Scrambls is a little different from most web services. It is not just a website. It uses a plug-in to your browser which adds the scrambls feature to your browsing experience no matter what site you are on. Once installed the plug-in is accessed through the browser toolbar. It is also working in the background to automatically scrambl and descrambl posts according to your profile.
Getting started is easy. First, check your system requirements, then create a scrambls account and install the plug-in. Finally, make your first post.
By simply starting with our sign-up page you should be quickly led through these steps.
Scrambls works on PC, Mac and Linux with all major browsers except Internet Explorer (we're working on it). See the table below. If you do not have one of these browsers installed please select one and follow the instructions on the respective host sites. If you are unsure, select Firefox if you are on a PC. Mac's all have Safari pre-installed so that's the easiest option.
| browser | link | notes |
|---|---|---|
| Firefox by Mozilla | http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/ | Firefox calls plug in software an "add-on". You can manage add-ons from the main firefox menu. |
| Chrome by Google | www.google.com/chrome | Note that the chrome extension shows up as a single scrambls icon in the toolbar. Click it to access the scrambls functionality |
| Safari by Apple | www.apple.com/safari/download/ | |
| Firefox on Android | firefox.com/m | A special version of the Firefox browser, called Fennec, can run on Android 2.0 or better. You can find firefox in the android store. Note that this is beta release software. |
You sign-up for a scrambls account with our sign-up page. You only need to provide and email address and a password. The email address is your unique identifier. This is how other people can reference you as a member of their scrambls groups.
You also need to check the "I agree" box to accept our terms of service and type in the letters and numerals from the "captcha" image. Captcha's are used throughout the web as a simple way to guard against the auto-creation of accounts by rogue servers.
After submitting the sign-up form you will receive an email at the specified address. This is to confirm that you in fact have access this email address. Click the link in the email to confirm your account.
NOTE: We will soon be adding support for other identifiers, such as a Facebook id, as well as the ability to assign multiple identifiers to one account.
On confirming your email address you will be presented with the option to install the plug-in appropriate for your browser. You can always return this selection by going to our downloads page.
If an option to download is not available then we don't yet support your browser. Please contact customer support and let us know what browser you are trying to use.
After installing the plug-in you need to log in to scrambls to connect to your account. Click the scrambls icon and enter the email address and password you provided when creating the account. If you do not yet have an account you can create one with our sign-up page.
Once signed in for the first time the scrambls icon in your toolbar should be green. This means it will automatically scrambls your posts. The default group should be everyone which means that all scrambls users will be able to read your posts. This is discussed in more detail in using the toolbar.
Now, go to facebook.com/scrambls and post your greeting on our wall! We want to hear from you. You can also choose any other site that as a post entry box.
The toolbar looks a little different in each browser, but in all cases there are just two controls to understand:
Connection state is indicated by the color of the scrambls icon as follows:
| icon | behavior |
|---|---|
| When the icon is grey scrambls is off. You will not be able to read or post scrambls messages. To turn scrambls off, click the scrambls icon in the toolbar and select "sign out". | |
| When the icon is green scrambls is on and set to automatically scrambl your posts. When you are signed into scrambls you can select this mode by clicking the scrambls icon in the toolbar and choosing "scrambl all text" | |
| When the icon is yellow scrambls is on but will only scrambl text that is surrounded by "@@" markers, for example, the secret is @@abracadabra@@. |
Whatever state you select will stay in effect across all sites and browser sessions until you log out or select a different mode.
The group selector determines who can access your scrambls once posted. The default is "everyone" meaning that anyone with a scrambls account will see your posts decoded.
Upon first installing scrambls there are two groups available: "everyone" and "only me". As you can guess, only me is the opposite of everyone. If the group is set to only me, no one will be able to read your posts.
You can add groups to the selector either by defining your own or joining existing user groups. To manage your groups click the scrambls icon in your toolbar and select "settings", or simply go to scrambls.com and log in.
This is discussed further in managing groups.
Note that you can change the group governing one of your posts by right-clicking on the post and selecting "Change scrambls group"
In scrambls a group is a collection of membership rules. At its simplest this is just a list of users, identified by their email addresses. With advanced terms, however, you can specify date restrictions, secret passphrases, exclusions and much more to come.
To create a group log in to the scrambls website and click "create group". All groups need a name and a description. The name needs to be unique within your account and memorably describe the purpose and membership of this group. The description is only important if the group is made public. More on this below.
The rules of membership is what a group is all about. On the create group page you can enter a set of email addresses, comma separated, or even just domains, such as *@scrambls.com. Anyone in this list (and also a scrambls user) is considered a member. Members can read posts published to this group.
A public group is a group that can be joined by its members. By joining a group you add the group to your scrambls toolbar selector and can post back to other members. Public groups are also listed in our groups directory.
You can see a list of all the groups you have created or joined by logging into the scrambls website and clicking "manage groups".
Click a group in the groups table to change it's name, description or rules of membership.
Deleting a group you own will remove it from scrambls. Be careful with this. All posts published under this group will revert to being readable only to the original author.
Deleting a group you have joined will simply remove it from your list of groups and the toolbar selector.
You can join a group if the rules of membership include you. By joining a group you simply add the group to your toolbar group selector thus enabling you to post back to other members.
One of the more powerful features of scrambls is that you can return previously posted content and change who can view it. Simply right-click on the post when logged in to scrambls and select "Change scrambls group". For example, if you change a post from the "everyone" group to the "only me" group, you have effectively removed that post from circulation.
There's currently very little information in your profile. We hope to keep it this way.
When you log in to scrambls on our website you will see a link in the upper left to "manage profile". The only thing you can do on this page is change your screen name. This is the name that is displayed to other users when they come across your public groups. By default, your screenname is the same as the email address you used to create the account.
The scramblpad is a simple utility for creating and translating scrambls when there is no automatic handler like the scrambls browser plug-in.
You access the scramblpad by logging in to your account at scrambls.com. Simply cut and paste the text of your message, set the toggle for whether you are scrambling or descrambling and click "go".
Note that the scramblpad currently only creates scrambls under the "everyone" group.
To turn of scrambls simply logout of your account. You can do this by clicking the scrambls icon in the browser toolbar and selecting "sign out". Scrambls will remain signed out until you log in again.
Note that you can temporarily disable scrambls simply by clicking the scrambls icon in the toolbar and selecting "sign out".
Firefox: Locate the firefox tools menu and select "add-ons". This is directly accessible through the firefox menu in the upper right of your browser window or by pressing "alt" on windows pc's.
On the add-ons manager page navigate to "extensions", locate "scrambls" and click remove. You will need to restart your browser.
Chrome: Click on the wrench icon in the upper right of your browser and select "settings" from the menu
On the Chrome settings page select "Extensions" from the left side menu
Locate scrambls and click on the trash icon to remove this extension.
Safari: Click on "Safari" in the Safari Application menu (on a Mac this is located in the upper left next to the Apple icon).
From the preferences window select "Extensions" in the top menu and then locate and click on "scrambls" from the list of extensions.
Click "unininstall" to remove scrambls from the browser.
Do you support Internet Explorer?
Not yet, but we recognize that we need to support all major browsers. Unfortunately IE is quite different architecturally than the other three so it's taking a bit more time.
How is scrambls free?
Scrambls is like many other web services in that the basic service is free while premium features are paid for. Premium features have not yet been released.
What kind of encryption are you using?
Scrambls uses a custom algorithm that is optimized for use with social media platforms. Please see the technology section of the about page.
Who is Wave Systems?
Wave (http://wave.com) is the a leading provider of client and server software for hardware-based digital security. For over twenty years Wave has pioneered security solutions which make the use of technology more trustworthy. Scrambls is a division of Wave Systems.
Does scrambls work on all web sites?
Yes, the scrambls plug-in is designed to work generically with the HTML of a web page rather than the specific layout of one or more sites. However, we cannot test with every website so there may be anomalies. Please let us know if you see problems using a specific site.
Do you plan to support iPhone, Android?
Yes, though mobile devices are a bit different because, unlike web browsers, they generally don't have a plug-in architecture. We will be providing our own apps for reading scrambls on the most popular networks. We are also seeking to have app developer integrate directly with scrambls. See http://developer.scrambls.com for more information.
Where can I discuss support issues? Do you have a forum?
Yes, please visit our community page for links to scrambls discussion groups.
Can I use scrambls with my Microsoft outlook email?
Not yet, but we are hoping to enable as many client environments as possible. If you are a developer and would like to integrate scrambls into a favorite application, please see http://developer.scrambls.com.
Can I use scrambls for my company?
Yes, we will soon be releasing features that enable professional organizations of all sorts to employ scrambls efficiently within their business processes.
Are there any export restrictions?
Scrambls has received a commodity classification from the United States Department of Commerce and is therefore eligible for export with No License Required (NLR) to any end-user in all countries of the world except Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.