hammen@vpnet.chi.il.us (Robert Hammen) (02/11/91)
(I tried to e-mail this to aladdin, but mail has repeatedly failed, so this goes public). I have a need to create auto-extracting archives that are password protected. I run a support BBS for my employer, and we periodically place new versions of our software on the BBS. We want to password-protect these archives so that our customers will call us up to get the password. This allows us to control who gets the software (i.e. registered users who have a support contract) and to update our database. Compactor has had the ability to create auto-extracting, password-protected archives for some time. I never used it, however, because it never gave you any control over where it put the files (just dumping them unceremoniously into the folder where the archive was). I was excited when I heard about StuffIt Deluxe 2.0's ability to create auto-extracting StuffIt files. I picked up a copy at MacWorld (before I had received my own personal upgrade), but was extremely disappointed when I discovered that, if you add a password to a StuffIt Deluxe archive, you can't make it auto-extracting! I realize that encryption is mostly handled by external "plug-in" modules. I don't need DES encryption, just something that will keep 95% of the people from getting our updates for free. Furthermore, the new version of Compactor, Compact Pro, does support the ability to define where your auto-extracted files go. I have long resisted our use of Compactor at work, since I find its user interface to be less than ideal (though Compact Pro fixes some things - at least "Add to Archive" is no longer located under the Edit menu), and we've learned to love StuffIt Deluxe's Magic Menu (stuff/unstuff from the Finder) and its easy integration with QuicKeys/QuickMail). But if it can't do what we want, we're going to switch. Am I really the only person on the face of the planet who needs the combination of auto-extraction and password protection? I think not. I hope this feature gets added soon... Robert
time@ice.com (02/12/91)
In article <1991Feb10.210002.14363@vpnet.chi.il.us>, hammen@vpnet.chi.il.us (Robert Hammen) writes: > Am I really the only person on the face of the planet who needs the > combination of auto-extraction and password protection? I think not. > > I hope this feature gets added soon... I second that motion. We need it both for updates and for secure transfers. tim. ------------------------------------------------------------- Tim Endres | time@ice.com ICE Engineering | uupsi!ice.com!time 8840 Main Street | Voice FAX Whitmore Lake MI. 48189 | (313) 449 8288 (313) 449 9208