diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 1285baf3..f557e3d8 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "openpgp",
   "description": "OpenPGP.js is a Javascript implementation of the OpenPGP protocol. This is defined in RFC 4880.",
-  "version": "0.4.0",
+  "version": "0.4.1-dev",
   "homepage": "http://openpgpjs.org/",
   "engines": {
     "node": ">=0.8"
diff --git a/src/crypto/hash/forge_sha256.js b/src/crypto/hash/forge_sha256.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6dad2271
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/crypto/hash/forge_sha256.js
@@ -0,0 +1,290 @@
+/**
+ * Secure Hash Algorithm with 256-bit digest (SHA-256) implementation.
+ *
+ * See FIPS 180-2 for details.
+ *
+ * This implementation is currently limited to message lengths (in bytes) that
+ * are up to 32-bits in size.
+ *
+ * @author Dave Longley
+ *
+ * Copyright (c) 2010-2012 Digital Bazaar, Inc.
+ */
+
+var sha256 = module.exports = {};
+var util = require('./forge_util.js');
+
+// sha-256 padding bytes not initialized yet
+var _padding = null;
+var _initialized = false;
+
+// table of constants
+var _k = null;
+
+/**
+ * Initializes the constant tables.
+ */
+var _init = function() {
+  // create padding
+  _padding = String.fromCharCode(128);
+  _padding += util.fillString(String.fromCharCode(0x00), 64);
+
+  // create K table for SHA-256
+  _k = [
+    0x428a2f98, 0x71374491, 0xb5c0fbcf, 0xe9b5dba5,
+    0x3956c25b, 0x59f111f1, 0x923f82a4, 0xab1c5ed5,
+    0xd807aa98, 0x12835b01, 0x243185be, 0x550c7dc3,
+    0x72be5d74, 0x80deb1fe, 0x9bdc06a7, 0xc19bf174,
+    0xe49b69c1, 0xefbe4786, 0x0fc19dc6, 0x240ca1cc,
+    0x2de92c6f, 0x4a7484aa, 0x5cb0a9dc, 0x76f988da,
+    0x983e5152, 0xa831c66d, 0xb00327c8, 0xbf597fc7,
+    0xc6e00bf3, 0xd5a79147, 0x06ca6351, 0x14292967,
+    0x27b70a85, 0x2e1b2138, 0x4d2c6dfc, 0x53380d13,
+    0x650a7354, 0x766a0abb, 0x81c2c92e, 0x92722c85,
+    0xa2bfe8a1, 0xa81a664b, 0xc24b8b70, 0xc76c51a3,
+    0xd192e819, 0xd6990624, 0xf40e3585, 0x106aa070,
+    0x19a4c116, 0x1e376c08, 0x2748774c, 0x34b0bcb5,
+    0x391c0cb3, 0x4ed8aa4a, 0x5b9cca4f, 0x682e6ff3,
+    0x748f82ee, 0x78a5636f, 0x84c87814, 0x8cc70208,
+    0x90befffa, 0xa4506ceb, 0xbef9a3f7, 0xc67178f2
+  ];
+
+  // now initialized
+  _initialized = true;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Updates a SHA-256 state with the given byte buffer.
+ *
+ * @param s the SHA-256 state to update.
+ * @param w the array to use to store words.
+ * @param bytes the byte buffer to update with.
+ */
+var _update = function(s, w, bytes) {
+  // consume 512 bit (64 byte) chunks
+  var t1, t2, s0, s1, ch, maj, i, a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h;
+  var len = bytes.length();
+  while (len >= 64) {
+    // the w array will be populated with sixteen 32-bit big-endian words
+    // and then extended into 64 32-bit words according to SHA-256
+    for (i = 0; i < 16; ++i) {
+      w[i] = bytes.getInt32();
+    }
+    for (; i < 64; ++i) {
+      // XOR word 2 words ago rot right 17, rot right 19, shft right 10
+      t1 = w[i - 2];
+      t1 =
+        ((t1 >>> 17) | (t1 << 15)) ^
+        ((t1 >>> 19) | (t1 << 13)) ^
+        (t1 >>> 10);
+      // XOR word 15 words ago rot right 7, rot right 18, shft right 3
+      t2 = w[i - 15];
+      t2 =
+        ((t2 >>> 7) | (t2 << 25)) ^
+        ((t2 >>> 18) | (t2 << 14)) ^
+        (t2 >>> 3);
+      // sum(t1, word 7 ago, t2, word 16 ago) modulo 2^32
+      w[i] = (t1 + w[i - 7] + t2 + w[i - 16]) & 0xFFFFFFFF;
+    }
+
+    // initialize hash value for this chunk
+    a = s.h0;
+    b = s.h1;
+    c = s.h2;
+    d = s.h3;
+    e = s.h4;
+    f = s.h5;
+    g = s.h6;
+    h = s.h7;
+
+    // round function
+    for (i = 0; i < 64; ++i) {
+      // Sum1(e)
+      s1 =
+        ((e >>> 6) | (e << 26)) ^
+        ((e >>> 11) | (e << 21)) ^
+        ((e >>> 25) | (e << 7));
+      // Ch(e, f, g) (optimized the same way as SHA-1)
+      ch = g ^ (e & (f ^ g));
+      // Sum0(a)
+      s0 =
+        ((a >>> 2) | (a << 30)) ^
+        ((a >>> 13) | (a << 19)) ^
+        ((a >>> 22) | (a << 10));
+      // Maj(a, b, c) (optimized the same way as SHA-1)
+      maj = (a & b) | (c & (a ^ b));
+
+      // main algorithm
+      t1 = h + s1 + ch + _k[i] + w[i];
+      t2 = s0 + maj;
+      h = g;
+      g = f;
+      f = e;
+      e = (d + t1) & 0xFFFFFFFF;
+      d = c;
+      c = b;
+      b = a;
+      a = (t1 + t2) & 0xFFFFFFFF;
+    }
+
+    // update hash state
+    s.h0 = (s.h0 + a) & 0xFFFFFFFF;
+    s.h1 = (s.h1 + b) & 0xFFFFFFFF;
+    s.h2 = (s.h2 + c) & 0xFFFFFFFF;
+    s.h3 = (s.h3 + d) & 0xFFFFFFFF;
+    s.h4 = (s.h4 + e) & 0xFFFFFFFF;
+    s.h5 = (s.h5 + f) & 0xFFFFFFFF;
+    s.h6 = (s.h6 + g) & 0xFFFFFFFF;
+    s.h7 = (s.h7 + h) & 0xFFFFFFFF;
+    len -= 64;
+  }
+};
+
+/**
+ * Creates a SHA-256 message digest object.
+ *
+ * @return a message digest object.
+ */
+sha256.create = function() {
+  // do initialization as necessary
+  if (!_initialized) {
+    _init();
+  }
+
+  // SHA-256 state contains eight 32-bit integers
+  var _state = null;
+
+  // input buffer
+  var _input = util.createBuffer();
+
+  // used for word storage
+  var _w = new Array(64);
+
+  // message digest object
+  var md = {
+    algorithm: 'sha256',
+    blockLength: 64,
+    digestLength: 32,
+    // length of message so far (does not including padding)
+    messageLength: 0
+  };
+
+  /**
+   * Starts the digest.
+   *
+   * @return this digest object.
+   */
+  md.start = function() {
+    md.messageLength = 0;
+    _input = util.createBuffer();
+    _state = {
+      h0: 0x6A09E667,
+      h1: 0xBB67AE85,
+      h2: 0x3C6EF372,
+      h3: 0xA54FF53A,
+      h4: 0x510E527F,
+      h5: 0x9B05688C,
+      h6: 0x1F83D9AB,
+      h7: 0x5BE0CD19
+    };
+    return md;
+  };
+  // start digest automatically for first time
+  md.start();
+
+  /**
+   * Updates the digest with the given message input. The given input can
+   * treated as raw input (no encoding will be applied) or an encoding of
+   * 'utf8' maybe given to encode the input using UTF-8.
+   *
+   * @param msg the message input to update with.
+   * @param encoding the encoding to use (default: 'raw', other: 'utf8').
+   *
+   * @return this digest object.
+   */
+  md.update = function(msg, encoding) {
+    if (encoding === 'utf8') {
+      msg = util.encodeUtf8(msg);
+    }
+
+    // update message length
+    md.messageLength += msg.length;
+
+    // add bytes to input buffer
+    _input.putBytes(msg);
+
+    // process bytes
+    _update(_state, _w, _input);
+
+    // compact input buffer every 2K or if empty
+    if (_input.read > 2048 || _input.length() === 0) {
+      _input.compact();
+    }
+
+    return md;
+  };
+
+  /**
+   * Produces the digest.
+   *
+   * @return a byte buffer containing the digest value.
+   */
+  md.digest = function() {
+    /* Note: Here we copy the remaining bytes in the input buffer and
+      add the appropriate SHA-256 padding. Then we do the final update
+      on a copy of the state so that if the user wants to get
+      intermediate digests they can do so. */
+
+    /* Determine the number of bytes that must be added to the message
+      to ensure its length is congruent to 448 mod 512. In other words,
+      a 64-bit integer that gives the length of the message will be
+      appended to the message and whatever the length of the message is
+      plus 64 bits must be a multiple of 512. So the length of the
+      message must be congruent to 448 mod 512 because 512 - 64 = 448.
+
+      In order to fill up the message length it must be filled with
+      padding that begins with 1 bit followed by all 0 bits. Padding
+      must *always* be present, so if the message length is already
+      congruent to 448 mod 512, then 512 padding bits must be added. */
+
+    // 512 bits == 64 bytes, 448 bits == 56 bytes, 64 bits = 8 bytes
+    // _padding starts with 1 byte with first bit is set in it which
+    // is byte value 128, then there may be up to 63 other pad bytes
+    var len = md.messageLength;
+    var padBytes = util.createBuffer();
+    padBytes.putBytes(_input.bytes());
+    padBytes.putBytes(_padding.substr(0, 64 - ((len + 8) % 64)));
+
+    /* Now append length of the message. The length is appended in bits
+      as a 64-bit number in big-endian order. Since we store the length
+      in bytes, we must multiply it by 8 (or left shift by 3). So here
+      store the high 3 bits in the low end of the first 32-bits of the
+      64-bit number and the lower 5 bits in the high end of the second
+      32-bits. */
+    padBytes.putInt32((len >>> 29) & 0xFF);
+    padBytes.putInt32((len << 3) & 0xFFFFFFFF);
+    var s2 = {
+      h0: _state.h0,
+      h1: _state.h1,
+      h2: _state.h2,
+      h3: _state.h3,
+      h4: _state.h4,
+      h5: _state.h5,
+      h6: _state.h6,
+      h7: _state.h7
+    };
+    _update(s2, _w, padBytes);
+    var rval = util.createBuffer();
+    rval.putInt32(s2.h0);
+    rval.putInt32(s2.h1);
+    rval.putInt32(s2.h2);
+    rval.putInt32(s2.h3);
+    rval.putInt32(s2.h4);
+    rval.putInt32(s2.h5);
+    rval.putInt32(s2.h6);
+    rval.putInt32(s2.h7);
+    return rval;
+  };
+
+  return md;
+};
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/crypto/hash/forge_util.js b/src/crypto/hash/forge_util.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5c56a118
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/crypto/hash/forge_util.js
@@ -0,0 +1,836 @@
+/**
+ * Utility functions for web applications.
+ *
+ * @author Dave Longley
+ *
+ * Copyright (c) 2010-2012 Digital Bazaar, Inc.
+ */
+
+/* Utilities API */
+var util = module.exports = {};
+
+// define isArray
+util.isArray = Array.isArray || function(x) {
+  return Object.prototype.toString.call(x) === '[object Array]';
+};
+
+// define isArrayBuffer
+util.isArrayBuffer = function(x) {
+  return typeof ArrayBuffer !== 'undefined' && x instanceof ArrayBuffer;
+};
+
+// define isArrayBufferView
+var _arrayBufferViews = [];
+if(typeof Int8Array !== 'undefined') {
+  _arrayBufferViews.push(Int8Array);
+}
+if(typeof Uint8Array !== 'undefined') {
+  _arrayBufferViews.push(Uint8Array);
+}
+if(typeof Uint8ClampedArray !== 'undefined') {
+  _arrayBufferViews.push(Uint8ClampedArray);
+}
+if(typeof Int16Array !== 'undefined') {
+  _arrayBufferViews.push(Int16Array);
+}
+if(typeof Uint16Array !== 'undefined') {
+  _arrayBufferViews.push(Uint16Array);
+}
+if(typeof Int32Array !== 'undefined') {
+  _arrayBufferViews.push(Int32Array);
+}
+if(typeof Uint32Array !== 'undefined') {
+  _arrayBufferViews.push(Uint32Array);
+}
+if(typeof Float32Array !== 'undefined') {
+  _arrayBufferViews.push(Float32Array);
+}
+if(typeof Float64Array !== 'undefined') {
+  _arrayBufferViews.push(Float64Array);
+}
+util.isArrayBufferView = function(x) {
+  for(var i = 0; i < _arrayBufferViews.length; ++i) {
+    if(x instanceof _arrayBufferViews[i]) {
+      return true;
+    }
+  }
+  return false;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Constructor for a byte buffer.
+ *
+ * @param [b] the bytes to wrap (either encoded as string, one byte per
+ *          character, or as an ArrayBuffer or Typed Array).
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer = function(b) {
+  // the data in this buffer
+  this.data = '';
+  // the pointer for reading from this buffer
+  this.read = 0;
+
+  if(typeof b === 'string') {
+    this.data = b;
+  }
+  else if(util.isArrayBuffer(b) || util.isArrayBufferView(b)) {
+    // convert native buffer to forge buffer
+    // FIXME: support native buffers internally instead
+    var arr = new Uint8Array(b);
+    try {
+      this.data = String.fromCharCode.apply(null, arr);
+    }
+    catch(e) {
+      for(var i = 0; i < arr.length; ++i) {
+        this.putByte(arr[i]);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets the number of bytes in this buffer.
+ *
+ * @return the number of bytes in this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.length = function() {
+  return this.data.length - this.read;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets whether or not this buffer is empty.
+ *
+ * @return true if this buffer is empty, false if not.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.isEmpty = function() {
+  return this.length() <= 0;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts a byte in this buffer.
+ *
+ * @param b the byte to put.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.putByte = function(b) {
+  this.data += String.fromCharCode(b);
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts a byte in this buffer N times.
+ *
+ * @param b the byte to put.
+ * @param n the number of bytes of value b to put.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.fillWithByte = function(b, n) {
+  b = String.fromCharCode(b);
+  var d = this.data;
+  while(n > 0) {
+    if(n & 1) {
+      d += b;
+    }
+    n >>>= 1;
+    if(n > 0) {
+      b += b;
+    }
+  }
+  this.data = d;
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts bytes in this buffer.
+ *
+ * @param bytes the bytes (as a UTF-8 encoded string) to put.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.putBytes = function(bytes) {
+  this.data += bytes;
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts a UTF-16 encoded string into this buffer.
+ *
+ * @param str the string to put.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.putString = function(str) {
+  this.data += util.encodeUtf8(str);
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts a 16-bit integer in this buffer in big-endian order.
+ *
+ * @param i the 16-bit integer.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.putInt16 = function(i) {
+  this.data +=
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 8 & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i & 0xFF);
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts a 24-bit integer in this buffer in big-endian order.
+ *
+ * @param i the 24-bit integer.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.putInt24 = function(i) {
+  this.data +=
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 16 & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 8 & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i & 0xFF);
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts a 32-bit integer in this buffer in big-endian order.
+ *
+ * @param i the 32-bit integer.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.putInt32 = function(i) {
+  this.data +=
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 24 & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 16 & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 8 & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i & 0xFF);
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts a 16-bit integer in this buffer in little-endian order.
+ *
+ * @param i the 16-bit integer.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.putInt16Le = function(i) {
+  this.data +=
+    String.fromCharCode(i & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 8 & 0xFF);
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts a 24-bit integer in this buffer in little-endian order.
+ *
+ * @param i the 24-bit integer.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.putInt24Le = function(i) {
+  this.data +=
+    String.fromCharCode(i & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 8 & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 16 & 0xFF);
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts a 32-bit integer in this buffer in little-endian order.
+ *
+ * @param i the 32-bit integer.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.putInt32Le = function(i) {
+  this.data +=
+    String.fromCharCode(i & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 8 & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 16 & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 24 & 0xFF);
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts an n-bit integer in this buffer in big-endian order.
+ *
+ * @param i the n-bit integer.
+ * @param n the number of bits in the integer.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.putInt = function(i, n) {
+  do {
+    n -= 8;
+    this.data += String.fromCharCode((i >> n) & 0xFF);
+  }
+  while(n > 0);
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts a signed n-bit integer in this buffer in big-endian order. Two's
+ * complement representation is used.
+ *
+ * @param i the n-bit integer.
+ * @param n the number of bits in the integer.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.putSignedInt = function(i, n) {
+  if(i < 0) {
+    i += 2 << (n - 1);
+  }
+  return this.putInt(i, n);
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts the given buffer into this buffer.
+ *
+ * @param buffer the buffer to put into this one.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.putBuffer = function(buffer) {
+  this.data += buffer.getBytes();
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets a byte from this buffer and advances the read pointer by 1.
+ *
+ * @return the byte.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.getByte = function() {
+  return this.data.charCodeAt(this.read++);
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets a uint16 from this buffer in big-endian order and advances the read
+ * pointer by 2.
+ *
+ * @return the uint16.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.getInt16 = function() {
+  var rval = (
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read) << 8 ^
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read + 1));
+  this.read += 2;
+  return rval;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets a uint24 from this buffer in big-endian order and advances the read
+ * pointer by 3.
+ *
+ * @return the uint24.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.getInt24 = function() {
+  var rval = (
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read) << 16 ^
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read + 1) << 8 ^
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read + 2));
+  this.read += 3;
+  return rval;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets a uint32 from this buffer in big-endian order and advances the read
+ * pointer by 4.
+ *
+ * @return the word.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.getInt32 = function() {
+  var rval = (
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read) << 24 ^
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read + 1) << 16 ^
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read + 2) << 8 ^
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read + 3));
+  this.read += 4;
+  return rval;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets a uint16 from this buffer in little-endian order and advances the read
+ * pointer by 2.
+ *
+ * @return the uint16.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.getInt16Le = function() {
+  var rval = (
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read) ^
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read + 1) << 8);
+  this.read += 2;
+  return rval;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets a uint24 from this buffer in little-endian order and advances the read
+ * pointer by 3.
+ *
+ * @return the uint24.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.getInt24Le = function() {
+  var rval = (
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read) ^
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read + 1) << 8 ^
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read + 2) << 16);
+  this.read += 3;
+  return rval;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets a uint32 from this buffer in little-endian order and advances the read
+ * pointer by 4.
+ *
+ * @return the word.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.getInt32Le = function() {
+  var rval = (
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read) ^
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read + 1) << 8 ^
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read + 2) << 16 ^
+    this.data.charCodeAt(this.read + 3) << 24);
+  this.read += 4;
+  return rval;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets an n-bit integer from this buffer in big-endian order and advances the
+ * read pointer by n/8.
+ *
+ * @param n the number of bits in the integer.
+ *
+ * @return the integer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.getInt = function(n) {
+  var rval = 0;
+  do {
+    rval = (rval << 8) + this.data.charCodeAt(this.read++);
+    n -= 8;
+  }
+  while(n > 0);
+  return rval;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets a signed n-bit integer from this buffer in big-endian order, using
+ * two's complement, and advances the read pointer by n/8.
+ *
+ * @param n the number of bits in the integer.
+ *
+ * @return the integer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.getSignedInt = function(n) {
+  var x = this.getInt(n);
+  var max = 2 << (n - 2);
+  if(x >= max) {
+    x -= max << 1;
+  }
+  return x;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Reads bytes out into a UTF-8 string and clears them from the buffer.
+ *
+ * @param count the number of bytes to read, undefined or null for all.
+ *
+ * @return a UTF-8 string of bytes.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.getBytes = function(count) {
+  var rval;
+  if(count) {
+    // read count bytes
+    count = Math.min(this.length(), count);
+    rval = this.data.slice(this.read, this.read + count);
+    this.read += count;
+  }
+  else if(count === 0) {
+    rval = '';
+  }
+  else {
+    // read all bytes, optimize to only copy when needed
+    rval = (this.read === 0) ? this.data : this.data.slice(this.read);
+    this.clear();
+  }
+  return rval;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets a UTF-8 encoded string of the bytes from this buffer without modifying
+ * the read pointer.
+ *
+ * @param count the number of bytes to get, omit to get all.
+ *
+ * @return a string full of UTF-8 encoded characters.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.bytes = function(count) {
+  return (typeof(count) === 'undefined' ?
+    this.data.slice(this.read) :
+    this.data.slice(this.read, this.read + count));
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets a byte at the given index without modifying the read pointer.
+ *
+ * @param i the byte index.
+ *
+ * @return the byte.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.at = function(i) {
+  return this.data.charCodeAt(this.read + i);
+};
+
+/**
+ * Puts a byte at the given index without modifying the read pointer.
+ *
+ * @param i the byte index.
+ * @param b the byte to put.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.setAt = function(i, b) {
+  this.data = this.data.substr(0, this.read + i) +
+    String.fromCharCode(b) +
+    this.data.substr(this.read + i + 1);
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Gets the last byte without modifying the read pointer.
+ *
+ * @return the last byte.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.last = function() {
+  return this.data.charCodeAt(this.data.length - 1);
+};
+
+/**
+ * Creates a copy of this buffer.
+ *
+ * @return the copy.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.copy = function() {
+  var c = util.createBuffer(this.data);
+  c.read = this.read;
+  return c;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Compacts this buffer.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.compact = function() {
+  if(this.read > 0) {
+    this.data = this.data.slice(this.read);
+    this.read = 0;
+  }
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Clears this buffer.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.clear = function() {
+  this.data = '';
+  this.read = 0;
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Shortens this buffer by triming bytes off of the end of this buffer.
+ *
+ * @param count the number of bytes to trim off.
+ *
+ * @return this buffer.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.truncate = function(count) {
+  var len = Math.max(0, this.length() - count);
+  this.data = this.data.substr(this.read, len);
+  this.read = 0;
+  return this;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Converts this buffer to a hexadecimal string.
+ *
+ * @return a hexadecimal string.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.toHex = function() {
+  var rval = '';
+  for(var i = this.read; i < this.data.length; ++i) {
+    var b = this.data.charCodeAt(i);
+    if(b < 16) {
+      rval += '0';
+    }
+    rval += b.toString(16);
+  }
+  return rval;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Converts this buffer to a UTF-16 string (standard JavaScript string).
+ *
+ * @return a UTF-16 string.
+ */
+util.ByteBuffer.prototype.toString = function() {
+  return util.decodeUtf8(this.bytes());
+};
+
+/**
+ * Creates a buffer that stores bytes. A value may be given to put into the
+ * buffer that is either a string of bytes or a UTF-16 string that will
+ * be encoded using UTF-8 (to do the latter, specify 'utf8' as the encoding).
+ *
+ * @param [input] the bytes to wrap (as a string) or a UTF-16 string to encode
+ *          as UTF-8.
+ * @param [encoding] (default: 'raw', other: 'utf8').
+ */
+util.createBuffer = function(input, encoding) {
+  encoding = encoding || 'raw';
+  if(input !== undefined && encoding === 'utf8') {
+    input = util.encodeUtf8(input);
+  }
+  return new util.ByteBuffer(input);
+};
+
+/**
+ * Fills a string with a particular value. If you want the string to be a byte
+ * string, pass in String.fromCharCode(theByte).
+ *
+ * @param c the character to fill the string with, use String.fromCharCode
+ *          to fill the string with a byte value.
+ * @param n the number of characters of value c to fill with.
+ *
+ * @return the filled string.
+ */
+util.fillString = function(c, n) {
+  var s = '';
+  while(n > 0) {
+    if(n & 1) {
+      s += c;
+    }
+    n >>>= 1;
+    if(n > 0) {
+      c += c;
+    }
+  }
+  return s;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Performs a per byte XOR between two byte strings and returns the result as a
+ * string of bytes.
+ *
+ * @param s1 first string of bytes.
+ * @param s2 second string of bytes.
+ * @param n the number of bytes to XOR.
+ *
+ * @return the XOR'd result.
+ */
+util.xorBytes = function(s1, s2, n) {
+  var s3 = '';
+  var b = '';
+  var t = '';
+  var i = 0;
+  var c = 0;
+  for(; n > 0; --n, ++i) {
+    b = s1.charCodeAt(i) ^ s2.charCodeAt(i);
+    if(c >= 10) {
+      s3 += t;
+      t = '';
+      c = 0;
+    }
+    t += String.fromCharCode(b);
+    ++c;
+  }
+  s3 += t;
+  return s3;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Converts a hex string into a UTF-8 string of bytes.
+ *
+ * @param hex the hexadecimal string to convert.
+ *
+ * @return the string of bytes.
+ */
+util.hexToBytes = function(hex) {
+  var rval = '';
+  var i = 0;
+  if(hex.length & 1 == 1) {
+    // odd number of characters, convert first character alone
+    i = 1;
+    rval += String.fromCharCode(parseInt(hex[0], 16));
+  }
+  // convert 2 characters (1 byte) at a time
+  for(; i < hex.length; i += 2) {
+    rval += String.fromCharCode(parseInt(hex.substr(i, 2), 16));
+  }
+  return rval;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Converts a UTF-8 byte string into a string of hexadecimal characters.
+ *
+ * @param bytes the byte string to convert.
+ *
+ * @return the string of hexadecimal characters.
+ */
+util.bytesToHex = function(bytes) {
+  return util.createBuffer(bytes).toHex();
+};
+
+/**
+ * Converts an 32-bit integer to 4-big-endian byte string.
+ *
+ * @param i the integer.
+ *
+ * @return the byte string.
+ */
+util.int32ToBytes = function(i) {
+  return (
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 24 & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 16 & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i >> 8 & 0xFF) +
+    String.fromCharCode(i & 0xFF));
+};
+
+// base64 characters, reverse mapping
+var _base64 =
+  'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=';
+var _base64Idx = [
+/*43 -43 = 0*/
+/*'+',  1,  2,  3,'/' */
+   62, -1, -1, -1, 63,
+
+/*'0','1','2','3','4','5','6','7','8','9' */
+   52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61,
+
+/*15, 16, 17,'=', 19, 20, 21 */
+  -1, -1, -1, 64, -1, -1, -1,
+
+/*65 - 43 = 22*/
+/*'A','B','C','D','E','F','G','H','I','J','K','L','M', */
+   0,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9, 10, 11, 12,
+
+/*'N','O','P','Q','R','S','T','U','V','W','X','Y','Z' */
+   13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
+
+/*91 - 43 = 48 */
+/*48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53 */
+  -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,
+
+/*97 - 43 = 54*/
+/*'a','b','c','d','e','f','g','h','i','j','k','l','m' */
+   26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38,
+
+/*'n','o','p','q','r','s','t','u','v','w','x','y','z' */
+   39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51
+];
+
+/**
+ * Base64 encodes a UTF-8 string of bytes.
+ *
+ * @param input the UTF-8 string of bytes to encode.
+ * @param maxline the maximum number of encoded bytes per line to use,
+ *          defaults to none.
+ *
+ * @return the base64-encoded output.
+ */
+util.encode64 = function(input, maxline) {
+  var line = '';
+  var output = '';
+  var chr1, chr2, chr3;
+  var i = 0;
+  while(i < input.length) {
+    chr1 = input.charCodeAt(i++);
+    chr2 = input.charCodeAt(i++);
+    chr3 = input.charCodeAt(i++);
+
+    // encode 4 character group
+    line += _base64.charAt(chr1 >> 2);
+    line += _base64.charAt(((chr1 & 3) << 4) | (chr2 >> 4));
+    if(isNaN(chr2)) {
+      line += '==';
+    }
+    else {
+      line += _base64.charAt(((chr2 & 15) << 2) | (chr3 >> 6));
+      line += isNaN(chr3) ? '=' : _base64.charAt(chr3 & 63);
+    }
+
+    if(maxline && line.length > maxline) {
+      output += line.substr(0, maxline) + '\r\n';
+      line = line.substr(maxline);
+    }
+  }
+  output += line;
+
+  return output;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Base64 decodes a string into a UTF-8 string of bytes.
+ *
+ * @param input the base64-encoded input.
+ *
+ * @return the raw bytes.
+ */
+util.decode64 = function(input) {
+  // remove all non-base64 characters
+  input = input.replace(/[^A-Za-z0-9\+\/\=]/g, '');
+
+  var output = '';
+  var enc1, enc2, enc3, enc4;
+  var i = 0;
+
+  while(i < input.length) {
+    enc1 = _base64Idx[input.charCodeAt(i++) - 43];
+    enc2 = _base64Idx[input.charCodeAt(i++) - 43];
+    enc3 = _base64Idx[input.charCodeAt(i++) - 43];
+    enc4 = _base64Idx[input.charCodeAt(i++) - 43];
+
+    output += String.fromCharCode((enc1 << 2) | (enc2 >> 4));
+    if(enc3 !== 64) {
+      // decoded at least 2 bytes
+      output += String.fromCharCode(((enc2 & 15) << 4) | (enc3 >> 2));
+      if(enc4 !== 64) {
+        // decoded 3 bytes
+        output += String.fromCharCode(((enc3 & 3) << 6) | enc4);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  return output;
+};
+
+/**
+ * UTF-8 encodes the given UTF-16 encoded string (a standard JavaScript
+ * string). Non-ASCII characters will be encoded as multiple bytes according
+ * to UTF-8.
+ *
+ * @param str the string to encode.
+ *
+ * @return the UTF-8 encoded string.
+ */
+util.encodeUtf8 = function(str) {
+  return unescape(encodeURIComponent(str));
+};
+
+/**
+ * Decodes a UTF-8 encoded string into a UTF-16 string.
+ *
+ * @param str the string to encode.
+ *
+ * @return the UTF-16 encoded string (standard JavaScript string).
+ */
+util.decodeUtf8 = function(str) {
+  return decodeURIComponent(escape(str));
+};
diff --git a/src/crypto/hash/index.js b/src/crypto/hash/index.js
index 9dcd6a99..8d35a38d 100644
--- a/src/crypto/hash/index.js
+++ b/src/crypto/hash/index.js
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
  * @requires crypto/hash/sha
  * @module crypto/hash
  */
-var sha = require('./sha.js');
+var sha = require('./sha.js'),
+  forge_sha256 = require('./forge_sha256.js');
 
 module.exports = {
   /** @see module:crypto/hash/md5 */
@@ -39,7 +40,9 @@ module.exports = {
         return this.ripemd(data);
       case 8:
         // - SHA256 [FIPS180]
-        return this.sha256(data);
+        var sha256 = forge_sha256.create();
+        sha256.update(data);
+        return sha256.digest().getBytes();
       case 9:
         // - SHA384 [FIPS180]
         return this.sha384(data);