the SetSigningCert or SetSigningCert2 methods can be used instead.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
AesKeyUnwrap
Implements the AES Key Wrap Algorithm (RFC 3394) for unwrapping. The kek is the Key Encryption Key (the AES key used to unwrap the wrappedKeyData). The arguments and return value are binary encoded strings using the encoding specified by encoding (which can be base64, hex, base64url, etc.) The full list of supported encodings is available at the link below.
The kek should be an AES key of 16 bytes, 24 bytes, or 32 bytes (i.e. 128-bits, 192- bits, or 256-bits). For example, if passed as a hex string, then the kek should be 32 chars in length, 48 chars, or 64 chars (because each byte is represented as 2 chars in hex).
The wrappedKeyData contains the data to be unwrapped. The result, if decoded, is 8 bytes less than the wrapped key data. For example, if a 256-bit AES key (32 bytes) is wrapped, the size of the wrapped key data is 40 bytes. Unwrapping restores it to the original 32 bytes.
Returns Null on failure
AesKeyUnwrapWithPadding
Implements the AES Key Wrap with Padding Algorithm (RFC 5649) for unwrapping. The kek is the Key Encryption Key (the AES key used to unwrap the wrappedKeyData). The arguments and return value are binary encoded strings using the encoding specified by encoding (which can be base64, hex, base64url, etc.)
The kek should be an AES key of 16 bytes, 24 bytes, or 32 bytes (i.e. 128-bits, 192- bits, or 256-bits). For example, if passed as a hex string, then the kek should be 32 chars in length, 48 chars, or 64 chars (because each byte is represented as 2 chars in hex).
The wrappedKeyData contains the data to be unwrapped.
The unwrapped key is returned as an encoded string (using the encoding specified in encoding).
Returns Null on failure
AesKeyWrap
Implements the AES Key Wrap Algorithm (RFC 3394). The kek is the Key Encryption Key (the AES key used to encrypt the keyData). The arguments and return value are binary encoded strings using the encoding specified by encoding (which can be base64, hex, base64url, etc.) The full list of supported encodings is available at the link below.
The kek should be an AES key of 16 bytes, 24 bytes, or 32 bytes (i.e. 128-bits, 192- bits, or 256-bits). For example, if passed as a hex string, then the kek should be 32 chars in length, 48 chars, or 64 chars (because each byte is represented as 2 chars in hex).
The keyData contains the data to be key wrapped. It must be a multiple of 64-bits in length. In other words, if the keyData is decoded to binary, it should be a number of bytes that is a multiple of 8.
The return string, if decoded to binary bytes, is equal to the size of the key data + 8 additional bytes.
Returns Null on failure
AesKeyWrapWithPadding
Implements the AES Key Wrap with Padding Algorithm (RFC 5649). The kek is the Key Encryption Key (the AES key used to encrypt the keyData). The arguments and return value are binary encoded strings using the encoding specified by encoding (which can be base64, hex, base64url, etc.)
The kek should be an AES key of 16 bytes, 24 bytes, or 32 bytes (i.e. 128-bits, 192- bits, or 256-bits). For example, if passed as a hex string, then the kek should be 32 chars in length, 48 chars, or 64 chars (because each byte is represented as 2 chars in hex).
The keyData contains the data to be key wrapped.
Returns the wrapped key using the encoding specified in encoding.
Returns Null on failure
Argon2DeriveKey
Derives a key from a password using Argon2, the memory-hard key derivation function specified in RFC 9106. Argon2 is deliberately expensive in both CPU time and memory, which is what makes a brute-force search of the password space costly.
password is the password. json is a JSON string containing the Argon2 options (described below). The derived key is returned in bdKey, which is cleared before the derived key is stored in it.
A salt member is required in json. There is no default, because a key derivation salt is chosen and stored by the application. Use GenRandomBytesENC to generate one.
Every other member is optional. Passing an empty string for json is the same as passing {} and would fail only because no salt was given.
The JSON is validated strictly before it is used, so malformed JSON is rejected rather than partially applied. It must be a single JSON object, and every member value must be a simple value (string, number, true, false or null) -- no Argon2 member takes an object or an array. Member names are matched exactly, and any member not listed below is an error rather than something ignored. A member given twice, or a member given together with its short alias, is also an error, because which one would win is ambiguous. All of this is deliberate. A misspelled name such as iteration, a miscapitalized one such as memoryCostKB, or a single missing comma would otherwise be discarded in silence and the default used in its place. For a cost parameter that is a silent downgrade, and it produces a hash that looks perfectly valid, so nothing downstream would catch it. The specific problem is reported in the LastErrorText.
variant-argon2id(the default),argon2i, orargon2d. Useargon2idunless there is a specific reason not to: it combines Argon2i's resistance to side-channel attacks with Argon2d's resistance to time-memory tradeoff attacks.version-19(the default, 0x13) or16(0x10). Only set16to reproduce a hash made by an old implementation.iterations- the number of passes over memory, calledtin RFC 9106. Must be at least 1. Defaults to3.memoryCostKb- the amount of memory used, in KB, calledmin RFC 9106. Must be at least 8 timesparallelism. Defaults to65536(64 MB). This is the parameter that does the most to make an attack expensive.parallelism- the number of lanes, calledpin RFC 9106. Defaults to1. Changing it changes the derived key. Chilkat computes all lanes on the calling thread, so raising it does not make the computation faster.keyLen- the length of the derived key in bytes. Must be between 4 and 1048576. Defaults to32.salt- the salt, which must be at least 8 bytes. 16 random bytes is the usual choice.secret- the optional secret valueKof RFC 9106, often called apepper: a key held by the application and not stored alongside the hash, so that a stolen database of hashes cannot be attacked without it.ad- the optional associated dataXof RFC 9106: additional non-secret data bound into the derivation.encoding- how thesalt,secretandadmembers are encoded. Defaults tobase64. May be any encoding Chilkat supports, such ashex, orutf-8to use the characters of the member itself as the bytes.saltEncoding,secretEncoding,adEncoding- overrideencodingfor one member.passwordCharset- the character encoding the password is converted to before use. Defaults toutf-8. If set tohexorbase64,passwordis instead treated as encoded binary and decoded, exactly as for the charset argument ofPbkdf2.maxMemoryKb- refuses to allocate more than this many KB. This is not an Argon2 parameter; it is a guard so that an unreasonablememoryCostKbcannot exhaust memory. Defaults to2097152(2 GB).
The short names used in RFC 9106 and in PHC hash strings are accepted as aliases: t for iterations, m for memoryCostKb, p for parallelism, and v for version. This means the parameters of an existing hash string such as $argon2id$v=19$m=65536,t=3,p=1$... can be transcribed directly.
For example, to derive a 32-byte key:
{ "iterations": 3, "memoryCostKb": 65536, "parallelism": 1, "keyLen": 32, "salt": "cmFuZG9tc2FsdDEyMzQ=" }
To hash a password for storage, use Argon2HashPassword instead, which generates a random salt and returns a self-describing string.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
Argon2HashPassword
Hashes a password using Argon2 (RFC 9106) and returns the result as a PHC format string, such as
$argon2id$v=19$m=65536,t=3,p=1$c29tZXJhbmRvbXNhbHQ$3fJ7v1qKcVJ0lHqXjBQZ8mYm3sNTfSPRt0bqDl9kEyM
The string records the variant, version, memory cost, iterations, parallelism, salt and hash, so it is everything needed to verify the password later with Argon2VerifyPassword. Store the whole string.
password is the password. json is a JSON string containing the Argon2 options, which are the same members documented for Argon2DeriveKey, with one difference: the salt is optional here. As with all of the Argon2 methods, an unrecognized member name is an error. When no salt member is present, a cryptographically random salt is generated for this hash, which is what should normally happen. A saltLen member (default 16, allowed range 8 to 1024) sets how many random bytes to generate.
Passing an empty string for json uses all defaults: Argon2id, version 19, 3 iterations, 64 MB of memory, 1 lane, a 32-byte hash and a 16-byte random salt.
Note that if a secret (pepper) or ad is used, it is not stored in the returned string. The same value must be supplied to Argon2VerifyPassword for the password to verify.
Returns Null on failure
Argon2VerifyPassword
Verifies password against a PHC format Argon2 hash string previously produced by Argon2HashPassword (or by any other RFC 9106 implementation).
Returns one of three values:
1- the password matched.0- the password did not match.-1- the verification could not be performed at all:phcHashwas not a valid Argon2 hash string, its parameters were out of range, or an internal failure occurred. The reason is written to theLastErrorText.
== 1, never for != 0, so that an unusable hash string is not mistaken for a successful login.
The variant, version, memory cost, iterations, parallelism, salt and hash length are all read from phcHash, so none of the Argon2 cost options need to be supplied. Pass an empty string for json unless the hash was created with a secret (pepper) or ad, in which case json must contain the same values that were used to create it. Only the secret, ad, encoding, passwordCharset and maxMemoryKb members of json are used; everything else is ignored. The other documented members are still accepted here, so that one JSON string can be shared between hashing and verifying, but an unrecognized member name is an error.
A return of 0 and a return of -1 call for different handling. 0 is a normal failed login attempt. -1 means the stored hash itself is unusable, which is a data or configuration problem rather than a bad password, and is worth logging or alerting on separately.
The maxMemoryKb member is worth setting when the hash strings come from an untrusted source. The memory cost is taken from phcHash, so a hash claiming an enormous m would otherwise cause a very large allocation. It defaults to 2 GB and is checked before any memory is allocated.
BCryptHash
Computes and returns a bcrypt hash of the password. The number of rounds of hashing is determined by the BCryptWorkFactor property.
Starting in v9.5.0.76, if the password is prefixed with $2b$ then the output will use the $2b version of bcrypt. For example, to create a $2b$ bcrypt has for the password secret, pass in the string $2b$secret for password.
Returns Null on failure
BCryptVerify
Verifies the password against a previously computed BCrypt hash. Returns True if the password matches the bcryptHash. Returns False if the password does not match.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
CkDecryptFile
File-to-file decryption that supports files of any size by using internal streaming mode.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
CkEncryptFile
Encrypts a file to another file using streaming mode, allowing files of virtually any size to be processed without loading the entire file into memory. The exception is when the CryptAlgorithm property is set to "pki", in which case the entire input file must reside in memory because public-key encryption is performed in-memory rather than as a streaming operation.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
ClearEncryptCerts
Clears the internal list of digital certificates to be used for public-key encryption.
ClearSigningCerts
Clears the set of certificates to be used in signing.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
CoSign
Co-sign's an existing CMS signature. bdIn contains the existing CMS signature. If successful, cert is the output co-signed CMS signature.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
CrcBd
Computes a CRC for data contained in crcAlg, which can be either crc-32 used in the Zip file format, or crc8 for the CRC8 algorithm.
CrcFile
Calculates the CRC for a file's contents using the CRC algorithm specified by crcAlg. Possible algorithms are:
crc-32- This is the CRC used in the Zip file format.crc8
CreateP7M
Signs the contents of inFilename and writes the enveloping (i.e. opaque) PKCS7 signature (.p7m) to p7mPath.
In a PKCS#7/CMS signature, the signer computes a cryptographic hash (e.g. SHA-256) of the data, then uses their private key to sign that hash.
The signature = Sign( Hash(data) )
This signed hash is what gets stored in the signature file. For enveloping/opaque signatures, the signed data is also stored in the signature file.
Set the HashAlgorithm property to specify the hash algorithmg. The valid options are sha256, sha1, sha384, and sha512.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
CreateP7S
Signs the contents of inFilename and writes the detached PKCS7 signature (.p7s) to p7sPath.
In a PKCS#7/CMS detached signature, the signer computes a cryptographic hash (e.g. SHA-256) of the data, then uses their private key to sign that hash.
The signature = Sign( Hash(data) )
This signed hash is what gets stored in the signature file.
Set the HashAlgorithm property to specify the hash algorithmg. The valid options are sha256, sha1, sha384, and sha512.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
DecodeString
Decodes from an encoding back to the original string. The encoding can be set to any of the following strings: base64, hex, quoted-printable, url, base32, Q, B, url_rc1738, url_rfc2396, url_rfc3986, url_oauth, uu, modBase64, or html (for HTML entity encoding).
Returns Null on failure
DecryptBd
Decrypts the contents of bd. This method can do either symmetric key decryption or CMS public key decryption (e.g., PKCS#7 EnvelopedData).
Before calling this method for symmetric key decryption (e.g., AES, ChaCha20, Blowfish, etc.), ensure the following setup:
- Define the encryption algorithm using the
CryptAlgorithmproperty. - Specify the encryption key length with the
KeyLengthproperty. - Establish the cipher mode through the
CipherModeproperty. - Use the
SetEncodedIVmethod to set the IV, if needed by the cipher mode. - Set the encryption key with the
SetEncodedKeymethod. - Ensure the
PaddingSchemeproperty matches the encryptor's value.
When calling this method for public key decryption (i.e. decrypting a PKCS7 CMS message), the following setup is required:
- The
CryptAlgorithmproperty should be set to the string"pki". - Optionally specify the certificate to be used for decryption by calling
SetDecryptCert. If SetDecryptCert is not called, then Chilkat will automatically search certificate sources (Windows certificate stores,Apple keychain, etc.) for the required certificate.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
DecryptEncoded
Decrypts encoded encrypted data, and returns the decrypted data as a binary encoded string. For example:
EncodingMode → Decrypt → Encode EncodingMode → Output
The encoding (e.g. base64, hex, etc.) is determined by the EncodingMode property.
This method supports symmetric key and public key decryption. For more information on properties that affect decryption, such as CryptAlgorithm, CipherMode, etc., refer to the DecryptBd method documentation.
Returns Null on failure
DecryptSb
This function is intended for use when the expected decrypted output is text. It decrypts the contents of bdIn and appends the resulting string to sbOut. Ensure that the Charset property, such as utf-8, matches the one used during encryption to interpret the decrypted bytes correctly as characters.
Charset → Append to StringBuilder
This method supports symmetric key and public key decryption. For more information on properties that affect decryption, such as CryptAlgorithm, CipherMode, etc., refer to the DecryptBd method documentation.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
DecryptSecureENC
This function is intended for use when the expected decrypted output is text. It decrypts binary encoded encrypted bytes passed in cipherText and appends the resulting string to secureStr. Ensure that the Charset property, such as utf-8, matches the one used during encryption to interpret the decrypted bytes correctly as characters.
EncodingMode → Decrypt → Interpret Bytes according to Charset → Append to Secure String
The encoding (e.g. base64, hex, etc.) is determined by the EncodingMode property.
This method supports symmetric key and public key decryption. For more information on properties that affect decryption, such as CryptAlgorithm, CipherMode, etc., refer to the DecryptBd method documentation.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
DecryptStringENC
This function is intended for use when the expected decrypted output is text. It decrypts binary encoded encrypted bytes passed in str and appends the resulting string to ARG2. Ensure that the Charset property, such as utf-8, matches the one used during encryption to interpret the decrypted bytes correctly as characters.
EncodingMode → Decrypt → Interpret Bytes according to Charset → Output
The encoding (e.g. base64, hex, etc.) is determined by the EncodingMode property.
This method supports symmetric key and public key decryption. For more information on properties that affect decryption, such as CryptAlgorithm, CipherMode, etc., refer to the DecryptBd method documentation.
Returns Null on failure
EncodeInt
Encodes an integer to N bytes and returns in the specified encoding. If littleEndian is True, then little-endian byte ordering is used. Otherwise big-endian byte order is used.
Returns Null on failure
EncodeString
Binary encodes a string. The toEncodingName can be set to any of the binary encodings supported by Chilkat, such as base64, hex, etc. (see the link below for the full list of encodings). The charsetName, such as "utf-8", determines the bytes that are encoded.
The toEncodingName can also be set to the value html for HTML entity encoding.
Returns Null on failure
EncryptBd
Encrypts the contents of bd. This method can do either symmetric key encryption or CMS public key encryption (e.g., PKCS#7 EnvelopedData).
Before calling this method for symmetric key encryption (e.g., AES, ChaCha20, Blowfish, etc.), ensure the following setup:
- Define the encryption algorithm using the
CryptAlgorithmproperty. - Specify the encryption key length with the
KeyLengthproperty. - Establish the cipher mode through the
CipherModeproperty. - Use the
SetEncodedIVmethod to set the IV, if needed by the cipher mode. - Set the encryption key with the
SetEncodedKeymethod. - Set the
PaddingSchemeproperty if needing something different than the default.
When calling this method for public key encryption (i.e. creating a PKCS7 CMS message), the following setup is required:
- The
CryptAlgorithmproperty should be set to the string"pki". - To specify the encryption certificate, use
SetEncryptCert. For multiple certificates, callAddEncryptCertfor each one.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
EncryptEncoded
Encrypts binary-encoded data and returns it as a binary-encoded string. For example:
EncodingMode → Encrypt → Encode EncodingMode → Output
The encoding (e.g. base64, hex, etc.) is determined by the EncodingMode property.
This method supports symmetric key and public key decryption. For more information on properties that affect decryption, such as CryptAlgorithm, CipherMode, etc., refer to the method documentation.
Returns Null on failure
EncryptSb
Encrypts text and appends the encrypted bytes in bdOut.
The Charset property, such as utf-8, determines the actual bytes that are encrypted.
StringBuilder → Get bytes according to Charset → Encrypt → Append to BinData
This method supports symmetric key and public key encryption. For more information on properties that affect encryption, such as CryptAlgorithm, CipherMode, etc., refer to the EncryptBd method documentation.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
EncryptSecureENC
Encrypts the secure string and returns the encrypted bytes as a binary encoded string. The Charset property determines the actual bytes that are encrypted.
SecureString → Get bytes according to Charset → Encrypt → Encode using EncodingMode → Output
The encoding (e.g. base64, hex, etc.) is determined by the EncodingMode property.
This method supports symmetric key and public key encryption. For more information on properties that affect encryption, such as CryptAlgorithm, CipherMode, etc., refer to the EncryptBd method documentation.
Returns Null on failure
EncryptStringENC
Encrypts the str and returns the encrypted bytes as a binary encoded string. The Charset property determines the actual bytes that are encrypted.
Charset → Encrypt → Encode using EncodingMode → Output
The encoding (e.g. base64, hex, etc.) is determined by the EncodingMode property.
This method supports symmetric key and public key encryption. For more information on properties that affect encryption, such as CryptAlgorithm, CipherMode, etc., refer to the EncryptBd method documentation.
Returns Null on failure
GenerateUuid
Generates a random UUID string having standard UUID format, such as de305d54-75b4-431b-adb2-eb6b9e546014.
Note: This generates a version 4 UUID using random byte values. See RFC 4122.
Returns Null on failure
GenRandomBytesENC
Generates numBytes random bytes and returns them as an encoded string. The encoding format (e.g., base64, hex) is determined by the EncodingMode property. It utilizes the Fortuna cryptographically secure random number generator, auto-seeded by an OS-dependent secure entropy source.
Returns Null on failure
GetEncodedAuthTag
When encrypting in GCM mode, Chilkat generates the GCM authentication tag. The application can then use this method to retrieve the tag, which should be sent to the decrypting party along with the encrypted data. For further details on GCM authenticated encryption, please refer to the web pages linked below.
Returns Null on failure
GetEncodedIV
This method retrieves the IV set by the application during the last call to SetEncodedIV or RandomizeIV.
Returns Null on failure
GetLastJsonData
Offers details on the last method executed. While many methods provide no information, some do through GetLastJsonData. For instance, after invoking a signature verification method, GetLastJsonData will return JSON detailing the algorithms used.
GetSignatureSigningTimeStr
This method retrieves the signing time of the Nth certificate in a digital signature after verification. The signing time for the first certificate is at index 0. The NumSignerCerts property indicates the total number of signing certificates, although typically only one is used.
Note: Before accessing the signing time, use the HasSignatureSigningTime method to verify its availability, and skip indices lacking a signing time. The signing time is returned in RFC822 string format.
Returns Null on failure
GetSignedAttributes
Extracts the signed (authenticated) attributes for the Nth signer, where signerIndex is typically 0, as most signatures have only one signer.
Provide the binary PKCS7 in pkcs7Der. If successful, sbJson will hold the signed attributes in JSON format.
Sample JSON output:
{
"signedAttributes": [
{
"oid": "1.2.840.113549.1.9.3",
"name": "Content Type"
},
{
"oid": "1.2.840.113549.1.9.5",
"name": "Signing Time"
},
{
"oid": "1.2.840.113549.1.9.4"
"name": "Message Digest"
},
{
"oid": "1.2.840.113549.1.9.16.2.47",
"name": "Signing Certificate V2"
}
]
}
Returns True for success, False for failure.
HashBdENC
Hashes the bytes in bd and returns the hash as a binary-encoded string. The hash algorithm is determined by the HashAlgorithm property, while the encoding is specified by the EncodingMode property. Encoding options include base64, hex, base64url, or others listed at the link below.
Returns Null on failure
HashBeginString
To hash a large amount of text, start by processing the first chunk using this method. For subsequent chunks, use the HashMoreString method as needed. Conclude by calling HashFinalENC to obtain the final result. The hash algorithm is determined by the HashAlgorithm property setting.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
HashChunkBd
Start or continue hashing data in chunks. Set firstChunk to True for the first chunk, and False for subsequent chunks. Finish by calling HashFinalENC to obtain the result. The hash algorithm used is determined by the HashAlgorithm property.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topHashFileENC
Hashes a file and returns the hash as an encoded string.
The hash algorithm is specified by the HashAlgorithm property, The encoding is controlled by the EncodingMode property, which can be set to base64, hex, base64url, or any of the encodings listed at the link below.
Any size file is supported because the file is hashed internally in streaming mode (keeping memory usage low and constant).
Returns Null on failure
HashFinalENC
Finalizes a multi-step hash computation and returns the hash bytes encoded according to the EncodingMode property setting.
Returns Null on failure
HashMoreString
Adds more text to the hash currently under computation. (See HashBeginString)
Returns True for success, False for failure.
HashStringENC
Hashes the str and returns the hash as a binary encoded string. The Charset property determines the actual bytes that are hashed.
Charset → Hash → Encode using EncodingMode → Output
The encoding (e.g. base64, hex, etc.) is determined by the EncodingMode property.
The hash algorithm is determined by the HashAlgorithm property.
Returns Null on failure
HasSignatureSigningTime
After verifying a digital signature with a signature verification method, you can call this method. It returns True if the signing time for the Nth certificate is available and can be accessed using the GetSignatureSigningTimeStr method.
Hotp
Implements RFC 4226: HOTP: An HMAC-Based One-Time Password Algorithm. The arguments to this method are:
secret: The shared secret in an enocded representation such as base64, hex, ascii, etc.secretEnc: The encoding of the shared secret, such asbase64counterHex: The 8-byte counter in hexidecimal format.numDigits: The number of decimal digits to return.truncOffset: Normally set this to -1 for dynamic truncation. Otherwise can be set in the range 0..15.hashAlg: Normally set tosha1. Can be set to other hash algorithms such assha256,sha512, etc.
Returns Null on failure
LastDecryptCert
Returns in cert the last certificate used for public-key decryption.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
LastSignerCert
Retrieves the Nth certificate used for signing in cert, where the first certificate is at index 0. Use this method after verifying a digital signature to access the signer certificates. The NumSignerCerts property indicates the total number of signing certificates. Usually, only one certificate is used when creating a digital signature.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
MacBdENC
Generates a Message Authentication Code (MAC) for the bytes in bd using the algorithm defined by the MacAlgorithm property. The resulting MAC is encoded into a string based on the EncodingMode property (e.g., base64 or hex). The HashAlgorithm property determines the internal hash function. Before generating the MAC, specify the secret key using SetMacKeyEncoded .
Returns Null on failure
MacStringENC
Computes a Message Authentication Code (MAC) and returns it as a binary encoded string. The MAC algorithm is defined by the MacAlgorithm property. The Charset property determines the actual bytes that are hashed.
Charset → MAC → Encode using EncodingMode → Output
The encoding (e.g. base64, hex, etc.) is determined by the EncodingMode property.
The hash algorithm is determined by the HashAlgorithm property. The secret key must be set beforehand by calling SetMacKeyEncoded .
Returns Null on failure
MySqlAesDecrypt
Matches MySQL's AES_DECRYPT function. strEncryptedHex is a hex-encoded AES-encrypted string, and the return value is the original unencrypted string.
Returns Null on failure
MySqlAesEncrypt
This function replicates MySQL's AES_ENCRYPT, returning the encrypted data as a hex-encoded string. In MySQL, this is done using: HEX(AES_ENCRYPT('The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog', 'password')).
Returns Null on failure
OpaqueSignBd
Digitally signs the contents of bd. If successful, the contents of bd are replaced with the PKCS#7 signed-data, which embeds the original data within the signature. Ensure a certificate is set using SetSigningCert before invoking this method. The HashAlgorithm property specifies the hash algorithm for creating the data's hash during signing.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
OpaqueSignStringENC
Digitally signs a string and returns PKCS#7 signed-data as a binary encoded string. The EncodingMode property determines the binary encoding, such as base64, hex, hex_lower, base64_mime, etc. The Charset property determines the actual bytes that are hashed and signed. The HashAlgorithm property specifies the hash algorithm for creating the data's hash during signing.
Returns Null on failure
OpaqueVerifyBd
The method performs in-place verification of the PKCS#7 signed-data content of bd. If the signature is successfully verified, the content of bd is replaced with the original data, and the method returns True. If verification fails, bd remains unchanged, and the method returns False. Afterwards, you can retrieve signer certificates by using the NumSignerCerts property and the LastSignerCert method.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
OpaqueVerifyStringENC
This function verifies a PKCS#7 signed-data binary-encoded signature and returns the original text data. The EncodingMode property determines how p7m is decoded to bytes. If the signature does not verify successfully, it returns an empty string. The Charset property specifies how the original data bytes are converted to characters. You can obtain signer certificates using the NumSignerCerts property and the LastSignerCert method.
Returns Null on failure
Pbkdf1
This function implements the PBKDF1 (Password-Based Key Derivation Function #1) algorithm. Follow these guidelines to use it:
-
password(the password) is first converted using the character encoding specified bycharsetbefore being processed by the key derivation function. -
hashAlgspecifies the hash function to use, such asmd5,sha1, ormd2. -
saltrepresents the salt, which should be random data of at least 8 bytes (64 bits). You can use theGenRandomBytesENCmethod to generate this. -
iterationCountsets the iteration count, which must be a minimum of 1000. -
outputKeyBitLendetermines the length (in bits) of the derived key. -
encodingdefines the output encoding format, such asbase64orhex, and also the expected encoding ofsalt(the salt).
The function returns the derived key.
Note: If charset is specified as hex or base64, the password (password) will be treated as binary data encoded in that format. It will be decoded into binary form and used directly as such.
Returns Null on failure
Pbkdf2
Implements the PBKDF2 algorithm as follows:
- Convert
passwordto the character encoding specified bycharsetbefore using it in the key derivation function. hashAlgspecifies the hash algorithm. Options includesha256,sha384,sha512,md5,sha1,md2, or any algorithm listed in the HashAlgorithm property.- Provide a random
saltvalue that is at least 8 bytes (64 bits) long. Use methods likeGenRandomBytesENCto generate this salt value. - Ensure
iterationCountis 1000 or greater. - Control the length of the derived key output using
outputKeyBitLen. - Set
encodingto specify the encoding format for the output and the expected encoding forsalt. Options includebase64andhex.
The derived key is the output of this process. Internally, PBKDF2 uses a pseudorandom function (PRF), specifically a keyed HMAC. The hash algorithm chosen with hashAlg dictates this PRF; for example, SHA256 uses HMAC-SHA256, while SHA1 uses HMAC-SHA1.
Note: If charset is hex or base64, password is treated as binary data. It will be decoded and used directly as a binary password.
SHA256 uses HMAC-SHA256, while SHA1 uses HMAC-SHA1.
PBKDF1 and PBKDF2 are both key derivation functions used to strengthen passwords for cryptographic purposes, but PBKDF2 is the improved version.
- PBKDF1: Older and limited - it can only generate small keys (up to the hash function’s output size), making it less flexible and secure.
- PBKDF2: More advanced - it can generate longer keys, is more resistant to attacks, and is widely recommended for modern security needs.
In short, PBKDF2 is stronger and more versatile than PBKDF1.
Returns Null on failure
RandomizeIV
Sets the initialization vector (IV) to a random value. The CryptAlgorithm property should be set prior to calling this method.
A random IV is used in symmetric encryption (like AES-CBC or AES-GCM) to ensure that encrypting the same plaintext with the same key produces different ciphertext each time. This prevents attackers from recognizing patterns in encrypted data and strengthens security.
Why use a random IV?
- It ensures semantic security (i.e. same plaintext never results in same ciphertext).
- Prevents replay and pattern attacks.
- Especially important in modes like CBC and GCM.
How is the IV sent to the decrypting party?
The IV is not secret, but it must be available for decryption. Common methods:
- Prepended to the ciphertext (e.g.,
IV || ciphertext) - Sent in a separate field (e.g., JSON field, HTTP header)
- Concatenated and encoded (e.g., base64 of IV + ciphertext)
At the receiving side, the decryptor extracts the IV and uses it with the shared key to decrypt the ciphertext correctly.
ReEncode
This method converts between different encodings, such as from base64 to hex. Each argument can be any binary encoding supported by Chilkat.
Returns Null on failure
SetDecryptCert
Sets the digital certificate for decryption when the CryptAlgorithm property is set to "pki". This method requires that the certificate has a private key.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
SetDecryptCert2
Sets the digital certificate and associated private key for decryption when the CryptAlgorithm property is set to "pki". The private key must be the one that matches the certificate's public key.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
SetEncodedAad
Sets the optional authenticated additional data (AAD) for AES encryption in GCM mode. The data is provided as a binary-encoded string using the specified encoding, and any binary encoding supported by Chilkat can be used.
In GCM (Galois/Counter Mode) encryption, AAD (Additional Authenticated Data) is optional input that is not encrypted but is authenticated along with the ciphertext. It's used to verify integrity of associated data like headers or metadata. If AAD is modified, decryption will fail due to authentication tag mismatch.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
SetEncodedAuthTag
In GCM mode, the authentication tag is a short value (e.g. 16 bytes) generated during encryption that ensures the integrity and authenticity of both the ciphertext and any AAD. It must be verified during decryption to confirm the data hasn't been altered.
When decrypting AES-GCM, applications must call this method to provide the expected authentication tag.
To prevent Chilkat from checking the authentication tag after decryption, you can set the authentication tag to the special hex value FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF (16 bytes of 0xFF).
Returns True for success, False for failure.
SetEncodedIV
Sets the initialization vector used in symmetric encrpytion (AES, Blowfish, etc.) from a binary-encoded string using any Chilkat-supported encoding method (e.g., base64, hex).
An Initialization Vector (IV) is a random or unique value used in symmetric encryption to ensure that encrypting the same plaintext multiple times produces different ciphertexts. It prevents pattern leakage.
Cipher Modes That Require an IV:
CBC(Cipher Block Chaining)CFB(Cipher Feedback)OFB(Output Feedback)CTR(Counter Mode)GCM(Galois/Counter Mode)
ECB (Electronic Codebook) does *not* use an IV, which makes it less secure.
SetEncodedKey
Sets the encryption key used in symmetric encryption (AES, Blowfish, etc.) from a binary-encoded string using any Chilkat-supported encoding method (e.g., base64, hex).
The key must have a byte size equal to the KeyLength property. For instance, a KeyLength of 128 bits requires a 16-byte key, and a KeyLength of 256 bits requires a 32-byte key.
SetEncodedSalt
Sets the pbes2 or pbes1 salt bytes from a binary-encoded string using any Chilkat-supported encoding method (e.g., base64, hex).
This salt is used for encryption and decryption when the CryptAlgorithm property is set to pbes1 or pbes2. Note: This does not apply to the Pbkdf1 or Pbkdf2 methods, where the salt is provided as a function argument.
SetEncryptCert
Instructs the encryption library to use a specified digital certificate for public-key encryption. To encrypt using multiple certificates, call AddEncryptCert for each one. This action is equivalent to calling ClearEncryptCerts before AddEncryptCert .
Returns True for success, False for failure.
SetMacKeyEncoded
Sets the MAC key from a binary-encoded string using any Chilkat-supported encoding method (e.g., base64, hex).
Returns True for success, False for failure.
SetMacKeyString
Sets the MAC key from a string. The Charset property determines the actual bytes used for the MAC key.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
SetSigningCert
Sets the digital certificate to be used for signing. Signing requires that the certificate has a private key.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
SetSigningCert2
Sets the digital certificate and associated private key for signing. The private key must be the one that matches the certificate's public key.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
SetTsaHttpObj
If timestamp server communications are needed for signing and special Internet settings like a proxy server are necessary, this method can provide an Http object configured with these settings.
SetVerifyCert
Assigns the digital certificate for signature verification. Typically, a PKCS7 (CMS) signature includes the signing certificate information, making it unnecessary to call this method explicitly. This is only required in rare instances.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topSignBdENC
Digitally signs the content in dataToSign and returns a detached signature (PKCS#7 signed-data) as a binary-encoded string. The EncodingMode property determines the binary-encoding. Possible encodings include base64, base64_mime, hex, and hex_lower. The HashAlgorithm property specifies the hash algorithm for creating the data's hash during signing.
Returns Null on failure
SignHashENC
Digitally signs a pre-computed hash and returns a detached signature (PKCS#7 signed-data) as a binary-encoded string. The EncodingMode property determines the binary-encoding. Possible encodings include base64, base64_mime, hex, and hex_lower
encodedHash is a binary-encoded hash to be signed, with its encoding format specified by hashEncoding (e.g., base64, hex). hashAlg specifies the hash algorithm (e.g., sha256, sha1, sha512) used for encodedHash.
Returns Null on failure
SignSbENC
Digitally signs the text contained in sb and returns a detached signature (PKCS#7 signed-data) as a binary-encoded string. The EncodingMode property determines the binary-encoding. Possible encodings include base64, base64_mime, hex, and hex_lower. The HashAlgorithm property specifies the hash algorithm for creating the data's hash during signing. The Charset property determines the actual bytes that are hashed and signed.
Returns Null on failure
SignStringENC
Digitally signs a string and returns a detached signature (PKCS#7 signed-data) as a binary-encoded string. The EncodingMode property determines the binary-encoding. Possible encodings include base64, base64_mime, hex, and hex_lower. The HashAlgorithm property specifies the hash algorithm for creating the data's hash during signing. The Charset property determines the actual bytes that are hashed and signed.
Returns Null on failure
Totp
Implements RFC 6238: TOTP: Time-Based One-Time Password Algorithm. The arguments to this method are:
secret: The shared secret in an enocded representation such as base64, hex, ascii, etc.secretEnc: The encoding of the shared secret, such asbase64t0: The Unix time to start counting time steps. It is a number in decimal string form. A Unix time is the number of seconds elapsed since midnight UTC of January 1, 1970.0is a typical value used for this argument.tNow: The current Unix time in decimal string form. To use the current system date/time, pass an empty string for this argument.tStep: The time step in seconds. A typical value is 30. Note: Both client and server must pre-agree on the secret, the t0, and the tStep.numDigits: The number of decimal digits to return.truncOffset: Normally set this to -1 for dynamic truncation. Otherwise can be set in the range 0..15.hashAlg: Normally set tosha1. Can be set to other hash algorithms such assha256,sha512, etc.
Returns Null on failure
UseCertVault
Adds an XML certificate vault to the object's internal list of sources to be searched for certificates and private keys when encrypting/decrypting or signing/verifying. Unlike the AddPfxSourceData and AddPfxSourceFile methods, only a single XML certificate vault can be used. If UseCertVault is called multiple times, only the last certificate vault will be used, as each call to UseCertVault will replace the certificate vault provided in previous calls.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
topVerifyBdENC
Verifies a detached digital signature against the original data contained in data. Returns True if the signature is verified. The encodedSig holds a binary-encoded PKCS#7 signed-data detached signature. The type of binary encoding, such as base64, hex, or base64_mime, is determined by the EncodingMode property.
Afterwards, you can retrieve signer certificates by using the NumSignerCerts property and the LastSignerCert method.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
VerifyP7M
Verifies an opaque digital signature contained in a .p7m file and extracts the original data to destPath. Returns True if the .p7m is validated and the original data was extracted. Otherwise returns False.
Afterwards, you can retrieve signer certificates by using the NumSignerCerts property and the LastSignerCert method.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
VerifyP7S
Verifies a detached digital signature contained in a .p7s file against the original data contained in originalDataPath. Returns True if the signature is verified.
Afterwards, you can retrieve signer certificates by using the NumSignerCerts property and the LastSignerCert method.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
VerifySbENC
Verifies a detached digital signature against the original text contained in sb. Returns True if the signature is verified. The encodedSig holds a binary-encoded PKCS#7 signed-data detached signature. The type of binary encoding, such as base64, hex, or base64_mime, is determined by the EncodingMode property. The Charset property determines how the text in sb is converted to bytes for signature validation.
Afterwards, you can retrieve signer certificates by using the NumSignerCerts property and the LastSignerCert method.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
VerifyStringENC
Verifies a detached digital signature against the original text in str. Returns True if the signature is verified. The encodedSig holds a binary-encoded PKCS#7 signed-data detached signature. The type of binary encoding, such as base64, hex, or base64_mime, is determined by the EncodingMode property. The Charset property determines how the text in str is converted to bytes for signature validation.
Afterwards, you can retrieve signer certificates by using the NumSignerCerts property and the LastSignerCert method.
Returns True for success, False for failure.
XtsSetDataUnitNumber
Sets the XTS-AES mode data unit number. The data unit number is a 64-bit unsigned integer. It is passed in as two 32-bit unsigned integers representing the high and low 32-bits.
Setting the data unit number is one way of setting the tweak value. The tweak value is 16 bytes in length and can alternatively be set by calling XtsSetEncodedTweakValue.
This method sets the tweak value such that the first 8 bytes are composed of the little-endian 64-bit data unit number, followed by 8 zero bytes.
(Unfortunately, Chilkat cannot use 64-bit integers in method arguments because many older programming environments, such as ActiveX, do not support it. Chilkat must present an identical and uniform API across all programming languages.)
XtsSetEncodedTweakKey
Sets the XTS-AES mode tweak key from an encoded string. The encoding argument can be set to any of the following strings: base64, hex, quoted-printable, ascii, or url. The tweak key should be equal in size to the encryption key. For example, to do 256-bit AES-XTS, the encryption key is 256-bits, and the tweak key is also 256-bits.
XtsSetEncodedTweakValue
Sets the XTS-AES mode tweak value from an encoded string. The encoding argument can be set to any of the following strings: base64, hex, quoted-printable, ascii, or url.
The tweak value must be 16 bytes in length. An application can set the initial tweak value by calling this method, or by calling XtsSetDataUnitNumber (but not both).
Events
All Chilkat methods are synchronous: the call returns when the work is done. During a call, ChilkatCrypt2 raises three events so your application can show progress and offer a way out. The event-name prefix is the string passed to Initialize:
c.Initialize("evt") ' event Subs are named evt_AbortCheck, evt_PercentDone, evt_ProgressInfo
c.HeartbeatMs = 250 ' raise evt_AbortCheck 4 times per second during Chilkat callsAbortCheck fires at regular intervals controlled by the HeartbeatMs property (0, the default, disables it); PercentDone fires when an operation's completion percentage is known; ProgressInfo delivers named progress values. Returning True from an AbortCheck or PercentDone Sub aborts the running method. Implement only the Subs you need — events are skipped entirely when no matching Sub exists.
If a Chilkat call runs on a separate thread (e.g. via the Threading library), its events are automatically queued to the main thread. Events raised that way cannot abort by return value; set the object's AbortCurrent property to True instead.
AbortCheck
' Return True to abort the Chilkat method in progress.
Sub evt_AbortCheck As Boolean
Enables a method call to be aborted by triggering the AbortCheck event at intervals defined by the HeartbeatMs property. If HeartbeatMs is set to its default value of 0, no events will occur. For instance, set HeartbeatMs to 200 to trigger 5 AbortCheck events per second.
Example (object initialized with c.Initialize("evt")):
c.HeartbeatMs = 250 ' fire evt_AbortCheck 4 times per second
Sub evt_AbortCheck As Boolean
' Called every HeartbeatMs milliseconds while a Chilkat method is running.
Return False ' Return True to abort the method in progress
End SubPercentDone
' Return True to abort the Chilkat method in progress.
Sub evt_PercentDone (PctDone As Int) As Boolean
This provides the percentage completion for any method involving network communications or time-consuming processing, assuming the progress can be measured as a percentage. This event is triggered only when it's possible and logical to express the operation's progress as a percentage. The pctDone argument will range from 1 to 100. For methods that finish quickly, the number of PercentDone callbacks may vary, but the final callback will have pctDone equal to 100. For longer operations, callbacks will not exceed one per percentage point (e.g., 1, 2, 3, ..., 98, 99, 100).
The PercentDone callback also acts as an AbortCheck event. For fast methods where PercentDone fires, an AbortCheck event may not trigger since the PercentDone callback already provides an opportunity to abort. For longer operations, where time between PercentDone callbacks is extended, AbortCheck callbacks enable more responsive operation termination.
To abort the operation, set the abort output argument to True. This will cause the method to terminate and return a failure status or corresponding failure value.
Example (object initialized with c.Initialize("evt")):
Sub evt_PercentDone (PctDone As Int) As Boolean
' PctDone ranges from 1 to 100.
Log("Percent done: " & PctDone)
Return False ' Return True to abort the method in progress
End SubProgressInfo
Sub evt_ProgressInfo (Name As String, Value As String)
This event callback provides tag name/value pairs that detail what occurs during a method call. To discover existing tag names, create code to handle the event, emit the pairs, and review them. Most tag names are self-explanatory.
Note: Some Chilkat methods don't fire any ProgressInfo events.
Example (object initialized with c.Initialize("evt")):
Sub evt_ProgressInfo (Name As String, Value As String)
Log(Name & ": " & Value)
End Sub