DEScipher & HASHcipher ActiveX Example - Access VBA Encrypted Database Project


Example Project: Encrypted Field in MS Access® '97 using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)
Download Example Project (see notes before downloading)	Description: This example project illustrates how to secure sensitive information stored in an Access database using VBA with the DEScipher and HASHcipher ActiveX controls. In this example the clients' Social Security Number (SSN) is encrypted and stored in the database automatically when the user updates the form. If the user supplies the correct password/key the SSN is decrypted temporarily for display and editing in a text box; the SSN is re-encrypted and
stored when the user moves to another record. If the user attempts to decrypt an SSN using an incorrect password/key the application simply displays a message box to that effect, and makes no changes to the encrypted SSN in the database. In a shared database or workgroup environment this would allow each user to encrypt data "for his eyes only". The HASHcipher/OCX plays two important roles in this application: 1) to generate a DES key from the user-supplied password, and 2) to "fingerprint" the cleartext SSN. The "fingerprint" allows the user-supplied password/key to be validated securely; i.e. the password does not have to be stored anywhere on the system. This example also illustrates how to deal with Unicode in the VB/VBA environment. The two byte-per-character format of Unicode requires that the developer understand how it is used in VB/VBA to correctly utilize the HASHcipher and DEScipher controls. See the Tech Support page for more details and sample code.