Encrypted parameters

Encryption of the password properties avoids a security risk from a casual inspection of the properties file. The encryption key is exactly 16 hexadecimal digits long and is in the pdr_key.properties file. Using encryption is optional (see Configuration PropertiesPage 1). The default is for encryption to be used.

To use encryption, modify the encryption key in the distributed pdr_key.properties file before determining and setting any encrypted password strings. Ensure the encryption key only has hexadecimal digits (0-9 and A-F only) and must be exactly 16 digits long.

To generate the encrypted key requires the environment is properly set up (see the pdrEnvironment file).

Before starting to configure your pdrLoader.properties file, ensure you update the 16 digit hexadecimal key in the pdr_key.properties file. Changing the encryption key (hash) ensures any encrypted passwords in your properties file cannot be decrypted using the default and publicly available hash.

To determine the encrypted value of a password, use the following from the command line in the \Lib directory, substituting myPassword in the command line with the password of your choice:

pdrPasswordEncrypt myPassword

Expect to see results similar to the following:

The returned value is the value for the password in the pdrLoader.properties file (see Configuration PropertiesPage 1).

If your password has any special characters with special meaning to the operating system you are using, escape those special characters appropriately. For example, if your password is !Password and you are using a unix-like system, the exclamation mark needs a preceding backslash (\) to be treated as a normal single character (pdrPasswordEncrypt \!Password).