EDS

Details

  • Managing containers.
  • Mounting a container.
  • File operations. Encrypting and decrypting files.
  • Using a hand-drawn pattern as a password.
  • Playing media files directly from an encrypted container.
  • Integrated records editor.
  • Using search function.
  • EDS widgets.

Managing containers

The list of registered containers is displayed on program startup. You can create a new container or you can use an existing EDS or TrueCrypt container. If you want to use a TrueCrypt container in Eds you must use the following settings when creating a container.

  • Encryption algorithm: AES, Serpent or AES-Serpent
  • Hash algorithm: SHA-512, RIPEMD-160, Whirlpool
  • File system: FAT, EXT4*, EXT3*, EXT2*, NTFS**

* - only when mounting a container (with kernel module or with fuse), requires kernel support. ** - only when mounting a container (with kernel module or with fuse). Read/write mode requires FUSE kernel support.

Also you can get a container from your Dropbox.

In order to access an existing container you have to add it to the list first. To add a container to the list click on "Add container" menu item and select your container. To browse a container click on its name in the list and enter the password ( or draw the pattern password). If your container is encrypted using keyfiles, you can click on "Keyfiles" button to select them. If the password is correct the EDS file browser will be opened.

To close a container, return to the containers list and click on "Close container" in the container's context menu. The container can be closed automatically, if no data has been read/written to/from it for the specified period of time. You can enable this option in the program settings. If click on "Stop service and exit" menu item, then all the open containers will be closed and the main service will be stopped.

You can remove a container from the list using container's context menu.

Container settings

To view or edit the settings of a container click on "Container settings" menu item in the container's context menu. Here you can learn the container's location, total space and available space. Some settings can be accessed only when container is open. Also in this window you can enable or disable indexed search, setup the pattern password and enable or disable Dropbox synchronization of this container.

Creating a container

To create a new container click on "Create new container" menu item. At first, you have to choose container type: standard container or hidden container. Then you should enter a path to the container (including the name of the file) in the first field. You can click on the "Select path" button to select a file using dialog. Check that you have write access to the selected location. For the hidden container you have to select an existing standard container file.

Then you have to enter container size and a password. You can click on "Keyfiles" button to use keyfiles in addition to the password. Currently the size of a container can not be increased after the container is created. Minimum container size is 1 Mb. If you plan to synchronize your container using Dropbox later then you shouldn't set large container size. If you're creating a hidden container then maximum container size is determined by the free space of the outer container. Note that on Android version lower than Honeycomb there is a bug ( which prevents correct work with containers larger than 2Gb. Mounted containers are not affected.

If you want to use the search function then you should leave "Enable search" checked. You can change this later in the container settings. After all the fields are filled you can click "OK" button. The new container will be created and added to the containers list.

Mounting a container

If you have root access to your device and if your device supports fuse or eds kernel module is available for your device then you can mount your container. You can work with files on mounted container like if they were on the sd card. No temporary files are required. You can use any file manager, gallery program or media player to acces your files inside the container.

You can mount TrueCrypt containers with FAT, EXT4, EXT3, EXT2 file system if the file system is supported by your kernel. Containers with NTFS file system can be mounted in read/write mode if your kernel supports FUSE.

To mount a container you need root access to your device. The container can be mounted using FUSE or eds kernel module. The kernel module can be automatically downloaded from the sovworks server. If the kernel module for your kernel version is not available yet, you can compile it yourself. The source code is available at

To enable container mounting go to "Settings"->"Mount settings". If your kernel supports fuse select "mount with fuse" else if eds kernel module is installed select "mount with eds kernel module". Now, if you open a container it will be mounted.

To install eds kernel module open "Mount settings" and click on "EDS kernel module control". Click on "Download module" button if you want to automatically search for the compatible module and download it. If the module is not found, you can send a request to build it to . If you have the module on your device, enter the path to it and click on "Install module" button.

To remove eds kernel module open "Mount settings", click on "EDS kernel module control" and then click on "Remove kernel module".

If container mounting is enabled then the container will be mounted when you open it. By default if you stop EDS service the container will be unmounted. If you're using eds kernel module, you can keep containers mounted when you exit eds. After the container is mounted you can use your favourite file manager to browse the container. Close the container to unmount it. Sometimes the container could not be closed because some process is accessing files inside the container. In that case you can choose to "force unmount" the container. You can enable automatic force unmount from the "Mount settings".

The default mount point for a container is /data/data/com.sovworks.eds.android/files/mnt/[name of the container]. You can change mount base path in the mount settings. You can specify custom mount point for each container from the container settings. You have to specify an existing directory.

It is possible to open external file manager when a container is mounted. You can choose external file manager in the mount settings. Currently only activities which handle resource/folder mime type are allowed.

If you get garbage file entries when browsing mounted container you need to create new container and copy all your files to it using either EDS with mounting disabled or TrueCrypt. Replace old container with new one.

File operations

Currently the following file operations are available: copy, move, delete, rename, wipe, send and copy to the temporary folder. To encrypt a file you have to copy it from the device to the container. To decrypt a file you have to copy it from the container to the device.

If you want to perform a file operation with a single file then you should find this file in the EDS file browser, open its context menu and select the operation. To perform a file operation with multiple files you have to select them first. Open the folder in which the files are located in EDS file browser. Click on "Multi select" in the main menu. Select the files. Then you can select the operation you want in the context menu or in the main menu. If you want to copy (or move) files then after selecting "Copy" (or "Cut") in the menu you have to go to the destination folder and click on "Paste" menu item in the main menu or in the context menu.

There is a "play" button near each file. If you click on the "play" button, the program will work as follows

  • If the file is an image file and the file is inside a container and the container is not mounted then the program will open EDS image viewer. Else the default image viewer will be started. You can enable EDS image viewer everywhere (or disable it) from the main settings.
  • If the file is not in the container or the container is mounted then the file's default viewer will be launched.
  • If the file is in the container and it has media type extension then it will be played in the default media player.
  • If the file is in the container and it is not a media file then it will be copied to the application folder (which is located on the sd card) and then the file's default viewer will be launched. If the file is changed on the sd card the program will try to copy this file back to the container. The file will be overwritten with random data and then deleted from the sd card after the container is closed. You can change the maximum size of a file, that can be started this way, in the program settings.

Most file operations are executed in the background. The progress of the running operations is displayed in the Android notification area. You can click on a notification to cancel the operation.

The "Wipe files" function is needed to complicate the process of recovering deleted files. The files are overwritten with random data and then they are deleted. This function is available for the files which are located outside of a container.

With the "Send" function you can send selected files to the other application.

If you select "Decrypt files to temporary folder" in the main menu the files will be copied to the temporary folder which is located in the application folder. These files will be wiped after the container is closed.

You can learn the size of the selected files and folders if you select the "Properties" menu item.

Using a hand-drawn pattern as a password

To simplify the process of entering a password you can use a hand-drawn pattern as an alternative to the password. To setup a hand-drawn pattern for your container go to the container settings. Click on "Enable pattern password". Draw your pattern and click on "OK".

  • You can draw any pattern but only the green lines are counted.
  • The direction in which you are drawing is important.
  • The number of strokes is also important. E. g., two clicks in the center is a valid pattern even if it is not visible.
  • The complexity of the pattern should be proportional to the complexity of the password.

If you want to redraw a pattern you can click on "Reset" in the menu.

Playing media files directly from an encrypted container

To play a media file you can simply click on it's name in the EDS file browser. It will be played using http streaming. Some files could not be played this way by the default player. You can convert these files to the supported format and bitrate. You can use the following tools to convert the files: MediaCoder, Any Video Converter, VLC media player.

Integrated records editor

The integrated records editor is designed to quickly find the information like passwords or credit card pins, etc. when you need it. You can customize the fields of the records and you can define the default record structure. Any directory in the container can be assigned to hold a record data. You can use different folders to store records with different default templates.

To enable the records editor, go to the program settings, select "Main settings" page and check "Use templates" checkbox. Then open a container, create a folder and open this folder. Select "Install template" in the main menu. Select "Universal" template. Now when you enter the folder the records editor will be opened.

To add a record, select "Add record" in the main menu of the records editor. To edit the default record template, select "Edit default fields" in the main menu. To view a record, click on it's name. To edit a record, select "Edit record" in the context menu of the record. To delete a record, select "Delete record" in the context menu of the record.

In the edit mode you can change record's title; you can add or remove fields; you can change a title, a value and a position of a field. Currently there are five field types. Each field type has it's icon on the panel.

  • One line of text.
  • Several lines of text.
  • Number.
  • Date and time.
  • Image.

To add a field, drag and drop the icon of the type that you want to the target position. To change the position of the field, press the empty area of the field and hold until the background becomes gray. Then drag the field to the position you want. To remove a field, drag it to the trash can icon, which appears at the bottom when you start dragging. To save the changes made, select "Save changes" in the menu or go back to the records list.

If the searching function is enabled, then the titles and values of the fields will be indexed, so you can quickly find the record later.

The records data is stored in the JSON format, so it can be viewed in any text editor. If you want to explore the contents of the directory where the data template is installed, you'll have to disable templates in the program settings.

Let's create a simple passwords database as an example.

  • Open a container
  • Click on the "New folder" menu item. Enter "Passwords" as a name of the folder and click on "OK".
  • Open the "Passwords" folder.
  • Click on the "Install template" in the main menu (you'll have to click on "More" first).
  • Select "Universal" data template.
  • Wait until the data template installs.
  • Click on "Edit default fields".
  • You can leave "Record title" field empty. Click on the short text icon two times. Set the first field title to "Login" and the second field title to "Password".
  • Press "back" button on your device and answer "yes" to the confirmation dialog.
  • Click on the "Add record" menu item in the main menu to add a password to the database.

Using search function

You can use the search function to quickly find files or records in a container. To use this function, you have to enable it first in the container settings. If the search is enabled, you'll see a text field in the EDS file browser. Enter a word that you want to find in this field and press the search button to see the results. You don't have to enter the whole word.

The following data can be indexed:

  • File names.
  • Record titles, field names, field values.
  • Text file contents (if the corresponding option is enabled in the container settings).

EDS shortcut widget

The widget can be used to quickly open the folder (or file) inside the container from the Home screen. To setup the widget follow these steps.

  • Add the widget to the Home screen. The widget configuration activity will open.
  • Enter the title of the widget in the first field.
  • Click on the "Select path" button.
  • Click on the container in which the destination folder is located.
  • Find the folder or file that you need and mark it. Click on "Select".
  • Click "OK".

Now you can click on the widget to open the folder (or the file or the record editor).

You can use "Close all containers widget" to quickly close all open or mounted containers.