[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       ms-cryptoapi
Subject:    Re: Beginner CryptoAPI questions.
From:       Davis Chapman <davischa () ONRAMP ! NET>
Date:       2000-06-27 2:43:13
[Download RAW message or body]


> >Any help at getting started would be greatly appreciated.
> Questions like this are covered in Chapters 1 and 2 of "Cryptography for
> Visual Basic: A Programmers Guide to the Microsoft CryptoAPI" that is
> slated to be published in July. These chapters are helpful even to C
> programmers.

Or, if you don't want to wait, you can buy my book, "Developing Secure
Applications with Visual Basic", which is out now. It also covers all of
these topics.

Davis Chapman

----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Bondi" <richardbondi@YAHOO.COM>
To: <CryptoAPI@DISCUSS.MICROSOFT.COM>
Sent: Monday, June 26, 2000 12:00 AM
Subject: Re: Beginner CryptoAPI questions.


> On Fri, 23 Jun 2000 11:19:35 -0500, Kevin Burton
> <kevin.burton@AVSTARNEWS.COM> wrote:
>
> >I am getting lost. I read books like 'Network Security', by Kaufman,
> ..snip...
>
> >        1) Encrypt/decrypt a message with a private key (symmetric/secret
> >key)
> [Don't call it a private key, although it is sometimes called that;
usually
> "private key" refers to an asymmetric key].
> -- CryptAcquireContext (to open a CSP and container)
> -- CryptGenKey (to generate a random symmetric key) or CryptDeriveKey (to
> derive a symmetric key from a key phrase); you specify which cipher you
> want use here too.
> -- CryptEncrypt (to encrypt your plaintext bytes with the above key &
> cipher).
>
>
> >        2) Encrypt/decrypt a message with a public/private key pair
> >(asymmetric)
> -- As a previous poster said, you really don't use such keys to encrypt
> plaintext because asymmetric algorithms are so slow. Instead, you encrypt
> plaintext with a symmetric cipher and key, then encrypt the (very small)
> symmetric key with an asymmetric public key.
>
> >        3) Sign a message
> -- CryptAcquirecontext (to open a CSP and container)
> -- CryptGenKey (to create an asymmetric key pair) or CryptGetUserKey (to
> acquire a handle to the key pair in the currently open key container)
> -- CryptCreateHash (to create a hash object)
> -- CryptHashData (to hash your plaintext)
> -- CryptSignHash (to encrypt the hash value created above with the private
> asymmetric key in the currently open key container). The signature block
is
> returned by this function.
>
> >Any help at getting started would be greatly appreciated.
> Questions like this are covered in Chapters 1 and 2 of "Cryptography for
> Visual Basic: A Programmers Guide to the Microsoft CryptoAPI" that is
> slated to be published in July. These chapters are helpful even to C
> programmers.
>
> Best,
> Richard Bondi
>
> >
> >Thank you.
> >
> >Kevin Burton
> >Kevin.Burton@avstarnews.com
> >
> >----------------------------------------------------------------
> >Users Guide http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/essentials/mail.asp
> >contains important info including how to unsubscribe.  Save time, search
> >the archives at http://discuss.microsoft.com/archives/index.html
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> Users Guide http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/essentials/mail.asp
> contains important info including how to unsubscribe.  Save time, search
> the archives at http://discuss.microsoft.com/archives/index.html

----------------------------------------------------------------
Users Guide http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/essentials/mail.asp
contains important info including how to unsubscribe.  Save time, search
the archives at http://discuss.microsoft.com/archives/index.html

[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]