Tells OpenSSL that the encrypted data is in Base64-ensode To encrypt file in Base64-encode, you should add -a option: $ openssl enc -aes-256-cbc -salt -a -in file.txt -out Option you have to save encrypted file in Base64-encode.Ĭool Tip: Want to keep safe your private data? Create a password protected ZIP file from the Linux command line. If you are going to send it by email, IRC, etc. It is needed for safe transport through e-mail systems, and other systems that are not 8-bit safe.īy default the encrypted file is in a binary format. Without the -salt option it is possible to perform efficient dictionary attacks on the password and to attack stream cipher encrypted data.īase64 encoding is a standard method for converting 8-bit binary information into a limited subset of ASCII characters. Warning: The -salt option should ALWAYS be used if the key is being derived from a password. Interesting fact: 256bit AES is what the United States government uses to encrypt information at the Top Secret level. HowTo: Encrypt a File $ openssl enc -aes-256-cbc -salt -in file.txt -out Options If you want to use the same password for both encryption of plaintext and decryption of ciphertext, then you have to use a method that is known as symmetric-key algorithm.įrom this article you’ll learn how to encrypt and decrypt files and messages with a password from the Linux command line, using OpenSSL.

OpenSSL is a powerful cryptography toolkit that can be used for encryption of files and messages.

Encrypt and decrypt online