KeePassMobile News

Flattr

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:00:00 +0200

Today, I enabled Flattr on the KeePassMobile website. So what's Flattr? Well, it's a social micropayment system you can use to donate money, but you can only receive as long as you also give. I like this idea!

The guys behind Flattr explain best the purpose of this new social micropayment system:

People would just ignore sending donations if it wasn't for a really important cause. Sending just a small sum has always been a pain in the ass. Who would ever even login to a payment system just to donate €0.01? And €10 was just too high for just one blog entry we liked...

So, if you would like to give something back to free open source software you love and use daily (not only KeePassMobile:) go for Flattr. Many sites use this already. You can find the KeePassMobile Flattr button on the homepage. Simply click it to flattr KeePassMobile.

KeePassMobile V0.9 BETA 2 released

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 07:00:00 +0200

Here is the second BETA release of the upcoming KeePassMobile V0.9. This release should be quite stable by now. Anyhow, always keep a backup of your password database elsewhere.

ATTENTION: THOUGH I INVESTED MUCH TIME IN TESTING KEEPASSMOBILE, A BETA VERSION IS NEVER AS STABLE AS THE FINAL RELEASE. THERE IS A SMALL BUT INCREASED RISK COMPARED TO A FINAL VERSION THAT KEEPASSMOBILE BETA CORRUPTS YOUR DATABASE. THEREFORE, ALWAYS CREATE A BACKUP OF YOUR DATABASE BEFORE USING THE BETA VERSION OF KEEPASSMOBILE!

If you download, install and test this version, please don't forget to leave a small note in the forum like: "Works!", "Does not start!", "Crashes, when..." with the name of your mobile.

There are two ways to install KeePassMobile V0.9 BETA:
* Download the archive and install KeePassMobile manually: KeePassMobile-0.9-beta2.zip
* OTA: Open the browser of your mobile phone, navigate to http://m2.keepassmobile.com and follow the instructions on the screen.

Cheers,
Christoph

First Public Beta Release V0.9

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 07:00:00 +0200

In the past, I always asked volunteer testers to participate in a closed beta test of the upcoming KeePassMobile release. I want to change this for version V0.9. This is the first time a public beta release will be available for everybody, who wants to test the new features. So you can choose: if you want to have the stable and proven version of KeePassMobile, stick to V0.8.1. But if you want to test the latest improvements and cutting edge features then give V0.9-beta1 a try.

There are two ways to install KeePassMobile V0.9 BETA:
* Download the archive and install KeePassMobile manually: KeePassMobile-0.9-beta1.zip
* OTA: Open the browser of your mobile phone, navigate to http://m2.keepassmobile.com and follow the instructions on the screen.

Please test the following new features:
* Move password entry between groups (cut-paste)
* Add/remove attachment to/from password entry
* Password generator with several options
* Keyfile can be added/changed/removed to/from master encryption key
* New option to change font size
* New option to show/hide backup folder
* Old backup entries can be deleted
* Further Enhanced UI Look&Feel
* And many more small enhancements and bug fixes

Important: Please leave your feedback in the new beta release support forum, after testing the beta version.

Your donations

Fri, 28 May 2010 07:00:00 +0200

Probably you know this already: KeePassMobile is developed by me in my rare free time and is free and open source. There is a donation page available, that states:

As you probably know, developing high-quality applications takes much time and resources. So, if you find yourself using KeePassMobile regularly and if you are happy with the quality and the progress of this project, you are kindly requested to donate. Your donation will support the development of KeePassMobile and make me feel to produce something valuable.

To prove you, that these are not just empty words: I am learning for the Sun Certified Java Programmer (SCJP) exam at the moment and from your donations I have bought me this study guide and a bunch of mock exams to get fit for the exam. Altogether, this is more or less the sum of you donations so far and I want to say thanks to all donators!

Upcoming Version V0.9

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 07:00:00 +0200

I have been very busy at the beginning of the year. That is, why the KeePassMobile development stuck the last three months, sorry. I changed my job and work now for Canoo. Canoo has a very good reputation in the Java community and I am proud that they chose me. There are so many new things to learn for me.

However, in the meanwhile I have settled really well and I started to develop some new features for KeePassMobile V0.9 already. This release will not contain much new features, but will stabilize the V0.8 release, fix some problems and add minor missing things to fill the gaps of the feature list.

Thats for example:

Move password entries between groups
Automatically backup password entries, when changed
Integrate a password generator
...???...

Do you have an other important feature on your wish list? Leave a note and post to the forum.

Version V0.8.1 released

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 23:59:00 +0100

KeePassMobile V0.8.1 was released today. This is a bug fix release and does not contain any new features.

ATTENTION: IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO UPDATE TO KEEPASSMOBILE V0.8.1, BECAUSE V0.8 CAN CORRUPT YOUR KEEPASS DATABASE!

Release Notes V0.8.1
Here are the changes of release V0.8.1 in detail:

Bug fixes

Fixed: After deleting a password group, the save process can corrupt the database file

Any feature requests?

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +0100

KeePassMobile started as hobby project. I wanted to have a software for my mobile that could handle KeePass databases in an intuitive way. So, in the past, I decided which feature made it into a release and which doesn't. With V0.8 of KeePassMobile I have achieved this personal goal and am now open for your input and ideas.

Therefore I have created a new Feature Request forum. Please let me know, which features you are missing in KeePassMobile and leave a note in the forum.

New download record for V0.8

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +0100

The new KeePassMobile version V0.8 was downloaded over 1000 times in one week! This is a new record compared to all other versions released so far.

But the best thing for me is, that no one has reported any problems saving his/her database with KeePassMobile, yet. Even so, keep in mind to make backups of your password database regularly.

Version V0.8 released

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:59:00 +0100

I had not have as much time for KeePassMobile in the last couple of weeks, than I should. Sorry for that. But after all, I am very proud to release the version V0.8 of KeePassMobile today, that supports the long awaited create, update and save functionality.

ATTENTION: THOUGH I INVESTED MUCH TIME IN TESTING THE NEW SAVE FUNCTIONALITY THERE MIGHT BE A RISK OF DATABASE CORRUPTION. SO, KEEP A BACKUP OF YOUR DATABASE ELSEWHERE!

Release Notes V0.8
Here are the changes of release V0.8 in detail:

Main new features
Create, update and save KeePass 1.x databases:

Create new database
Create, update & delete password groups
Create, update & delete password entries
Change database settings: Password, Number of key encryption rounds
Encryption supports password, key file and password+key file

Improvements

More performance improvements
Integrated new version of UI library (LWUIT) (+performance improvement)
Saves the directory of the last opened database
Update last used database after closing
Theme improvements: 'Fast' theme should be faster, 'Nice' theme should be nicer ;)
New quick view mode: see user+password of a entry while navigating through the database tree
More accurate performance measurement

Bug fixes

Fixed: Search hangs under some circumstances
Fixed: Progess bar status sometimes invisible

Beta V0.8 on its way to the testers

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:00:00 +0200

Two good news today...

The write functionality is fully implemented and therefore a beta version the upcoming KeePassMobile release (V0.8) is on its way to the testers. If you want to participate in the beta test phase contact me under: contact@keepassmobile.com. I plan to release the final version of V0.8 in September.
After thinking a while about it, I decided that all functionality of KeePassMobile will remain free in the future. Donations are welcome!

Testers needed for write functionality

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 07:00:00 +0200

Though KeePassMobile V0.8 will probably be delayed (sorry!), a lot of write functionality (encrypt and save a KeePass database) is nearly finished. Therefore I am looking for testers for this new feature.

I did a lot of testing by my own, but mostly with small example databases. Now I want to do some real world tests. So please, if you have a KeePass database, which is special in some way (file size; number of entries and groups; number and size of notes; number and size of attachments), contact me at contact@keepassmobile.com. I then will send you the latest beta release of KeePassMobile V0.8 and you can test, if you can successfully change and save your database with it.

I bought a new mobile

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0200

After three years, I recently replaced my good old Nokia 6233...

The decision was not easy and I took several weeks for the evaluation. After all, I decided me for a BlackBerry Curve 8900. And I am very happy with it!

You know what this means for KeePassMobile!? Yes, exactly, I will try to make the next version of KeePassMobile (V0.8) fully compatible with BlackBerry phones.

For all BlackBerry users: KeePassMobile V0.6 do work on BlackBerry phones, but is a bit slow and do not comply with BlackBerry standards: because BlackBerry phones lack of soft-menu buttons you have to use the "Q" key for the left menu and the "P" key for the right menu. Anything else works as expected (including trackball to navigate through the password groups/entries tree).

If you are a BlackBerry user and do have any problems with KeePassMobile: please leave a message in the forums.

Download statistics after four months

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0200

I started KeePassMobile about 4 months ago. Here are the download statistics for this time:

V0.2 (was available for 6 weeks, until V0.5 was released): 1996 downloads
V0.5 (was available for 11 weeks, until V0.6 was released): 5702 downloads
V0.6 (is available for 3 weeks now): 1818 downloads
In summary: 9516 downloads

Here is are the donation statistics for the same time:

V0.2: 0 donations
V0.5: 1 donation
V0.6: 0 donations
In summary: 1 donation

To keep up development speed, this project costs me much time and money (domain, homepage, traffic, ...) and so I am seriously considering to charge the next big feature that will come with the next version (V0.8): save/encrypt KeePass databases. My plan is not to sell KeePassMobile. You will be able to use all basic functions (load, decrypt, search,...) without paying a cent, but to charge activating the advanced features.

KeePassMobile would remain free of course, but free as in freedom of speech and not free as in free beer any more.

I set up a poll to hear your voice on this topic (poll closed in the meanwhile)

Version V0.6 released

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0200

After some delays, the version V0.6 of KeePassMobile was released today. Thanks to all testers, that helped me making KeePassMobile a stable and useful application (alphabetic order): Bill, Francoise, Glyn, Michael, Ricardo, Roman, Tirta, Wietse. Thanks a lot!

Release Notes
Here are the changes of this release in detail:

New features

Keyfile decryption support: Databases that are encrypted using a keyfile (and password) can now be handled by KeePassMobile
Attachment support: Attachments that belong to a password entry can now be saved to the mobile memory
Multi-Language Support: available in 9 different languages. The following languages are supported with V0.6: Danish, Dutch, English, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Ukrainian. Many thanks to all the translators: Carl, Evgeniy, Giulia, Peter, Ricardo, Roman, Wietse. If your language is not supported: new translators are welcome! Write a mail to contact@keepassmobile.com
User preferences: Preferences to set preferred language, date format, ...
Watchdog: The database will be closed automatically, after a certain time, the mobile has not been used. The timeout can be set in the preferences.
Search options: The database search can be controlled setting search options.
Statistics: KeePassMobile shows some statistics from the decryption process of a database. If you have any performance issues, this can help to identify the cause. Also there is a value "performance rating" that can be used to compare the decryption performance of your mobile to other mobiles. Please leave a note in the KeePassMobile "performance rating" forum.

Improvements

Performance: The performance of the decryption process has been increased. On some mobiles (Nokia S60 devices) the decryption of a database is now many times faster.
On some mobiles the UI can cause problems. It is now possible to switch to a much simpler UI theme.
Entries that have been expired are flagged with a red cross, so that they can be spotted immediately.
The progress bar showing up during database decryption is now much more precise.
During search, a progress bar shows the progress of the search.
It is now possible to navigate from anywhere within the password groups back to the top.

Bug fixes

Databases imported from eWallet are now handled correctly

Status update V0.6 (and a little bit about me)

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0200

I am very busy at the moment: Besides my job as software engineer at pulinco I work as lecturer at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University in Lörrach for software engineering (what else!? ;-) This is the reason why I can not concentrate on KeePassMobile at the moment than I used to.

Back to V0.6: The beta version is out to the testers and I process the first feedbacks. There is one issue, that concerns me at the moment: Several users using a S60 device from Nokia (all new business phones from Nokia) reported problems with the performance of the user interface of KeePassMobile. The curious thing is, that KeePassMobile works like a charm on S40 devices from Nokia (like my three year old 6233).

In the meanwhile, I found out, that the underlying UI framework LWUIT that I am using seems to have problems with background pictures and S60 devices. Therefore V0.6 of KeePassMobile will have the option to use a UI theme without a background picture. I hope that this will be fixed with the next version of LWUIT that I want to implement with V0.8.

FAQ online

Wed, 20 May 2009 07:00:00 +0200

The very first version of a "Frequently asked questions" document is available here.

Version V0.6 on the horizon

Fri, 15 May 2009 07:00:00 +0200

I am very busy working on the upcoming release V0.6. And there will be some very cool features in it:

Multilanguage - Right at the moment I have four translation available (English, German, Spanish, Dutch). I hope more to come till V0.6 will be released. Do you want to help? Translators are welcome! Please contact me: contact@keepassmobile.com
Key-file decryption - I am looking for users who do need this features as beta testers. Please contact me: contact@keepassmobile.com
Attachment support - Save attachment of a password entry to your mobile phone
User Preferences - set your preferred language, date format. ...
Security - Open database is closed automatically after KeePassMobile has not used a certain amount of time
Performance - decryption performance improved (especially Nokia S60 devices will benefit a lot)
Search options - you decide which password entry fields to include in your search
Performance statistics - Detail information about the decryption performance of your phone

I hope you are as curious as I am. If you find this software useful, please support it as beta tester, translator or donator

Regards
Christoph

Translators Welcome

Sat, 02 May 2009 07:00:00 +0200

KeePassMobile V0.5 supports two languages at the moment: English and German. Both languages are maintained by me. As you can see in the release plan, I want to add more translations to KeePassMobile V0.6.

If you are interested in translating KeePassMobile into your language, please write a mail to contact@keepassmobile.com.

Release Plan V1.0

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:00:00 +0200

Here is the preliminary release plan for the way to KeePassMobile V1.0:

June 2009: KeePassMobile V0.6

UI-Translations for more languages
Performance improvements of the decryption process
More UI improvements

August 2009: KeePassMobile V0.8

Create new database
Change database contents (add/edit/delete password entries and groups)!
Save/encrypt database

October 2009: KeePassMobile V1.0

Improve and stabilize save/decryption process
... (more from user feedback)

So you can see, I want to keep release cycles to around eight weeks:

2 weeks: release post processing and collecting of tasks for new release
4 weeks: feature implementation
2 weeks: testing and bug fixing of new release (beta phase)

Version V0.5 released

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:00:00 +0200

After two weeks of testing and improving the beta release, the version V0.5 of KeePassMobile was released today. Thanks to all testers, that helped me making KeePassMobile a stable and useful application (alphabetic order): Andreas, Bill, Björn, Daniel, Einar, Glyn, Lukas, Mani, Manilo, Marc, Philipp, Ricardo, Thomas, Tirta, Wietse. Thanks a lot!

Release Notes
Starting with this version, KeePassMobile is free, open source software that can be redistributed and/or modified under the terms of the GNU General Public License 3 (GPL3).

New features

Search database: a new search dialog allows to search for certain password entries

Improvements

Show expiry field, if set - supports localized date format
Hide "Meta-Inf" entries, that are used to store database internal data
Show progress bar during decryption and allow the user to cancel the process
Cycle through entry list with up/down cursor buttons
Select parent group, when go back (up the tree)
Switch menus to conform to mobile (Nokia) standard
New option for file browser to show all files
Show groups without content in grey color

Bug fixes

Stabilize the encryption process (V0.2 decryption did not work on some phones)
Show correct parent groups when navigating back (up the tree)