Encrypting a file with GPG so that it is password protected is fairly easy. I will use the file file.txt as an example, but you can obviously use any file you wish. First, open up a terminal, and cd into the directory with the file you wish to encrypt. Then run the following:
[brad@localhost ~]$ gpg --symmetric file.txt
You will be prompted for your pass-phrase twice. Type in the same password both times and now you should see a file named file.txt.gpg (If your original filename is not file.txt then it will be whatever the original filename is + .gpg). Remove the original file, but leave the .gpg one. If you really want to make sure the original is gone use shred -z –remove [original_file_name]. Shred rewrites the space on the hard-drive where the file is located so that it is almost impossible to recover any information. Note that without the –remove option shred does not remove the file, but all of the file’s contents will still be corrupted.
Decryption
To decrypt the file run the following command:
[brad@localhost ~]$ gpg --output file.txt --decrypt file.txt.gpg
You will be prompted for your password so type it in and hit enter. The decrypted file will be named whatever you enter in after –output.
Summary
To encrypt a file do the following:
- Open a terminal.
- CD into the folder with the file you wish to encrypt.
- Run the command gpg –symmetric [file_name].
- Enter in your password twice. A new file named [file_name].gpg should have been created. This is the encrypted and password protected file.
- Run the command shred -z –remove [file_name]. DO NOT shred the encrypted file as well.
To decrypt a file perform the following:
- Open a terminal.
- CD to the location where your encrypted file is located.
- Run the command gpg –output [file_name] –decrypt [file_name].gpg.
- Enter your password.
- The original file should be recreated. This file is neither password protected nor encrypted.
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