🔍 CryptoLense

Conceal What Matters — Next-Generation Steganography & Cryptography Suite

CryptoLense is a high-performance, modern GUI application combining military-grade cryptographic protection with multi-carrier steganography across Images, Audio, and Files.

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Warning

⚠️ Pre-Release Notice & Call for Feedback

CryptoLense is currently in active Pre-Release (Alpha) development. Certain advanced steganographic algorithms and multi-channel decoders are still undergoing optimization and security reviews. You may encounter edge cases or performance bottlenecks on large media files. We welcome contributions, bug reports, algorithmic enhancements, and UI polish!

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📑 Table of Contents

• ✨ Key Features
• 🖥️ User Interface & Experience
• 📂 Project Structure
• 🚀 Getting Started
  • Prerequisites
  • Installation
  • Running the Application
• 💡 How to Use
  • 🔒 Encryption & Hiding
  • 🔓 Decryption & Extraction
• 🗺️ Roadmap & Planned Improvements
• 🤝 Contributing
• ⚖️ Disclaimer & License

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✨ Key Features

• Multi-Carrier Steganography:
  • 🖼️ Image Carriers (PNG, BMP, WEBP, TIFF): Embed encrypted data into pixel bitplanes without visible artifacts.
  • 🎵 Audio Carriers (WAV): Sub-perceptual bitwise and frequency modulation preserving pristine waveform fidelity.
  • 📁 File & Document Payloads (PDF, DOCX, TXT, ZIP, CSV, XML): Conceal arbitrary binary files directly inside host containers.
• Multi-Layer Defense:
  • AES-256 (Fernet) Encryption layered with HMAC-SHA256 data integrity verification.
  • PBKDF2 Key Derivation with high-iteration salt expansion for optional passphrases.
  • Stealth Mode flag to strip signatures and bypass heuristic statistical scanners.
• Multiple Steganography Modes:
  • LSB (Least Significant Bit) 1-bit — Maximum visual/auditory stealth.
  • LSB 2-bit — High-density payload embedding.
  • Spread Spectrum — Pseudo-random bit dispersion across color channels.
• Cyberpunk / Glassmorphism UI:
  • Built natively with PySide6 / QtQuick (QML).
  • Fluid micro-animations, glassmorphic cards, sound effects, and real-time audio playback preview.

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🖥️ User Interface & Experience

• Clean Landing Screen: Minimalist launch portal with subtle entrance transitions and fast access to Encryption / Decryption suites.
• Unified 3-Tab Workspace:
  • 🖼️ Image View: Dynamic dimension inspection, aspect-ratio previews, and file diagnostics.
  • 📄 Document / File View: Filetype recognition with tailored dynamic iconography.
  • 🎵 Audio View: Built-in interactive waveform player with scrubbing controls and duration monitors.
• Sci-Fi Glow Processing Overlays: Visual feedback during compute-intensive cryptographic hashing and bitwise manipulation operations.

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📂 Project Structure

CryptoLense/
├── assets/
│   ├── fonts/            # Custom typography (Jockey One, Inter)
│   ├── icons/            # High-DPI SVG vector iconography
│   ├── images/           # Application branding & background textures
│   └── sounds/           # Interactive UI sound design
├── core/                 # Steganography & Crypto backend modules
├── gui/                  # Qt/QML bridge components
├── utils/
│   ├── helpers.py        # Path resolvers, formatting, and file helpers
│   └── __init__.py
├── Decrypt.qml           # Decryption engine view & extraction interface
├── Encrypt.qml           # Carrier selection, payload input & encoder interface
├── Main.qml              # Application window & navigation coordinator
├── main.py               # Application entry point & Qt/Python bridge
├── requirements.txt      # Python package dependencies
├── LICENSE               # GNU General Public License v3.0
└── README.md             # Project documentation

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🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher
• pip package manager
• Recommended: Virtual environment (venv or conda)

Installation

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/CryptoLense.git
   cd CryptoLense

2. Create & Activate Virtual Environment:

   # Windows (PowerShell)
   python -m venv venv
   .\venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
   
   # Linux / macOS
   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate

3. Install Dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

Running the Application

python main.py

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💡 How to Use

🔒 Encryption & Hiding

1. Launch the app and click Encrypt.
2. Select your carrier media category (Image, Files, or Audio).
3. Click Select Host to choose your carrier file.
4. Input your classified message into the Secret Message box OR select a Secret File.
5. (Optional) Check Encrypt with password and supply a secure passphrase.
6. Choose your Steganography Technique (e.g., LSB 2-bit or Spread Spectrum).
7. Toggle Stealth Mode if you wish to suppress metadata headers.
8. Click Encrypt and choose where to save the stego container.

🔓 Decryption & Extraction

1. From the home screen, click Decrypt.
2. Load the stego-bearing file into the matching tab.
3. If password-protected, toggle File is password protected and enter the secret key.
4. Click Decrypt. The extracted message will appear in the output viewport, or extracted files will prompt for a destination directory.

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🗺️ Roadmap & Planned Improvements

• Adaptive Edge Steganography: Implement PVD (Pixel Value Differencing) and Edge-based LSB for resistance against Chi-Square steganalysis.
• Deep Video Carrier Support: Frame-by-frame temporal embedding for .mp4 and .mkv files.
• Hardware Acceleration: GPU-accelerated embedding using OpenCL/CUDA for massive multi-gigabyte files.
• Cross-Platform Installer: Standalone pre-compiled binaries for Windows (.exe), macOS (.dmg), and Linux (.AppImage).
• Steganalysis Resistance Benchmark: Built-in visual histogram analyzer and RS-analysis test suite to preview detectability scores.

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are what make the open-source community an incredible place to learn, inspire, and create. Any contributions you make are greatly appreciated.

1. Fork the Project
2. Create your Feature Branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your Changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the Branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

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⚖️ Disclaimer & License

Disclaimer: CryptoLense is intended for educational, privacy preservation, and research purposes only. Users are solely responsible for compliance with relevant local laws regarding data encryption and transmission.

Distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3). See LICENSE for more details.

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_{Built with ❤️ by Siddhesh Patil and the CryptoLense Contributors}