Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Krypto System Beyer. Cryptography collection of the Swiss Army headquarters, Wikimedia Commons

Krypto System Beyer. Cryptography collection of the Swiss Army headquarters, Wikimedia Commons

Why does the program crash on opening or updating?

When the program is opened or when selecting Support - Check for Updates the program crashes and immediately closes. Make sure you have the latest version by checking the Version History. 

Can you add a routine to solve the XXX cipher type?

CryptoCrack is designed for solving classical cipher types and doesn’t include routines for solving machine based or modern, computer based types such as Enigma, AES, DES, Blowfish etc.

I have tried to include solving routines that don’t require a tip or probable word, and in some cases the key length, as not all cipher problems provide these. The cipher types included in CryptoCrack cover those included in the American Cryptogram Association’s bi-monthly periodical, The Cryptogram, and others which are commonly found on the internet. However I wouldn’t include types which are rarely used. Also I need a suitable solving algorithm to solve the cipher type to include them. This means that some cipher types aren’t currently included though I would like to include them if I can develop a suitable solution.

Can you add an option to show a tip or probable word?

CryptoCrack is designed to solve ciphers without a tip, as many cipher problems don’t have one. The tip field on the main window is used to identify the probable solution from the results of the existing algorithms. This increases the deciphered text score if the deciphered cipher includes the tip to improve its position in the list of likely solutions or to help fix plaintext positions in selected cipher types.

CryptoCrack fails to install with error "URLDownloadToCacheFile failed with HRESULT '-2146697208'"

CryptoCrack fails to install with the following error message

ERROR DETAILS

Launching Application.

URLDownloadToCacheFile failed with HRESULT '-2146697208'

Error: An error occurred trying to download 'https://github.com/CryptoCrackProgram/CryptoCrack/raw/main/CryptoCrack.application'.


This is due to the SSL caching being disabled, the following registry change fixed the issue.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings] "DisableCachingOfSSLPages"=dword:00000000

For further information see https://stackoverflow.com/questions/43451496/urldownloadtocachefile-failed-with-hresult-2146697208

My thanks to a user for reporting and finding the solution.

CryptoCrack fails to install with error 0x8007001F

CryptoCrack fails to install with the following error message

ERROR DETAILS

Following errors were detected during this operation.

* [date:time] System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException

- A device attached to the system is not functioning. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8007001F)

This may be due to the antivirus causing issues. This has been reported by a user where RAV Antivirus was installed on the users machine along with another antivirus program (Bitdefender). When RAV was uninstalled, CryptoCrack installed properly.

Where is CryptoCrack installed?

Running the downloaded setup file installs the program at C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Apps\2.0 and places a link to it on the Windows 10 Start menu from where it can be run. 

This is as a result of using Microsoft ClickOnce to automatically install the program. One of the benefits of using ClickOnce is that it enables the program to be self-updating so you don't have to repeatedly download and install files manually from the website.

Does CryptoCrack work on a Mac?

CryptoCrack has been developed to run in Windows 10. I don't have access to a Mac so don't have the means to convert and test CryptoCrack on it. However CryptoCrack may run on a Mac using Parallels Desktop for Mac. however it doesn't run on Linux with WINE as it requires .NET Framework 4.7.2 or later. 

Alternatively online programs are available to solve around 40 cipher types without knowledge of the key at http://www.cryptoprograms.com.

How can I add a new language to CryptoCrack?

A new language will require two sets of data files; a list of dictionary words and a set of language files.

 The dictionary files consist of a single file containing one word on each line. These files are used for keyword searches and in finding the word divisions of plaintext and are not compressed to make it easier for users to add (or remove) words as they wish.

The language files can be created from sample texts and contain the frequency counts of single letters, digraphs, trigraphs, tetragraphs and pentagraphs (5-letter groups). These can be created from CryptoCrack using the Create Data Files option on the Tools tab and are used to determine the best fitness score for the given language. To improve accuracy sample should be as long as possible, typically at least 10Mb long. I used text from Gutenberg.org and other open source book sites but you need to be careful when using these. Delete the header and footer text which are usually in English and contain the licensing information. I also try to avoid plays where names of characters are used against each line which may distort the frequency counts.

If you need to solve Bazeries files you'll also need a file containing the words for numbers 1-20, 30, 40, 50 ... 90 as well as the words for 'hundred', 'thousand', and 'and'. Repeated letters in each word can be removed.

CryptoCrack doesn't contain the ability to edit the language names as these are hard coded into the program so you'll need to place the files in a folder containing one of the existing language names which you normally don't use, e.g. Afrikaans or Catalan.

The files need to be located in the same file path as your current dictionary/language files. For example:

CryptoCrack

Cipher disc for substitution cipher, manufacturer: Linge, Pleidelsheim (Germany), Wikimedia Commons

Cipher disc for substitution cipher, manufacturer: Linge, Pleidelsheim (Germany), Wikimedia Commons

If you look at the English files or another language if you've downloaded them you'll see the format and files you'll need.

Why is a blank window shown for some functions?

When selecting some function buttons in the ribbon a window opens but it's blank. This can happen on 4K or UHD (Ultra High Definition) or higher when the screen size is greater than 2560 x 1600 pixels. To prevent this set the display resolution to a smaller size.

Is there an online version of CryptoCrack?

Online versions of some of the solving routines found in CryptoCrack are available from the website www.cryptoprograms.com

Do you intend to release the source code?

There are no plans to provide the source code for CryptoCrack.