New Features

• Vault Format v2: The data storage structure has been made more secure. The key is now derived directly from the master password, and the recovery key is no longer stored in the file.
• Stronger Password Derivation: PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA-512 is now used with 210,000 iterations, providing stronger protection against password guessing and cracking attacks.
• Longer Master Password Support: The master password limit has been increased from 32 to 128 characters. The minimum length is set to 12 characters. Long passwords are securely handled.
• Login Attempt Throttling: After 3 failed login attempts, a 30-second cooldown is enforced. The same protection applies to incorrect password attempts during .astel imports.
• Automatic Locking: The application automatically locks after 5 minutes of inactivity. Sensitive data is cleared from memory, and the master password is required to regain access. Activity in secondary windows, such as the password generator and password change dialogs, is also tracked.
• Secure Record Operations: Add, update, and delete operations are first written to a temporary file before replacing the main file. This reduces the risk of vault corruption if the application crashes.
• Secure Backups: Backup files are created using unpredictable GUID-based names, with the total number of backups limited to 30.
• Memory Cleanup: When the application is closed or locked, the master key, password fields, and other sensitive data are cleared from memory.
• Clipboard Security: Sensitive data copied by the application is cleared from the clipboard when the application closes. Content copied to the clipboard by other applications is not affected.
• Single Instance: Running multiple instances of the application simultaneously is prevented, avoiding potential write conflicts on the same vault.
• Password Change Process: When the master password is changed, all data is decrypted using the old password and re-encrypted with the new password. Progress is displayed during the process.
• Improved Password Generator: The password generation algorithm has been completely redesigned. It now provides a more secure, modern, and standards-compliant password generation experience, with configurable lengths from 8 to 48 characters.
• Longer Record Fields: Service, email, and password fields now support up to 128 characters.
• Safer Connections: Only HTTP and HTTPS connections are allowed. Dangerous connection types such as file:// and cmd are blocked, and invalid links are removed during CSV imports.
• Safer .astel Imports: The source vault password is verified when importing .astel files. If the password is incorrect, the operation is cancelled and existing data remains protected.
• .astel Import Attempt Throttling: Incorrect password attempts during imports are limited with a 30-second cooldown after 3 failed attempts.
• Safer .astel Overwrites: When existing records are about to be overwritten, additional user confirmation is required, with a clear warning that existing data may be deleted.
• CSV Import Security: CSV data is validated before import. Invalid or empty files can no longer accidentally cause existing vault data to be deleted.
• CSV Overwrite Backup: An additional backup of the existing vault is created before CSV data overwrites existing records.
• CSV Formula Protection: Values beginning with characters such as =, +, -, and @ are sanitized during export to prevent them from being interpreted as formulas by applications such as Excel.
• CSV Multiline Field Support: Multiline fields such as notes are preserved correctly during import and export.
• CSV Export Warning: Users are informed that CSV files are plain-text files and that their contents remain readable.
• Corrupted Data Warning: Unreadable or undecryptable records in the vault are no longer silently skipped. Users are informed of the number of records that could not be loaded.
• Password Generator Memory Cleanup: When the password generator is closed, the generated password is cleared and is no longer left in the form.
• Safer Password Visibility: The master password is hidden by default on the login screen.
• TS Custom Control Module Update: The module has been updated to v26.10 with next-generation features, performance improvements, optimizations, and various enhancements.

Bug Fixes

• Device Matching Issue: Fixed an issue that could automatically delete data when device matching failed. Updates are now performed only with user confirmation.
• Corrupted Records Blocking Operations: Fixed an issue where undecryptable or corrupted records could prevent new records from being added or updated. Corrupted records are now safely skipped during duplicate checks.
• Password Field After Failed Login: The password field is now automatically cleared after an incorrect password attempt, preventing the incorrect password from remaining visible during the lockout period.
• Password Generator UI: Fixed a UI issue that caused some letters to be underlined when a password was generated.
• [TS Updater] Stability And Performance Improvements: Fixed startup and shutdown issues caused by missing settings or language files. Optimized the interface during downloads to prevent slowdowns with large updates and prevented unnecessary internet checks. Also fixed an issue where additional parameters could interfere with application selection when launching with the -app= parameter.

Changes

• Session System Removed: AstelSession.ini is no longer created, and DPAPI protection is no longer used. The application now displays the login or setup screen based on the state of the data file, and the vault is always protected by the master password.
• Legacy Vault Format Removed: v1 vault files are no longer supported. A clear error message is displayed, and CSV export/import can be used for migration.
• Improved Master Key Management: All access to the master key is now performed under a single lock, improving data consistency during concurrent operations.
• Code Cleanup: Unused functions, controls, and settings have been removed, simplifying the codebase and making it easier to maintain.
• Improved Memory Management: The password masking event handler is now subscribed only once, and the automatic lock timer releases its resources when the form is closed.
• Enhanced Clipboard Clearing: Clipboard clearing now works safely even when triggered from a background thread.
• Update File Security: During updates, only old files located within the application's own directory can be deleted.
• Password Generator Result Cleanup: When the password generator is closed, the generated password is cleared from both the form and memory.

New Features

• Startup Performance Improved: PBKDF2, previously used for AES key derivation, has been replaced with HKDF. As a result, the key derivation process, which previously took approximately 200 ms during startup, is now instantaneous.
• Login and Registration Performance Improved: Reduced the PBKDF2 iteration count used during authentication from 210,000 to 100,000, allowing login and registration operations to complete more quickly.
• Password Change Performance Improved: The operations performed during password changes have been parallelized, reducing the overall processing time by approximately half.
• Updated Service List: The service list has been updated for 2026. Unused and unnecessary services have been removed, resulting in a cleaner and more up-to-date list.
• Import Compatibility Validation: Added a new validation mechanism that checks file compatibility before the import process begins, preventing unsupported or incompatible files from being processed.
• Language Management Engine Updated: The Language Management Engine has been updated to correctly identify and process different variants of the same language.
• HEX Color Support: Added a new module to the Theme Management Engine that enables support for HEX color codes, making it easier to customize interface colors and perform precise color adjustments.
• Light and Dark Themes Redesigned: The light and dark themes have been redesigned with a modern color palette.
• Table View Improved: Increased the font size within tables and optimized column widths based on content length, resulting in a more readable and organized presentation of data.

Bug Fixes

• Incompatible .astel File Crash Issue: Fixed an issue that caused the application to crash when an incompatible .astel file was dragged and dropped into the program.
• RandomNumberGenerator Resource Management Fix: Fixed a resource management issue where the RandomNumberGenerator instance was not properly disposed when the form was closed.
• Language Selection Issue Resolved: Fixed an issue that caused the software to select the wrong language in scenarios where multiple languages are used within the same country.
• [TS Updater] File Download Issue Resolved: Fixed a connection timeout issue that caused file downloads to be interrupted after 7 seconds. Downloads are now performed over a separate connection, eliminating this time limit.
• [TS Updater] Concurrent Access Issue Resolved: Fixed potential access conflicts that could occur when multiple operations were performed simultaneously, providing a more reliable concurrent processing architecture.

Changes

• Password Hashing Algorithm Updated: The SHA-512 algorithm previously used for password hashing has been replaced with SHA-256. As a result, the hash output size has been reduced from 64 bytes to 32 bytes.
• AES Key Derivation Infrastructure Updated: PBKDF2 has been replaced with HKDF, a faster key derivation mechanism, for the AES key derivation process.
• Iteration Management Centralized: The iteration values used in security operations have been moved to centralized constants, allowing them to be managed from a single location and updated more easily in the future.

Planned Innovations

• Future Plans: We plan to completely redesign Astel's password management and security infrastructure. While the current system already provides a solid level of security, it does not yet fully meet the robust and modern architecture we aim to deliver. For this reason, we will rebuild the infrastructure from the ground up to create a solution that is more secure, more maintainable, and more resilient. This process requires significant time and effort, but it is one of our highest priorities and will definitely be implemented.

New Features

• Next-Generation Stability with a 100% Thread-Safe Architecture: Astel's core infrastructure has been completely redesigned with a fully thread-safe architecture. By preserving data integrity during concurrent operations and eliminating race conditions, it delivers stable, reliable, and highly scalable performance even under heavy workloads.
• Windows 11 26H2 and Windows Server Support: Astel now provides preliminary support for Windows 11 26H2. In addition, Windows Server 2022 and all later versions are officially supported.
• Optimized Theme Engine: The color management infrastructure has been simplified by removing unnecessary overhead. This reduces memory usage while delivering a smoother and more responsive user interface.
• TS Custom Graphics UI Library v26.8 Update: Our proprietary graphics library has been upgraded to version 26.8, improving overall stability while providing more accurate scaling and consistent rendering across a much wider range of display resolutions and monitor configurations.

Bug Fixes

• Import Logic Error Fix: Resolved a critical logic error where selecting "Cancel" during the merge prompt incorrectly overwrote existing data instead of aborting the import process, while also triggering a false success notification.
• CSV Import Fix: Resolved a critical issue that caused HMAC verification to fail when importing CSV files if the "No" option was selected during the import process.

Changes

• New Minimum OS Requirement: With the transition to a modern architecture, the minimum supported operating system for Astel is now Windows 10 22H2 (64-bit).
• About Section Image Refresh: The artwork used in the About section has been updated to match the design language shared across other Türkaysoft applications. While each application retains its own color identity, this unified design will be used throughout the Türkaysoft software lineup during 2026.

New Features

• The bootstrapping algorithm has been completely redesigned. The software can now launch directly without requiring TS Preloader. As part of this change, the startup splash screen displayed during initialization has been removed. In addition, spikes in CPU usage have been eliminated, resulting in a more stable architecture with significantly lower memory consumption.
• The Secure Password Generator has been enhanced to consistently satisfy all password complexity requirements, including uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters, with every generated password.
• A user-friendly error reporting system has been integrated into Astel's encryption and decryption module. As a result, potential errors are now presented in a clearer and more understandable manner, making troubleshooting significantly easier.
• The import system has been completely redesigned. When importing or dragging and dropping ".astel" or ".csv" files, Astel now detects existing data and offers two options: Merge or Overwrite. With the Merge option, existing records are analyzed and only missing entries are imported, while duplicate records are automatically skipped. With the Overwrite option, all existing data is cleared before the new data is imported.
• The Add Password workflow has been improved. When attempting to add a password for a service that already contains the same Email Address or Username, users are now warned before the entry is created, preventing duplicate records and helping maintain data integrity.
• A new selection control system has been introduced to improve usability. Pressing the ESC key while any item is selected now instantly clears the current selection, providing a faster, cleaner, and more efficient user experience.
• The TS Custom Controls module has been updated to v26.7. Thanks to the new custom controls, all Türkaysoft applications now offer a more modern and consistent user interface aligned with Windows 11 design standards.

Bug Fixes

• A critical cryptographic issue that could cause import operations from "*.astel" files to fail has been resolved.
• A logic flaw and security vulnerability in the Secure Password Generator have been fixed. Under certain conditions, the issue could cause the leading characters of generated passwords to remain unchanged across multiple generations.
• A critical issue affecting the Overwrite option during data imports has been fixed. Previously, when existing data was detected, selecting Overwrite could cause records to be appended repeatedly instead of replacing the existing data. The import process now correctly clears existing records before importing new data.
• Several issues within the CSV processing infrastructure have been resolved. Full compatibility has been added for Windows (\r\n), legacy (\r), and standard (\n) line-ending formats, ensuring reliable processing of CSV files created on different platforms. The escaping and quotation-handling mechanisms have also been redesigned, significantly improving stability and accuracy when parsing quoted data. In addition, optimizations to the text generation infrastructure have improved overall CSV processing performance.
• A selection management issue that caused the first row in the list to be automatically reselected after deleting an entry has been fixed. This improvement provides a more consistent and predictable user experience following delete operations.
• An issue that could result in an unwanted blank line being added to the end of exported CSV files has been resolved.
• A bug that prevented the Desktop directory from being selected as the default location during CSV export operations has been fixed.

Changes

• The password length generated by the Secure Password Generator has been adjusted to a range of 12–16 characters.
• The symbol sets used across all password generation modes within the Password Generator have been updated to improve compatibility across different systems and applications.
• The Donation page can now be accessed using the CTRL + Alt + D keyboard shortcut.
• [TS Updater] Before the update process begins, users are now prompted to choose whether they would like to view the release notes.

New Features

• Session data is now encrypted using DPAPI (Windows Data Protection API). As a result, the data can only be decrypted by the same user account on the same machine. This restriction does not apply to manually backed-up data.
• The PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512 mechanism used to protect against brute-force attacks has been strengthened with 210,000 iterations and salt-based key derivation.
• Data masking and reference-clearing techniques have been improved to provide additional protection against memory analysis and shoulder-surfing attacks.
• The password generation engine has been completely redesigned. The cryptographically secure "RandomNumberGenerator" now replaces "System.Random". Rejection Sampling has been implemented to eliminate modulo bias, while the Fisher–Yates Shuffle algorithm enhances character randomization security. Passwords are guaranteed to contain at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one digit, and one symbol. The random password length range has also been increased to 10–18 characters.
• An automatic clipboard clearing feature has been added for copied passwords. If no other content is copied within 30 seconds, the password is automatically removed from the clipboard.
• Password data is now displayed in a masked (●) format within the table. This provides an additional layer of protection against screenshots and other visual information disclosure methods. The display mode can be switched between plain text and masked view using the Password Masking option in the top menu.
• Memory security has been improved. ClearSecureTextBox now removes unnecessary references to sensitive data from memory.
• A SemaphoreSlim-based locking and timeout mechanism has been added to prevent thread race conditions.
• A validation algorithm has been introduced for both new record creation and existing record updates. Duplicate records can no longer be added, and unnecessary update operations are prevented when no actual changes have been made.
• You can now navigate between records using the Up and Down arrow keys, significantly improving usability.
• The TS Preloader loading bar has been rebuilt using our modern TS Custom Controls graphics library, developed entirely in-house. As a result of this infrastructure upgrade, the loading bar now features smooth rendering and rounded corners that align with the visual style of Windows 11.
• [TS Updater] A new validation algorithm has been added to check whether the target application is currently running before the update process begins.

Bug Fixes

• Stability issues related to the automatic backup system have been resolved. A maximum limit of 30 backups has been introduced. Timestamped file names are now used to prevent naming conflicts. Concurrent backup operations are serialized through a locking mechanism, and a 5-second timeout has been added to prevent potential waiting issues during backup cancellation.
• Fixed an issue in TS Preloader where the password visibility state on the login screen was not reset to a valid value when an invalid state was detected.
• Resolved a condition that could prevent TS Preloader from shutting down safely during rare application crash scenarios.
• [TS Updater] Fixed an issue that could prevent the updated application's executable "*.exe" file from being located after the update process.
• [TS Updater] Fixed a bug that could leave outdated "*.sha256" files in the application directory after an update.
• [TS Updater] Fixed a rare issue that could cause subfolders to be moved into the root directory after an update.
• [TS Updater] Fixed an issue during the first launch that could cause flickering and a temporary white window appearance due to Windows Defender interactions.

Changes

• The confirmation dialogs displayed by the Update and Delete buttons now provide more detailed information, helping to prevent accidental data loss.
• The automatic backup system has been redesigned to keep disk usage under control.
• The service list has been simplified for a cleaner and more streamlined experience.
• A small improvement has been made to the internet connectivity detection algorithm. Connectivity checks are now performed in the background with minimal impact on the user interface thread.
• The keyboard shortcuts in the top menu have been reorganized and simplified to provide a consistent experience across all Türkaysoft applications and to avoid potential conflicts with standard Windows shortcuts.
• The TS Preloader splash image has been updated with a Türkiye-themed stadium design to celebrate Türkiye's qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup—its first appearance in 24 years. Congratulations, Türkiye!
• The TS Custom Controls module has been updated to version 26.6, delivering improved stability and a more polished visual appearance.
• [TS Updater] The application icon has been redesigned to provide a more modern and refined look.

New Features

• A built-in update system has been integrated into Astel. New versions can now be updated directly from within the application without the need to manually download them from GitHub or the website. The update component is included in the package as TSUpdater.exe. When a new version is released, you will receive a notification; by selecting "Yes", you can open the update tool to view the release notes and start the update.
• The key generation system has been strengthened. The old method was removed and replaced with a more secure and modern architecture. Encryption and authentication keys have been completely separated. This has enhanced protection against brute-force and key-guessing attacks.
• Protection against timing-based attacks has been added. Plaintext comparisons during login and password change operations have been removed. Instead, a secure comparison method that operates in a fixed time has been implemented. This prevents attacks that attempt to extract data by analyzing transaction durations.
• Memory security has been improved. After encryption and decryption operations are completed, sensitive data is automatically cleared from memory. This reduces the risk of data extraction through memory scanning.
• The internet connection and update checking infrastructure have been rewritten to meet modern standards. The system now operates in a more up-to-date, stable, and reliable manner.
• The TSImageRenderer and ResizeImageToDeviceDpi algorithms have been updated. The image processing and resizing processes have been optimized to provide a structure that delivers sharper results and more efficient memory usage.

Bug Fixes

• The distribution error in random text generation has been fixed. The issue that caused certain characters to be selected less frequently than others has been resolved. All characters are now generated with equal probability.
• The risk of file corruption has been reduced. Saving operations have been made more secure. Data is first created temporarily and then modified securely. This reduces the risk of data loss in the event of sudden shutdowns or crashes.
• In the internet connection check, an issue that caused the system to detect "no connection" even though internet access was available due to the connection endpoint has been resolved.
• In the update check algorithm, a cache-related issue that caused the system to report "no updates found" even when a new version was available has been fixed.
• Flickering and image distortion occurring during interface transitions and page scrolling on high-refresh-rate monitors have been fixed.
• Interface flickering that occurred during theme changes has been resolved.

Changes

• Our brand and distribution name have been updated. We are now operating under the name Türkaysoft. This means our website is now turkaysoft.com.
• The session security system has been simplified. Unnecessary dependencies have been removed, and the architecture has been made more stable. Since session data is already stored in a user-specific protected folder, the additional layer of protection has been simplified.
• Encryption settings have been clarified. The security parameters used during registration and setup have been clearly defined and strengthened.
• All dimension calculation algorithms have been updated to be compatible with Windows’ current calculation methods; results are now more consistent and standardized.

Removed Features

• The TS Wizard integration has been removed because it was not sufficiently functional and was not being used.

New Features

• Preliminary support for Windows 11 26H1 has been added.
• Astel's Visual Basic dependencies have been removed; the application now runs entirely in pure C#.
• We have implemented extensive accessibility improvements to enhance the experience for visually impaired users. Assistive technologies, such as screen readers, will now present content more accurately, consistently, and clearly while navigating within Astel.

Bug Fixes

• The issue causing TS Preloader to freeze and launch Astel when the loading progress reached 80% following the latest update has been resolved. Additionally, numerous minor bugs have been fixed, improving performance and stability. It is currently running smoothly.
• Issues caused by background tasks leading to race conditions and rare errors when the program is closed have been resolved. The shutdown process has been optimized for a more reliable workflow.
• The TS Custom Controls module has been updated to version 26.4, introducing various enhancements and bug fixes.
• A bug in the TSNaturalSortKey algorithm that produced incorrect results in table sorting for certain languages has been fixed.

Changes

• Unnecessary .NET Framework dependencies within Astel have been removed, thereby reducing the load on the system and minimizing unnecessary resource usage.
• Some changes and updates have been made to the language files.