Configuration of the JDK environment &
Installation of the Bouncing Castle JCE Security Provider
T. Andrew Yang
(last
updated: 9/8/2021)
Installation/Configuration instructions Common errors
& solutions
A.
Installation
and Configuration Instructions
Note: This installation
assumes jdk16 is installed.
Step 1) Go to https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase-jdk16-downloads.html
and download the most recent version of JDK (e.g., jdk-16 on Windows x64).
After installing the JDK, set the system path to ensure the JDK is your
default JDK. Also add the current folder (that is, .) to the classpath.
NOTE: Check out the JDK installation manual to learn how to
configure environment variables such as path
and classpath. You may also check out
Step 4 below for similar instructions.
Step 2) The JDK you downloaded and installed is of the
default strength, that is, Strong but not Unlimited. To
increase your JDK’s strength to Unlimited, do the following:
(a) Download the right version of Java
Cryptography Extension (JCE) Unlimited Strength Jurisdiction Policy Files
from https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase-jce8-downloads.html.
(b) Suppose the file you downloaded is called jce_policy-8.zip. Unzip the file into a temporary
folder (e.g., c:\jce\ ). From the folder, copy the two .jar files (local_policy.jar
and US_export_policy.jar) into the jre\lib\security folder of
your JDK installation. For example, if your JDK is installed as C:\Program
Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_301, copy the two files into the folder C:\Program
Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_301\jre\lib\security. NOTE: The folder may
already have two files with the same names. Just answer ‘YesToAll’ when
prompted to overwrite the existing files.
CAUTION: Use the ‘java
–version’ command to check whether you’re running the java program from
your JDK’s bin folder or from the bin folder under your JRE (Java Runtime
Environment) folder. As shown in the diagram below, the latter is true on this
particular system. In the latter case, make sure you copy the two .jar files (local_policy.jar
and US_export_policy.jar) into the lib\security folder of your
JRE folder.
(c) It may be
necessary to restart your computer before the newly installed policy files
would start working.
Note: The installation procedure is described in
details in the README.txt file.
Step 4) Set the classpath environment
variable to include the downloaded file in the step above. To set the
classpath, do the following:
a)
In the Search
Windows box, enter “environment variables”.
c)
Click the Edit environment variables app (as
shown in the figure above).
d)
In the User Variables or the System
Variables section, click on the New… button.
e)
Set the Variable Name to classpath
f) Set
the Variable Value to the location of the downloaded file. For example,
if the downloaded file was stored at m:\security\bcprov-jdk15-131.jar,
then the value is set to %classpath%; .; m:\security\bcprov-jdk15-131.jar
As a temporary method, you may type, in a DOS window, the following
command: ‘set classpath=%classpath%; .;m:\security\bcprov-jdk15-131.jar’.
Note: The set
command only sets the classpath once for that particular command window.
|
To verify the above steps, do the following: |
|
a) Open a ‘command prompt’ window
(START-Programs-Accessories-Command Prompt). |
|
b) Enter the ‘path’ command to see if your
JDK’s bin folder is in the path. |
|
c) Enter the ‘set’ or ‘set classpath’ command,
and check if the classpath is correct (as specified in step 4). |
|
d) Enter ‘java –version’ to verify the
version of the java interpreter. |
Step
5) In each of the .java source files, include this line of code:
Security.addProvider(new
org.bouncycastle.jce.provider.BouncyCastleProvider());
anywhere before the line
Cipher cipher =
Cipher.getInstance("RSA/ECB/PKCS1Padding");
For example, place it
as the first statement in the main( ) method.
Step 6) Compile and run the programs.
Note: As any
other new tool you first try to use, it takes some time for a new user to
become efficient. If you get compilation or runtime errors, double check the
procedure above. The steps have been tested and should work, if followed
correctly. The rule of thumb is always double check to ensure what you did was
correct and effective. See the following table to find common errors and
possible solutions.
B. Common
Errors and Possible Solutions:
|
Errors |
Possible Reasons and Solutions |
|
a)
Exception
in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError |
·
Check your classpath (not path) environment variable; make sure the current folder (.) is
included in the classpath. |
|
b)
Exception in
thread "main" java.security.InvalidKeyException: Illegal key size |
·
Make sure step
#2 above (configuring unlimited strength) is done correctly. The default
(limited) strength does not support larger number of key bits. |
|
c)
Exception in
thread "main" java.security.NoSuchAlgorithmException:
PBEWithSHAAndTwofish-CBC SecretKeyFactory not available |
·
This is
probably caused by improper configuration of your security provider. Make
sure step #3, #4, and #5 are all
done correctly. |