1. Write or paste the combination in box 1. It is masked by default, so if you want to display it, check the Show checkbox.

2. Write or paste the message in box 2. Click the Lock/Unlock button. The locked message will appear in box 2, replacing the original text. Copy it and paste it into your communications program or click Email to open your default email. If you click the QR button above box 2, it will be displayed as a cellphone scannable QR code at the bottom of the page. It is okay to strip the tags up to the "=" sign, but not recommended. It is also okay to split the locked message with spaces, line returns, and punctuation other than = + or / This message can only be unlocked by someone having the same combination.

1. Write or paste the combination in box 1. It is masked by default, so if you want to display it, check the Show checkbox.

2. Paste the locked message in box 2. It is okay if it is broken up by spaces, carriage returns, and special characters other than = + or / or is missing its tags. Then click the Lock/Unlock button. The unlocked message will appear in box 2, replacing the locked message.

1. Paste the recipient's lock in box 1. It is masked by default, so if you want to display it, check the Show checkbox. It is okay if the tags up to the "=" signs are missing, or extra spaces, carriage returns, or special characters other than = + or / have been added.

2. Write or paste your message in box 2. Click the Lock/Unlock button. The locked message will appear in box 2, replacing the original message. Copy it and paste it into your communications program or click Email to open your default email. If you click the QR button above box 2, it will be displayed as a cellphone scannable QR code at the bottom of the page. It is okay to strip the tags up to the "=" sign, but not recommended. It is also okay to split the locked message with spaces, line returns, and punctuation other than = + or / This message can only be unlocked by someone having the secret key matching the lock used to secure it.

1. Write or paste into box 1 the key matching the lock used to secure the message. It is masked by default, so if you want to display it, check the Show checkbox.

2. Paste the locked message in box 2. It is okay if it is broken up by spaces, carriage returns, and special characters other than = + or / or is missing its tags. Then click the Lock/Unlock button. The unlocked message will appear in box 2, replacing the locked message.

1. Make sure box 1 is empty.

2. Write or paste your message in box 2. Message length is limited to 57 ASCII characters. Non-ASCII characters use 6 spaces each, so avoid them if you can. Any text beyond the limit will be lost. Hit the Lock/Unlock button.

3. A popup will ask you for a Short Message Key, which will be necessary to unlock the message. Write it in and click OK. The locked message will appear in box 2, replacing the original message. Copy it and paste it into your communications program. The locked message, which has no tags, will fit within one SMS message (160 characters).

4. If you are using a smartphone, the SMS button will open your SMS app. This does not transfer the contents of box 2 to the app, though, so make sure to copy it to clipboard before you click this button. If you click the QR button above box 2, it will be displayed as a cellphone scannable QR code at the bottom of the page.

1. Paste the locked message in box 2. It is okay if it is broken up by spaces, carriage returns, and special characters. Then click the Lock/Unlock button.

2. A popup will ask for the password, which is the same used for locking. Write it in and click OK. The unlocked message will appear in box 2, replacing the locked message.

1. Start typing in box 1. As you type, a text below box 1 will tell you how strong the key is, based on simple rules. If you want to see what you are typing and don't mind people peering over your shoulder, check the Show checkbox.

2. The key will be stronger if it contains caPiTals in unusual places, numb3rs, and $ymbol$. If you use common words, mispelll them to make them harder to guess. Avoid things that refer to yourself and your family, such as birthdays or nicknames, or anything else that might be easy to guess, like: asdfg, qwerty, password, PassLok, and the like.

3. Bear in mind, however, that you should be able to remember your key without having to write it down. PassLok will never ask you to change your key, so this your chance to make a truly strong key that you will use for a long time.

1. Write or paste your secret key in box 1. It is masked by default, so if you want to display it, check the Show checkbox.

2. Click the Lock/Unlock button. The lock matching that key will appear in box 2. It is okay to strip the tags up to the "=" sign, or insert spaces, carriage returns, or special characters other than = + or / but not recommended. The lock can be made available to anyone who wishes to secure messages to be read with the matching key. You can also email the lock directly by clicking Email. If you click the QR button above box 2, it will be displayed as a cellphone scannable QR code at the bottom of the page.

1. Write or paste your secret key in box 1. It is masked by default, so if you want to display it, check the Show checkbox.

2. Paste the Lock in box 2. Click the Lock/Unlock button. The Combination resulting from the Key and the Lock will appear in box 1, replacing the Key. This is useful to make or read a locked and stamped message, since the recipient will need the sender's Lock to obtain the Combination that unlocks the message, in addition to his/her secret Key. Use it as you would use a regular Combination.

3. If you click Lock/Unlock one more time, a popup message will alert you that the contents of box 1 are already a shared Combination, and ask you if you want to proceed. Normally you will cancel at this point, but you may want to go ahead to make a combination shared by more people.

1. Write or paste your secret key in box 1. It is masked by default, so if you want to display it, check the Show checkbox.

2. Paste the sender's Lock in box 2. Click the Lock/Unlock button. The Combination resulting from the Key and the Lock will appear in box 1, replacing the Key.

3. Paste the locked message in box 2. It is okay if it is broken up by spaces, carriage returns, and special characters other than = + or / or is missing its tags. Then click the Lock/Unlock button. The unlocked message will appear in box 2, replacing the locked message.

1. Make sure both boxes are empty, then click the Random button below box 1. If any of the boxes is not empty, a popup message will ask if you want to proceed.

2. A random Key will appear in box 1 and its matching Lock in box 2. use them as needed

3. The main use of this function is to generate a short-term Key-Lock pair for instant messaging, which is forgotten afterwards.

1. Write or paste your secret key in box 1. It is masked by default, so if you want to display it, check the Show checkbox.

2. Write or paste the text to be signed in box 2. Click the Stamp/Verify/ID button. A stamp matching the text and the key will be appended at the end of the text in box 2. Copy it and use it as appropriate. If you click Email the text with its stamp will be placed into an email using the default program. It is okay to strip the tags up to the "=" sign, but not recommended. If you click the QR button above box 2, it will be displayed as a cellphone scannable QR code at the bottom of the page. It is also okay to split the stamp with spaces, and punctuation other than line returns or = + or /.

1. Paste the lock of the person who made the stamp into box 1. It is okay if the tags up to the "=" signs are missing, or extra spaces, carriage returns, or special characters other than = + or / have been added.

2. Write or paste the text with its stamp appended at the end in box 2. It is okay if the stamp is broken up by spaces and special characters other than = + or / or is missing its tags up to the "=", but it should not be broken by carriage returns. Then click the Stamp/Verify/ID button. A popup message will say whether or not the stamp for that text has been verified.

1. Check the Decoy mode checkbox below box 2.

2. Follow the instructions for any of the three types of locking, using a shared combination, the recipient's lock, or a popup password. If decoy mode is checked, a popup will ask for a decoy password to lock the hidden message.

3. Write or paste into the popup box the password for the hidden message and click OK. It is all right to enter nothing in this box, and in this case the hidden message can be retrieved without a password.

4. A second popup will ask for the hidden message itself. Its length is limited to 152 ASCII characters in combination and signed modes, 87 characters in anonymous mode, 38 characters in short message mode. Non-ASCII characters use 6 spaces each, so avoid them if you can. Any text beyond the limit will be lost.

5. After clicking OK, the locked message containing both the main text and the hidden text will appear in box 2, replacing the original text. Copy it and paste it into your communications program. As with regular locked messages, it is okay to strip the tags up to the "=" sign, but not recommended. It is also okay to split the locked message with spaces, line returns, and punctuation other than = + or /

1. Check the Decoy mode checkbox below box 2.

2. Follow the instructions for any of the three locking modes, using a key, a combination, or nothing initially. If decoy mode is checked, a popup will ask for a decoy password.

3. Write or paste into the popup box the special password for the hidden message, if there is one, and hit OK. The hidden message, if it exists, will appear in a popup even if the main unlocking fails. The main message will appear in box 2 if the main unlocking is successful.

1. Paste the lock in box 2. It is okay if the tags up to the "=" signs are missing, or extra spaces, carriage returns, or special characters other than = + or / have been added.

2. Make sure that box 1 is empty, and then click the Stamp/Verify/ID button. The unique ID of that lock will be displayed in box 2, replacing the Lock. It is useful to verify the authenticity of a lock by means of a phone call, video message, etc., in which at least one of the parties reads the ID.

1. Paste the text in box 2, then click the QR button above box 2.

2. A QR code representing the box 2 contents will appear at the bottom of the PassLok page. This is useful to pass information to a mobile device, using a QR scanning app. The text can be nearly 3000 characters long, but smartphones have trouble recognizing QR codes including more than 500 characters.

1. Load PassLok from the Web or from storage (local or cloud).

2. Direct your browser to "view source". Each browser does this differently, but most of them have this capability. On the page displaying the source, select all (CTRL-A or cmd-A, in most computers), then copy to clipboard (CTRL-C or cmd-C).

3. Back in the PassLok page, make sure both boxes are clear, then click on box 2 and paste the clipboard (CTRL-V or cmd-V) into it. Click the Show ID button. The self-ID will be displayed in box 2, replacing the previous contents.

4. Come back to this Help page and copy the self-ID shown below, then paste it below the ID that was displayed in box 2 of PassLok. If both IDs are the same, the program has not been tampered with.

Current version of PassLok is: 1.2

source: https://passlok.site44.com

made on: 6/22/13

Self-check ID (SHA256):

c17b-c529-8757-578a-6bc2-bdc4-122e-c607-8c16-19ef-b9ee-8d4d-75aa-cf0a-b703-e0ec

The metaphor underneath PassLok is that of locks: if you want something to be accessible only to certain people, you put a lock on it. PassLok allows you to put a lock on information in the form of text, so that when it is locked it appears to be gibberish. It also allows you to unlock it and return it to its original readable form.

There are two kinds of locks out there: combination locks, and key locks. A combination lock can be opened by those who know the special code or combination. A regular key lock can be closed by anybody, but you need the key that matches the lock in order to open it. PassLok understands both kinds.

You can lock a text with a Combination, which you give to those who are supposed to open the text, but keep secret from those whom you don’t want to be able to read it. To do this, place the secret Combination in box 1 of the PassLok page and the text in box 2. Then click Lock/Unlock. To unlock a locked text, place it in box 2 and the Combination in box 1, then click Lock/Unlock.

You can also lock a text with somebody’s Lock, which you have gotten from that person (more on this below), and then only that person will be able to open it, using his/her secret Key. To lock a text this way, place the person’s Lock in box 1 and the text in box 2. Then click Lock/Unlock. To unlock a text locked in this way, the recipient will need to place his/her Key in box 1, the locked text in box 2, and then click Lock/Unlock.

Combinations and Keys are secret items, but Locks are not. In PassLok, you start with a Key and then you make the Lock to match your key. To do this, you place the Key in box 1 and then click Lock/Unlock with box 2 empty. The Lock appears in box 2. You should give your Lock to people whom you wish to send you locked messages, as you would give them your phone number or your email address. It is prety much impossible to retrieve the Key from the Lock. For convenience, there is an Email button, so that you only need to supply the addresses where the Lock should be sent.

PassLok has two more locking modes, which are described below, along with signatures and hidden messages. Read on if you want to learn about those.

In PassLok, a key is like a password that you type. The algorithms used in PassLok are the strongest known at this time (256-bit AES for encryption, and the 521-bit NIST elliptic curve for public key functions), so this means that the weak link in the chain is your personal Key. The same thing could be said of the combination, when that type of locking is used. PassLok helps you to make a strong Key or Combination but does not force you to compose it in any particular way so you can actually remember it without having to write it down anywhere. If you want a more sophisticated indicator of how good your Key is, you may want to spend some time with passwordmeter.com or ZXCVBN.

Hackers will try to guess your Key or Combination, and you will make their work easier if you choose common words and/or numbers that are associated with you (such as a birthday, etc.) or are easy to guess for some reason. Using capitals in addition to small letters (not just the initial letter) forces them to try any combination of both types, which multiplies their work. Their work is also increased manifold if you throw in stuff that is not letters: numbers, punctuation signs, special characters. Then they'll have to guess from a much larger pool of possible keys. A final touch is using words that are misspelled, so it's hard to find them in a dictionary.

In addition to combination locking and regular anonymous locking, PassLok has a third locking mode, triggered when neither Key nor Lock is supplied in box 1 prior to clicking the Lock/Unlock button. In this case, PassLok asks for a password that is to be the same to lock and unlock, as in a combination lock. The difference is that the locked message is guaranteed to fit within the 160 character limit of a cellular text message.

PassLok can also put a personal stamp on a text written in box 2, by supplying a personal Key in box 1 and clicking the Stamp/Verify/ID button. The stamp, which should be sent along with the plain text, will be appended at the end of the text. To verify a stamp, people will place the text that allegedly was signed, including the stamp at the end, into box 2, and the signer's Lock (matching the key used for stamping) in box 1, then click Stamp/Verify/ID. A popup will say whether or not the stamp verification has succeeded.

It is possible to authenticate a locked message without signing it. To do this, lock it with the Combination that results from merging your Key and the recipient's Lock. Just put your Key in box 1 and the Lock in box 2, then click Lock/Unlock, and then write the message into box 2 amd click Lock/Unlock or Email. The recipient will place his/her Key in box 1 and your Lock in box 2 in order to retrieve the shared Combination, prior to placing the locked message in box 2.

Finally, PassLok is able to hide a second, undetectable message in all the four types of locked message. This could come in handy in the event that someone is forced to turn in his/her secret key. To enable this, click on the Decoy mode checkbox below box 2. Locking and unlocking are the same as in the regular modes, except that popups appear requesting first the password to lock the hidden message (an empty password is okay), and then the hidden message itself.