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Finally, some editors support a macro language capability so that you can make a file out of a series of commands and apply this canned script quickly to a bunch of cards. In this mode, a smart card editor can be used for small-batch card personalization.

In spite of international standards, there is wide variation in the commands and command responses of cards from different manufacturers and even among cards from the same manufacturer. No smart card editor could be expected to know all the existing cards let alone keep track of new cards. Therefore, the most handy smart card editors read the description of the smart card (and in some cases the smart card reader) from a text file external to the editor itself. Such a smart card description language capability lets you add new cards to the capabilities of your editor without having to wait for the editor’s author to get around to including the card in the suite of cards the editor understands. Unless you are always going to be working with the same smart card, you will want to be able to customize your smart card editor to handle new smart cards.

While there are interoperability standards for the commands supported by smart cards, primarily ISO 7816-4, a particular card is not obliged to implement all commands and may, in addition, implement commands that are unique to the card or to the company producing the card. As a result, all but the most primitive formatters include a way of describing cards and commands they support. (See Table 6.1.)

Table 6.1. Smart card browsing, editing, and formatting programs.
Product Company Telephone WWW Email

AviSIM Toolbox AU-Systems +468 726-7500 www.ausys.com ahg@ausys.se
Bsmart 3-GI +1 757 564-1834 www.3gi.com kit@3gi.com
CardEdit Aladdin Systems +972 3 636-2222 www.aks.com sales@aks.com
EZ Formatter Strategic Analysis +1 703 527-5410 www.sainc.com info@sainc.com
WinPractis Schlumberger +1 609 234-8000 www.slb.com/et smartcards@slb.com

EZ Formatter by Strategic Analysis, Inc.

EZ Formatter is a Windows 95 program that can browse, edit, and format smart cards in serial (COM) and PCMCIA smart card readers. Buttons on the toolbar let you turn the reader’s power on, reset the card, present authentication keys, change the program configuration, select and delete files on the card, and examine the log of the bytes that have been sent to and received from the card. It also contains a status message box that shows various status codes returned by the card. Figure 6.1 shows the main toolbar of EZ Formatter.


Figure 6.1.  The EZ Formatter toolbar.

Another status display, at the bottom of the program’s window, displays in both hexadecimal digits and in descriptive text the data and SW1 and SW2 condition codes returned by the card. Figure 6.2 shows the status display of EZ Formatter.


Figure 6.2.  The status display window of EZ Formatter.

Since smart cards maintain state, it is often convenient to review the entire sequence of commands that have been sent to a smart card along with the responses of the card to these commands. The log facility of EZ Formatter always contains a complete record of the traffic between the card and the host. Figure 6.3 shows the log display.


Figure 6.3.  The EZ Formatter log window.

In a typical editing session, you will be creating and deleting files from the card, so let’s take a look at the authorizations on the master file, 3F00, by selecting this directory and clicking the View Attributes toolbar button. Figure 6.4 shows the file attributes display of the Multiflex 3K master file.


Figure 6.4.  The EZ Formatter Attributes window.

You have to present the external authentication key in order to make any changes in the master file, so select the Security Manager toolbar button and enter Key 1, the Multiflex external authentication key. Figure 6.5 shows this interaction.


Figure 6.5.  The EZ Formatter Security Manager window.

The latest version of EZ Formatter contains seven interaction windows that are accessed using tabs. Four of these modules—Builder, Editor, Card Controls, and Advanced Controls—can be used with any smart card. One module, Purse, is appropriate primarily for cards containing electronic purses. The remaining two, Encryption (Cryptoflex) and LoadSolo (Cyberflex), are specific to particular smart cards from Schlumberger. Figure 6.6 shows the Builder module interface.


Figure 6.6.  The EZ Formatter builder window.


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