Creating a new random key

The use of random keys provides a degree of safety that is proportional to the size of the key. Random keys are difficult to guess, and brutal force is the only known method to break it.

However random numbers are rare in computer systems. Software systems actually generate pseudo-random sequences of numbers. The same way a random key provides security, a pseudo-random key provides pseudo-security. .

To create truly random keys, EAESCrypt uses a sequence of keystrokes typed by the user. This sequence is used as a seed for generating a 1792-bits key.

Each character typed by the user is converted to a pseudo-random value of 4-bits. If the user enters, for instance, 50 characters, so the seed will be a random sequence of 200 bits. The degree of randomness will depend solely on how random were the user keystrokes.

The maximum size of the random seed shall be the size of the generated key itself. It's the maximum randomization rate that you can obtain. Seeds larger than this don't improve security.

Along with the installation package, there is a script named "generate_random_key.bat". To run this script, unzip the installation package and double-click on this script. This will open a console window. Start typing random keys on your keyboard.

The more keys you type, the more random the key will be. When you hit ENTER, EAESCrypt generates a 1792-bits random key and uses it as the default key.

Note that the sequence of typed characters is the seed for the key, not the key itself. This means that if you generate another key by repeating exactly the same sequence of typed characters, EAESCrypt will generate a new key different from the previous.