Advanced ZIP Password Recovery: versions history
================================================


! bug fixed
+ improvement/modification


Version 3.52
------------

+ improved Windows 2000 compatibility
+ open program from tray with a single click
+ smoother progress bar on brute-force attack
+ support for PKZip 4.0 archives
  + deflate64 method
  + digital signatures
  + AV record
+ recent directory list
! eliminated a few memory leaks
! minor fixes in command-line interface
! showing (current) password with '&' char
! status/prograss bar overlapping under Windows XP


Version 3.51
------------

+ "end at" option
+ partial plaintext attack: enter the known bytes as decimal
  values (in addition to HEX)
! dictionary attack with a huge wordlist (starting from almost the end)
! incorrect message if the archive contains directories only
! some problems with attack by mask
! plaintext attack: some problems when plaintext file is in subfolder

Version 3.50 beta 1
-------------------

! loading language file where some lines are missed
+ selecting first few bytes for "stored" files (for better speed)
+ optimized attack for some WinZip files: now about three times faster!

Version 3.21
------------

+ the program starts faster now
! color mapping ih hicolor Windows mode
! crash on interrupting dictionary attack (when loading)
! unexpected crash or hang when trying to open some archives
! a few small bugs in user interface

Version 3.20 beta 1
-------------------

! processing files where all encrypted files but one are zero-sized
! processing huge archives (larger than amount of free virtual memory)
! working without language file
! saving "All printable" option in project file
! wrong keys on known-plaintext attack for some specific archives
+ seriously improved speed on archives with just one encrypted
  file (now it is 60-80% better, almost the same as if there are 3 or
  more files)

Version 3.11
------------

! crash on status window overflow
! compatibility with WinZip 8.0 shell extension (crash on file
  selection)
! working with some (semi-corrupted) dictionary files
! zeros in benchmark results under certain circumstances
! crash on file decryption, if zip comment is > 1K
+ updates: working through proxy (using IE settings)
+ plaintext limitation: now 12 bytes only (was: 16)
+ restarting known-plaintext attack from the given point
  (registered version only)
+ known-plaintext attack: second stage now 10% faster
+ saing attack results: path to archive; decryption keys now
  in brackets (to use that file later for file decryption)

Version 3.01
------------

+ exception handler: auto-restart after crash
! restoring window position after terminating the program
  when it was minimized to tray
! compatibility with some programs like FirstAid

Version 3.0 Final Release
-------------------------

! user interface problems if MS Sans Serif font is not installed
! locked archive after known-plaintext attack
! decrypting some specific archives
! recovering wrong password from encryption keys (on known-plaintext
  attack)
! recovering 5-character password with known-plaintext attack in
  unregisrtered version
! recovering passwords for archives with non-standard headers
+ checking for updates via Internet

Version 3.0 beta 4 (10/02/2000)
----------------------------

! gradient caption
! crash under certain circumstances under Win9x (stack overflow)
! crash after completing the artack if archive contains more
  than 10 files
! crash on known plaintext attack if plain archive is wrong,
  or encrypted archive is corrupted
! memory leaks
! 101% on progress bar (on known-plaintext attack)
! wrong tooltip for tray icon on known plaintext attack
+ displaying long numbers and date/time according to regional
  settings
+ plaintext attack using binary file

Version 3.0 beta 3 (19/01/2000)
-------------------------------

! user interface problems (screen layout with "large fonts",
  tabs hightlighting, toolbar background etc)
! closing archives after the attack (sharing violation problem)
! processing extra word on dictionary attack
! asking to save the project on exit
! disappearing leading/trailing space in "start from" field after
  save/resume
! not saving maximum password length
! recovering wrong password for some (corrupted?) files
+ statistics: displaying very long digits (up to 38 decimal places)
+ displaying long numbers with spaces as separators between digit groups
+ calculating program speed carefully: now it looks more "stable"
+ in a known plaintext attack, if the password is not found,
  decryption is called immediately
+ drag'n'drop
+ multi-language interface
+ complete support for non-english dictionaries (mutations, all
  upper/lower case combinations)
+ mask & dictionary attacks now available even in unregistered
  version (with some limitations, though)
+ command line support

Version 3.0 beta 2 (24/11/99)
-----------------------------

! a few minor bugs
+ some interface enhancements
+ smaller executable size
+ known plaintext attack
+ benchmark

Version 3.0 beta 1 (26/10/99)
-----------------------------

! a few small bugs
! processing some ZIP 1.x archives
+ major performance increase:
  + 35% on brute-force attack (one file)
  + 50% on brute-force attack (three files)
  + 120% on mask attack
  + 250% on dictionary attack
+ dictionary options:
  + smart mutations
  + all possible combinations
+ progress bar during dictionary attack
+ saving/resuming long dictionary attack
+ recent files

Version 2.44 (05/10/99)
-----------------------

! dictionary attack (empty strings in dictionary)
! calculating number of words in dictionary
! open project -> cancel: all settings being cleared
+ hot keys:
  F1  - Help
  F2  - Save setup
  F3  - Open ZIP file
  F4  - Edit charset
  F9  - Start
  F10 - Stop
+ remember path where the files (project, archive and dictionary)
  have been opened from
+ error message if project file is not found
+ *.txt as an additional selection for dictionary files

Version 2.43 (21/09/99)
-----------------------

+ improved interface (some cosmetic changes)
! recovering passwords for some specific archives
! working with very large archives

Version 2.42 (23/08/99)
-----------------------

+ better performance (brute-force attack)
! crash on some SFX-archives
! recovering passwords for some specific archives

Version 2.41 (18/08/99)
-----------------------

! brute-force attack: when mininum and maximum password length are
  different, and maximum length is even
! handling the situation when log file cannot be created for some
  reason

Version 2.4 (06/08/99)
-----------------------

! creating log file when the program is executed from the disk
  root
! recovering passwords for some archives with non-standard
  format
! crash on some SFX-archives
+ major performance improvements for ZIP 2.x files:
  80-90% better speed on P6 (Pentium II and Pentium Pro)
  30-40% better speed on P5 (Pentium and Pentium MMX)
+ performance improvements for ZIP 1.x files --  now about
  30% faster


Version 2.31 (29/06/99)
-----------------------

! processing archives without encrypted files
! processing some SFX-archives
! mask attack: "invalid starting password"
! selecting the fastest file to try
+ option: progress bar update interval

Version 2.3 (18/06/99)
----------------------

! recovering the passwords for some "non-standard" zip files
  (which use undocumented features)
! crash on some specific archives
! memory leaks
+ much better speed on archives containing one encrypted file
  only
+ better speed on PKZIP 1.x archives
+ more convenient user interface
+ status window
+ selecting auto-save directory and file name
+ "brute force with mask" attack
+ displaying elapsed time
+ displaying remaining time
+ displaying average speed
+ displaying detailed statistics when recovering process is
  completed
+ high-precision timer
+ logging to file
+ saving all options between sessions (as default)
+ log file and status window: message about adjusting the
  password length after stop/resume
+ log file and status window: message about the last-checked
  password on stop

Version 2.2 (03/02/99)
-----------------------

! processing archives with subfolders (password not found,
  wrong password or crashing)
! dictionary attack problems (password not found)
! running dictionary attack when no brute-force options are
  selected
! "start from .." functionality
! a few memory leaks
! crash on some archives
! selecting both attack types (brute-force and dictionary)
  at a time
+ improved user interface
+ better performance on archives with 2 or more encrypted files
  (about 10% increase)
+ autosaving the ini-file into the same folder, where the source
  archive is located
+ saving all options into ini-file (type of attack, dictionary
  options etc)
+ "convert to OEM" as an option
+ updating progress bar according to "start from .." value
+ "minimize to tray" option

Version 2.1 (15/01/99) 
-----------------------
! serious memory allocation problem
! open the dictionary file if the full path is not entered
! selecting the space (" ") in the character set separately,
  not in the "special chars"
+ improved "Custom charset" dialog
+ more characters for "Custom charset"
+ increased performance:
    for 30..200% on stored files
    for 20..30% on inflated files
+ all national symbols support
+ more statistics and current password during recovery
+ SFX archive type (*.exe) in open dialog
+ smarter selection of the fastest file (to try the password on)

Version 2.0 (27/11/98) 
-----------------------

! crash on some archives compressed with Deflat:N method
+ Windows user interface
+ installation program
+ "custom" character set
+ performance optimizations
+ selecting the fastest (encrypted) file in archive to crack
+ read/save setup

Version 0.93 (19/02/98)
-----------------------

! memory leaks
! password for some archives fith Deflat:N method
! dictionary-based attack for some archives
! password for files with very long path names
! dictionary-based attack: garbage text on exit
! wrond message if dictionary file is missed
! deleting resume-file on exit
! saving password for dictionary-based attack
+ dictionary-based attack: up/low first letter only
+ interrupting dictionary-based attack
+ updating resume-file (options and current password) periodically

Version 0.92a(06/02/98)
-----------------------

! cracking some specific ZIP archives

Version 0.92 (02/02/98) 
-----------------------

! displaying benchmark results for very large numbers
+ performance increased in about 1.5 times (when single file is
  in archive)
+ added ' ' (space) to "custom charset"
+ benchmark: total number of passwords, passwords per sec/min/hour
+ saving the password into the .psw file (for future reference)
+ working with self-extracting and disk-spanned archives
+ displaying large numbers according to locale settings (for
  benchmark only)
+ working in background
+ pause between exit
+ default dictionary file name: "dic.txt"
+ registration: input dialog

Version 0.91a(05/01/98) 
-----------------------

! crashing on some machines

Version 0.91 (30/12/97) 
-----------------------

! parsing command line
! leaving temporary files in current directory
+ dictionary-based attack

Version 0.90 (25/12/97) 
-----------------------

original version