SQLCipher 3.4.2 Release

2017-12-22 07:00:00 -0500

We are happy to announce SQLCipher 3.4.2 has been released. This release includes integration of the upstream SQLite release 3.20.1. Along with the many improvements included in SQLite, several of our client libraries included some nice additions with this release.

More details and instructions for accessing the latest version can be found in our official release announcement here.

Updated Icons for Codebook

2017-12-20 07:00:00 -0500

We’ve got some exciting news for customers of our password manager Codebook, just in time for the end-of-year holidays: a complete redesign of the app’s embedded database icons along with fifty new ones, expanding the set to 200! They are available now on all four platforms: Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows.

To get it done we worked with Icon Factory, whose work you may have seen around, and they really delivered on both the style updates and the new additions to the set. This is a big deal for us as it’s not something we can do often, and these icons tend to make up quite a bit of the interface of Codebook once it’s been populated with records.

For the new icons we drew in part from the many requests we’ve received over the last few years directly through our support mail account and in response to requests for comment on our discussion forum. We really appreciated all that input and welcome more, so if we’re missing something you’d like to see added, let us know, we do keep a list.

For the new style we wanted to go with a more business-friendly look that maintained the charisma and humor of the current set, with more depth and details to take advantage of today’s high-resolution displays. We hope you’ll agree that the result is impressive:

Before After Before After
Icon chalkboard before Chalkboard After Clouddrive Before Clouddrive After
Factory Before Factory After Computer Linuxtux Before Computer Linuxtux After
Wifirouter Before Wifirouter After Creditcard Visa Before Creditcard Visa After
Moneybag Before Moneybag After Youngwomen Before Youngwomen After
DeliveryTruck Before DeliveryTruck After SocialSecurity Before SocialSecurity After

All the existing icons got updated to the new style should be recognizable, but we did repurpose one of the–three!–phone-related icons to something for the shortwave or radio enthusiast:

Before After
Smartphone Before Smartphone After
Telephone Before Telephone After
Phone Before Phone After

As to the new icons, here’s a pseudo-random sampling:

Programming CI / Dev Ops Security Certificate GPG / Keypair
ComputerCode ComputerJenkins ComputerSeccert ComputerGPG
Amazon Home Security TOR Payroll
AmazonShopping HomeSecurity ComputerTor BuisnessPayroll
Rail Transit Card Outdoor Sports Healthcare.gov
TransitRail TransitCard SportsOutdoors Medical hcdg

It was a pleasure to work with Icon Factory on this project, many thanks to them for a job well done. Enjoy the new icons, and Happy Holidays from all of us here at Zetetic! 🎄

Codebook for iPad is Being Discontinued

2017-09-22 10:17:00 -0400

As noted earlier this year on our discussion forum, we’ll be discontinuing the iPad-only version of Codebook that’s currently available in the iTunes App Store. We’d like all our customers who purchased that version of the app to install the other, universal (i.e. runs on iPhone and iPad) version of Codebook now that it runs on both device types.

Previously, both apps used the same blue icon and had the same name on the Home screen, “Codebook”, making it hard to tell the apps apart. To aid in the transition and help give our iPad customers a heads-up that things are a-changing, we gave Codebook for iPad’s app icon an update, switching it to black and white.

Codebook Ipad Icons

Transitioning to the Universal Codebook

First, you’ll want to install the newest version of the universal Codebook for iOS app on your iPad alongside the old version with the black and white icon (don’t delete anything just yet!) Visit this link directly on your iPad to be taken to the right page in the App Store. If you don’t already own the iPhone version, not to worry: we created a bundle in the App Store allowing you to credit your iPad purchase towards the iPhone version, which should result in no charge for most customers.

Once installed, launch the app and go through the first-time setup process, using the same password you usually use to protect your Codebook data.

During setup you will be given an opportunity to use Codebook’s Sync feature to copy your data over from another install of Codebook on the desktop via WiFi, or via Google Drive or Dropbox. You’ll want to set the switch on this screen to Yes for a restore.

Screenshot of iPad Pro 10.5 displaying sync options during setup

Once you’ve loaded your data into the universal build of Codebook (the one with the blue icon) you can safely remove the version with the black and white icon. Currently Codebook for iPad is still being maintained, but everyone using it should switch over to the universal version as soon as they can, as we will eventually remove it from the App Store.

Advisory - SQLCipher with Xcode 9 and new SDKs

2017-09-22 10:17:00 -0400

Properly configured projects using SQLCipher shouldn’t experience problems using Xcode 9. However, changes in the new SDKs can cause compile time errors for misconfigured projects, e.g.

Implicit declaration of function ‘sqlite3_key’ is invalid in C99
Implicit declaration of function ‘sqlite3_rekey’ is invalid in C99

We have prepared important recommendations for SQLCipher developers on how to resolve these problems on the SQLCipher support forums:

Important Advisory: SQLCipher with Xcode 9 and new SDKs

Important Advisory - SQLCipher with XCode 8 and new SDKs

2016-09-14 13:20:00 -0400

Apple has released XCode 8 and new SDKs. We have published important guidance for using SQLCipher with the new platforms (e.g. for iOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, etc.) on the SQLCipher support forums:

Important Advisory: SQLCipher with XCode 8, iOS 10, etc

Critical recommendations include:

  1. Adjusting Project Build Settings to link SQLCipher first
  2. Including an Application Runtime Check for SQLCipher
  3. Testing and Validation

Please make it a priority to implement these recommendations and perform appropriate application testing when moving to these new platforms.