computer science

KWallet

KWallet is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand KWallet rather than just read about it. In short: KDE Wallet Manager is free and open-source password management software and framework written in C++ for UNIX-style operating systems. It includes the KWallet framework, the KWalletManager GUI application, the kwalletd daemon which exposes the framework API, and the ksecretd daemon which exposes the Secret Service D-Bus API.

Key takeaways

KWallet belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect KWallet to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of KWallet from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

KDE Wallet Manager is free and open-source password management software and framework written in C++ for UNIX-style operating systems. It includes the KWallet framework, the KWalletManager GUI application, the kwalletd daemon which exposes the framework API, and the ksecretd daemon which exposes the Secret Service D-Bus API. KDE Wallet Manager runs on a Linux-based OS and its main feature is storing encrypted passwords in KDE Wallets. Its main feature is to collect user's credentials such as passwords or IDs and encrypt them through Blowfish symmetric block cipher algorithm or GNU Privacy Guard encryption.

Installation KDE Wallet Manager (KWallet) requires a Linux-based OS and the KDE Software Compilation desktop environment such as Kubuntu.

Browser extensions KDE Wallet manager (KWallet) can be integrated with various web browsers including Chrome, Opera, and Edge. To use KDE Wallet manager (KWallet) integration on Chrome or any other Chromium based browsers, user needs to run the browser with argument --password-store=kwallet5 or --password-store=detect . Historically, there was a standalone add-on available for Firefox. This addon allows users to store passwords internally through KDE Wallet manager (KWallet) instead of the default Firefox password manager. Since the release of Firefox v57 and the migration from XUL based extension to WebExtensions, there has been no attempt to make a new add-on to support the new Firefox. KDE web browsers Konqueror and Falkon use KDE Wallet manager (KWallet) to store sensitive passwords encrypted.

API KDE Wallet Manager’s APIs trigger authentication events when the application makes a request through Desktop Communications protocol (DCOP), which is KDE’s primary interprocess communication (IPC) mechanism, which causes a password dialog box to be displayed for the application. This causes the password dialog box to be launched by the KDE daemon process. Users can choose either to cancel the dialog box which will terminate the application or to fill the password box in. If the password box is filled, the Wallet will automatically open. KDE Wallet Manager’s Desktop communications protocol (DCOP) can only be accessed locally because it is an interprocess communication (IPC) protocol that is processed over UNIX local sockets.

GUI On KDE Wallet Manager’s GUI, users can manage every wallet and password assigned to them. KDE Wallet Manager allows users to save or delete Wallets and users can identify which wallet applications should look in when attempting to access a stored password. These are the lists of actions that users can take on the GUI of KDE Wallet manager (KWallet):

Create new Wallet Change the default Wallet Lock the Wallet Store passwords to a Wallet Unlock the password of the Wallet Update the information on a Wallet View stored passwords in the Wallet

Wallets

The Wallet is a term for password storage used in KDE Wallet Manager software. Wallets can be created manually by the user or It is offered by dialogue when the user enters in a password on any KDE desktop environment or website. Once created, Wallet can store various passwords and It is controlled by one master password. This way users do not have to remember various passwords, instead, they can just manage them by memorizing one master password for the wallet. The default Wallet is named “kdewallet” and users can create more of their own if needed.

Managing wallets Users can manage wallets on their own KDE Wallet Manager window. Packaging or combining wallets can be done by dragging and dropping. If the user wants to export information to other locations such as flash drives, the window allows for the user to choose whether to export data encrypted or not. Providing the master password, the user can similarly import the data encrypted. Setting preference of wallets is also possible, user can set certain wallets to be the default wallet. The close wallet setting enables the user to close the wallet after:

Close when unused for Close when the screensaver starts Close when the application stops using it

Encryption of the password The data stored by the KDE Wallet manager can be encrypted in two major ways. The GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG or GPG) algorithm is used if GnuPG Made Easy library is installed on the user’s Linux-based OS. If not, Blowfish symmetric block cipher algorithm is used.

Blowfish symmetric block cipher algorithm KDE Wallet manager encrypts the data stored in the wallet using the Blowfish symmetric block cipher algorithm in CBC mode. To protect the user’s information, blowfish encrypted data is authenticated with the SHA-1 hashing algorithm. KDE Wallet manager’s blowfish encryption provides faster encryption compared to Khufu, RC5, DES, IDEA, and Trip-DES. Blowfish encrypts at a rate of 18 clock cycles per byte in 32-bit microprocessors. KDE Wallet manager’s Blowfish algorithm can be executed in memory within 5k, and a simple structure is easy to implement and easy to determine the strength of the algorithm. The algorithm is variable in key length, which can be long as 448 bites and it allows basic word addition and bit XOR operations.

GNU Privacy Guard encryption Users can create a GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG or GPG) based wallet to store extra-sensitive passwords. This requires users to install GnuPG Made Easy library. If the library is installed and once the software found GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG or GPG), users will be asked to choose a key to use for a new wallet. Users still can encrypt passwords with the Blowfish symmetric block cipher algorithm, since the GNU Privacy Guard encryption library includes the DSA/Blowfish symmetric block cipher algorithm.

Security Using KDE Wallet manager (KWallet) may ease password management, but it does not provide greater security guarantees to the user's system. Instead of getting the user's other passwords, an attacker may get the master password for the user's wallets through the user's PC. Since the directory of encrypted files of KDE wallet manager (KWallet) is located in a predictable path, it might be vulnerable to viruses or worms programmed to target the password management system itself.

Known vulnerabilities in past versions

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with KWallet

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what KWallet claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to KWallet before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about KWallet ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of KWallet

In research: KWallet appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses KWallet in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: KWallet is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cryptographic software, Free password managers, KDE Applications, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for KWallet outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study KWallet in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what KWallet means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain KWallet out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is KWallet in simple terms?

Why does KWallet matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study KWallet?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on KWallet.