look for suggestion on file encrytion and database

[dragondriver]

Hi all,

  I am developing a CVI and need to store some critical data (some parameters like device name and some critical constants) to a encrypted file. There are about 100 parameters need to be stored, total size is about 1kb. I was thinking to store them as .ini but those parameters are so critical and I don't want to expose them to the end user. Someone suggests to use database but I didn't have any experience in using database. I check the NI website and seems there is something called SQLTool to access the database, but I really don't understand how to set it up to use the database. I can create a simple Microsoft access database but don't know how to use the SQL Tools to make it work. I am developing the code in my computer but the application will be dispatched to the client and I don't think they have database or Microsoft access installed, so does it mean if I use database and SQL tools, the application can only use in my computer?

Anyway, it seems that I have to configure pretty many stuffs before I can access the database. Is that anyway I open the database as easy as the following way

fopen("mydb.mdb");

If no, what other fire format do you recommend to store some critical data and easy for access in future. I just don't want user to open and modify the file direclty.

[Basil-B]

Hi  Dragondriver,

I don't think there is any reason to set up a database, which would be time consuming, just to save some constant parameters. Why don't you hard code them into CVI source code? Is your customer going to have access to the source?

[RobertoBozzolo]

I suppose you don't need a full encryption but you only want to make data not easily readable from the end user.

If this is true, organizing data in a struct and dumping it to disk as I described here can be enough to make data opaque to the user, at least for numbers. Texts will remain to be readable with this method: if you need to mask them too you will need some more effort but it can be dome.