Changelog - AESCrypt v2025AK

📅 Release Date: February 2025

Random Padding for File Size Obfuscation
- Implemented a random padding generator using secrets.token_bytes(1048576).
- Ensures that encrypted file sizes do not directly correlate with original file sizes.
- Padding size is stored and correctly removed upon decryption.
Improved Secure File Deletion (Anti-Journaling Protection)
- Added forced disk writes (os.fsync()) after overwriting file contents.
- Ensures data is securely erased on journaling file systems.
- Uses multiple passes (0x00, 0xFF, and random data) before deletion.
Enhanced Memory Security
- Replaced direct password usage with memoryview(password_bytearray) to avoid unnecessary memory exposure.
- Applied secure memory erasure immediately after key derivation and decryption.

Fixed Padding Removal on Decryption
- Addressed a critical bug where incorrect padding removal caused corruption in decrypted files.
- Padding size is now correctly stored and removed only after full decryption.
Improved HMAC Integrity Verification
- Fixed an issue where HMAC validation failed due to misaligned data.
- Ensures encrypted files are not modified or corrupted before decryption.
More Efficient Encryption Process
- Introduced multi-threaded encryption with unique IVs to improve performance.
- Tracked used IVs in a set to prevent accidental reuse.

Optimized Secure Delete Function:
- Added os.fsync() to mitigate file system caching effects.
- Ensured proper disk write enforcement before file removal.
Better Readability & Structure:
- Improved function naming and added in-line comments.
- Simplified logic for encryption/decryption process.

No reported issues so far. If you encounter any bugs, please report them on GitHub.

🔒 AESCrypt v2025AK now provides stronger security, better performance, and more reliable encryption for your files. 🚀