SimpleCrypt v1.3.0

[alessgorgo]

Summary
SimpleCrypt v1.3.0 represents a complete transformation from a non-functional prototype to a production-ready file and directory encryption application, implementing robust security with PBKDF2 key derivation, comprehensive error handling, and user-friendly progress feedback across all operations.

New Features

• Password-Based Key Derivation: Implemented PBKDF2 with SHA-256 (100,000 iterations) for secure key generation from user passwords, replacing insecure random key generation
• Directory Operations: Added recursive encryption/decryption capabilities for entire directories with comprehensive file scanning and progress tracking
• Progress Feedback System: Real-time progress indicators with emoji-enhanced status updates and completion summaries for large operations
• Comprehensive Test Suite: Created 5 integration tests covering single file operations, directory processing, password validation, and help functionality

Improvements

• Error Handling: Implemented detailed error messages with contextual guidance for common failure scenarios including permission issues, file corruption, and authentication failures
• Memory Security: Enhanced security by implementing secure memory wiping using fill(0) to clear sensitive data (keys, salts, IVs) from memory after operations
• Documentation: Created comprehensive README.md covering installation, usage, security best practices, troubleshooting, and advanced scripting examples
• User Experience: Added command-line argument validation, password strength requirements, and intuitive progress indicators

Bug Fixes

• Decryption Logic Mismatch: Fixed critical incompatibility where encryption output JSON format but decryption expected raw base64 data
• Iterator Usage Errors: Corrected improper fs::read_dir() iteration patterns causing compilation failures
• Missing Dependencies: Resolved zeroize dependency conflicts by replacing with standard memory clearing techniques
• Password Validation: Added proper empty password validation to prevent insecure operations

Known Issues

• AES-256-GCM Implementation: Currently using AES-256-CBC; GCM mode implementation planned for future releases to provide authenticated encryption
• Memory Usage: Large files are loaded entirely into memory, which may impact performance with very large files (>1GB)
• Cross-Platform Testing: Comprehensive testing primarily performed on macOS; additional platform validation recommended

License
MIT License - See full terms in LICENSE file. Software provided "as is" without warranty. Users responsible for maintaining secure password practices and regular backups.

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This discussion was created from the release SimpleCrypt v1.3.0.