EnigmaSim

7.0

Software information

License:

Freeware (Free)


Updated:

13 Jun 2018


Publisher:

Dirk Rijmenants

Website:

http://users.telenet.be/d.rijmenants/en/enigmasim.htm

Software Screenshots

Size: 3.11 MB


Downloads: 2963


Platform: Windows (All Versions)

Review by Frederick Barton (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 13 Jun 2018

If you don't feel safe enough with your messaging system, despite its end-to-end encryption or other safety features, you could take an extra step and encode the message itself. There are numerous text encryption tools out there, but if you want to be clever about it and do it in style, you could encode your message using the Enigma code, the German cypher system, used in the Second World War, which gave the Allies serious headaches. In this regard, Enigma Simulator is an excellent solution. It is a perfect representation of the famous Enigma cypher machine. You can encode messages in no time, without making any complex configurations. Even with a modern-day computer's processing power, it would take a ridiculously long time to brake the code with a brute-force attack.

The application is absolutely free and it can be used on all popular Windows versions, without encountering any compatibility issues. Downloading and installing EnigmaSim can be done in under a minute. There is no need to install any special tools or services and you won't notice any impact on your computer's performance.

The user interface is made to look like the real-life Enigma cypher machine. It resembles a typewriter, but it's way more complex. Besides a keyboard, the machine consists of a lamp board, rotors and a plug board. You can start right away and type your message, either on your physical keyboard or by clicking the keys on the machine. Your message will be encoded as you type it. Clicking the latch, on the lower edge of the machine, will reveal the original message, along with its encoded version.

The inner workings of the Enigma are quite complex, but the results are pretty easy to understand. Essentially, each button on the keyboard corresponds to a different letter than what you see on the actual key. When you press a key, its corresponding letter will light up on the lamp board. Also, the keys you press are displayed in the lower part of the interface, as previously mentioned. You can see each letter you type, directly above its correspondent.

You may think that the cypher system is a simple matter of replacing the real letter for each key, but things are not that simple. Each time you press a button, the layout underneath the keyboard will change completely. In other words, if, for example, you press a specific letter three times you will get three different letters.

The rotors on the top part of the machine act as a counting mechanism, which is triggered each time you press a button. Each number or alphabetical sequence, represented by the three or four rotors, has its own unique keyboard layout. What's more, you can turn the rotors manually, to form your own sequence. If you want to decode a message, you only need to form the sequence that was used to encode it and transcribe the encrypted message.

It has to be mentioned that EnigmaSim looks and feels authentic. Pressing the buttons feels realistic and you can also open the machine to reconfigure the rotors. What's more, the application lets you choose between several Enigma models, including the infamous four-rotor machine, used by the German Navy in World War II. Add the fact that you can rewire the machine, in the plug board view, and that you can replace individual rotors, and you have an uncountable number of layout configurations. According to some sources, the time it would take a single computer, with a modern processor, to crack the code would be longer than the age of the universe, if it was done through a brute-force attack.

Encoding messages with EnigmaSim will make them virtually uncrackable.

Pros

The software is a faithful representation of the German Enigma cypher machine. You can set up your own sequence, change rotors and even rewire the machine. You would need a powerful, multi-computer setup to be able to crack the encoded messages.

Cons

The possibility of resizing the user interface would make the application more comfortable.

EnigmaSim
7.0

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EnigmaSim Awards


EnigmaSim Editor’s Review Rating

EnigmaSim has been reviewed by Frederick Barton on 13 Jun 2018. Based on the user interface, features and complexity, Findmysoft has rated EnigmaSim 5 out of 5 stars, naming it Essential

5

out of 5