AESCrypt iOS app opened from Google Drive failing

Discussion related to AES Crypt, the file encryption software for Windows, Linux, Mac, and Java.
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dahaupin
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2014 6:50 pm

AESCrypt iOS app opened from Google Drive failing

Post by dahaupin »

AESCrypt 2.0 for iOS is presenting a Pro Upgrade page instead of a password prompt when launched with "open in" from Google Drive 4.0.35557. Exiting the Pro Upgrade page (without purchase) results in the encrypted file being incorrectly placed in the decrypted section. A preview confirms that without a chance to enter a password, no decryption took place.
jasonf
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 4:11 pm

Re: AESCrypt iOS app opened from Google Drive failing

Post by jasonf »

Thanks for the report. It seems this just started with the June 3, 2015 update of Google Drive. I just tried an older version of Google Drive on my iPhone and it is working fine with AESCrypt for iOS.

The problem is Google Drive now seems to strip off the .aes extension when the file name is passed to AESCrypt (i.e. if your file in Drive was named test.zip.aes, Drive is passing the file name as test.zip to AESCrypt). This is causing AESCrypt for iOS to “think” this is a decrypted file in need of encryption (which is a pro upgrade function), due to the lack of the .aes extension.

This is a very recent Google Drive bug and hopefully they will fix it soon. It seems Google Drive is stripping off file extensions of any file types it does not internally recognize. As a test, I sent a file named test.abc from Drive to another iOS file management app I use and it appeared only as test (missing .abc) in the other iOS file management app.

As an immediate work-around, you could use another cloud storage like Dropbox, which still functions properly.

As a short term work-around (if Google is slow to address this), I could update AESCrypt for iOS to attempt to detect if it is an encrypted file by looking at the first few bytes of the file, rather than relying on the extension alone. The turn around time for this option will be a couple of weeks — it takes Apple a while to approve app changes.

Hopefully the longer term solution will be for Google to fix this issue. I have no idea how long that will take. I will investigate how to report bugs to Google and submit a bug report.

I actually use AESCrypt with Google Drive on occasion and now that I have just updated (I have App Store auto updates turned off) to the “bad” version of Google drive, I will be highly motivated to get this fixed one way or another.

Thanks again for the report.
jasonf
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 4:11 pm

Re: AESCrypt iOS app opened from Google Drive failing

Post by jasonf »

I discovered another work-around that will work immediately with the current "bad" version of Google Drive and the current version of AESCrypt for iOS (both free and upgraded versions).

After you perform the original poster's step:
Exiting the Pro Upgrade page (without purchase) results in the encrypted file being incorrectly placed in the decrypted section.
You can use the rename feature of AESCrypt for iOS to add back the missing .aes file extension (that Google chopped off during the Open In process). This will place the file in the encrypted files section. From there, you can click the file and select 'Decrypt' from the popup menu. You will be prompted for your decryption password. Your file will be decrypted and placed in the decrypted section.

To access file rename in AESCrypt for iOS, click Edit in the upper left. You will see a green "edit" icon/circle appear next to each file. Click the green circle next to your file. You will be prompted to rename. Simply type .aes at the end of the current file name and press Rename.
jasonf
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 4:11 pm

Re: AESCrypt iOS app opened from Google Drive failing

Post by jasonf »

It looks like this issue is starting to get noticed by Google. Other iOS apps expecting files to be "sent from" Google Drive are failing in a similar way also. Hopefully Google will have a fix soon...

https://productforums.google.com/forum/ ... drive/kdbx

https://github.com/MiniKeePass/MiniKeePass/issues/376
dahaupin
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2014 6:50 pm

Re: AESCrypt iOS app opened from Google Drive failing

Post by dahaupin »

Google Drive V4.1 for iOS released 9/2/15 has resolved this issue. Thanks for insights and workarounds.
jasonf
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 4:11 pm

Re: AESCrypt iOS app opened from Google Drive failing

Post by jasonf »

It looks like this bug is back in Google Drive! That says a lot for Google's quality control, huh?

A user I have been working with was describing a problem and it started to sound like this old issue. He confirmed he was using the latest version of Google Drive.

I have an old iPhone with an older version of Google Drive (v4.1.37195) and this older version works just fine. My newer iPhone has google drive v4.11.42859 and it showing this exact problem (again!). You can find your version of Google Drive by opening the left menu -> Settings -> About.

This Google Drive bug has been a real thorn for the AESCrypt for iOS -- there was a very negative review in the app store with 1 star indicating the app no longer decrypts files from google drive (when it was never AESCrypt's fault).

To work around Google's sloppiness, I just completed a fix on the AESCrypt for iOS source code that checks the first few bytes of the file to help determine if the inbound file should be encrypted or decrypted. Previously it was just checking the file extension alone (which the Google Bug strips off), now it uses both extension and contents. I will be testing this update for the next day and will submit it to the app store after that. It takes Apple 1-2 weeks to review the app and make live.

This update will also support touch id.
jasonf
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 4:11 pm

Re: AESCrypt iOS app opened from Google Drive failing

Post by jasonf »

The Apple app review process was fast this time around. The updated version (v2.1) of AESCrypt for iOS is now available in the App Store and it has a work-around built-in for this Google Drive bug.
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