Smart Card Ideas

SCF uses two existing extensions: Pycsc (a Python PCSC wrapper hosted now I believe on the muscle site … slightly modified) and Pycrypto.

By extension I mean stuff written in C that must be compiled, linked and installed in the correct spot.

As the Python folks use Visual Studio (sigh) to compile python, one must (in general) also have that environment available.

The bad news is that many don’t … the good news is that I do.

The Source/Applications/SCF directory will very soon host those binaries (I know binaries in a source directory makes little sense).

The first binaries I will put in there will be for Python 2.4.x … yes another caveat, I believe, is that the same VS version must be used to compile an extension as was used to compile Python. Guess what: Python 2.5 used VS 2005 !

Now I also have the latter but have not done the job yet, and I currently still use Python 2.4.x.

If you are desperate and _must_ use Python 2.5, post on the forum (general category for now) and I’ll spend some time generating the stuff.

So until I have a clean install, and assuming you have python 2.4x installed in C:\python24 :

copy http://snakecard.com/Source/Applications/SCF/python24/pycsc.pyd to C:\Python24\Lib\site-packages

unzip http://snakecard.com/Source/Applications/SCF/python24/Crypto.zip to C:\Python24\Lib\site-packages

Once that is done SCF should run happily on your PC.

Linux users: use the usual “python setup.py install” command to get the extensions compiled and installed properly.

Philippe

A guy I respect very much once told me he wrote his first GINA during a week-end.

Let’s face it, I’m not that bright: already to get it working on a domain-based setting took a few days. But when a partner asked for a workgroup version, trouble started.

Here is/are the thing(s):
1) Under XP “home” (thus the “Solo” deal), winlogon will _not_ send insertion or removal events to the GINA.

2) The Microsoft winlogon service that handles the GINA is not re-entrant (don’t know about Vista, but I am convinced that this statement is correct under 2K and XP).

So to fix 1) I decided to run a second thread that would tell winlogon that the card had been inserted or removed (polling is ugly I know).

Yes but 2) generated an amazing amount of sporadic crashes … that my partner did struggle with (as a user) as much as I did, I must admit.

Being an MSDN lawful subscriber, I got to talk the some of the folks at MS that deal with that … and no go .

A consultant out there (I believe that is Keith: http://www.pluralsight.com/wiki/default.aspx/Keith/CustomizingGINA.html ), has a forum where I posted my problem.

There I was told about that re-entrency problem and that the trick that was usually used (especially in the Microsoft COM code), was to create a hidden window and send it a user’s-event to wake it up (that is scary no ?).

Anyway, that did the trick, and although I am not very proud of my code when I look at it (too much was written at 2 am maybe); next I’ll release that GINA Solo thing (dll in C++, and configuration utility in VB6 … that was before I found out about wxPython).

The released applet was in BasicCard (actually my first GINA applet was in S-Choice: http://www.sci-s.com/schoice_os.htm ) … I think I have one In JavaCard also.

I will release the former and the latter.

Philippe

I do not know whether my directory layout is the best (doc on one side, code on another, applets on another) versus putting it all in one directory - I had to choose.

As posted earlier, the applet is in BasicCard (love that platform), the GINA itself in C/C++, and the config tool in VB6.

Feedback is welcome.

Philippe

I really like Doxygen for Java Card; so I thought that with the third party filter I found, I could get it to work fine on Python … no go for now.

The SCF source documentation is back to the epydoc format. I am trying the new beta release but have yet to check out the new features.

So I just re-ran my hold script (which I’ll have to adjust to add the new stuff) and put the result online: http://www.snakecard.com/Source/Documentation/API/html/
Philippe

When a project requires pre-personalization and more specifically loading a binary file onto the target, once discovers that there are a few pitfalls associated with the process.

When reading Global Platform , you discover that many other documents must be read before you get the job done (ex: MACing). By the way, I’ll release soon a GP support module for SCF.

Anyway, if it is simpler with BasicCard, there are still a few risk of locking the card even if there is not crypto. involved. You’ll find here: http://snakecard.com/Source/Applications/SCF/Load_BC.zip; the core code I have used in a few project to load a BasicCard binary onto the card (that means it works ).

Do note, however, that the way to switch a card from load to test to run mode varies from a BasicCard to another … but that is well tackled in their documentation.

As I guess it would make sense to also provide the installation files for the various projects I’m releasing to the Open Source … here is the installation package for GINA Solo. It is a Visual Studio .NET (2003) project.

You are correct, not much to do with Smart Card … except maybe that this new refreshing prospective on the USA certainly got my spirit way up … and that my coding might just become decent as a result. Dan, thank you for the pictures.
My understanding is that each group in the parade had the right to select its subject. Many of the subjects are quite obvious so I will not comment them. However, on the “funny only” side, the “Fish in Texas” art car was simply fantastic: the lobsters standing on their tails during the Queen’s “Hungarian Rhapsody” chorus were simply hilarious.

The name changed with time. The purpose of the application is to logon to a PC with a Smart Card … which also includes a very basic epurse. Points from the epurse are removed from the card every couple of minutes …and yes the user gets logged off when their are no more points in the card and as to go pay to have it recharged.

The applets are in BasicCard, the GINA in C++, and the configuration utilities in Python and VB6.

17+ years together, and you had to fall in that stupid pool.

May the road be as fun to you as you were to us; thinking of you will only bring good memories … and a few tears.

I tell you what: wait a bit for me, I’ll re-incarnate as a dog and you as a man … and you’ll feed me for a change !

Philippe

This EPurse was written with the following constraints:

• work on a 2K BasicCard,
• work cross-platform,
• be stand alone (not need for a SQL server … although the port is quite easy.

Having to stick to a 2K card was the toughest challenge … and if I recall I could not add a byte to the existing.

The security is OK, even if this is no EMV application.
Oh yes. HTMLgen is needed (reports and Emails if I recall).
I think it’s all there … let me know if that is not the case.

Philippe