Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from chapter 11, "Keeping Your Data Private", of Peter van der Linden's Guide to Linux, published August 2005 by Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-187284-2. In Part 1 ...

There are many reasons to encrypt files — even on a system that is well maintained and comparatively secure. The files may highly sensitive, contain personal information that you don’t want to share ...

In this guide, I will explain the options at your disposal for encrypting files using open-source software on a Linux, Mac, or Windows computer. You can then transport this digital information across ...

I'm looking to encrypt a file with OpenSSL functions (blowfish, des, rc4-- haven't picked one yet). Anyhow, after decrypting a file, I need to know if the file was correctly decrypted. The only way it ...

The whole concept of encryption once intimidated me with all those technical terms flying around. But after diving in and actually trying it myself, I discovered that encryption is surprisingly simple ...

When you’re on your Mac and you need to email sensitive information, don’t let a lack of tools get in your way. Here’s how the GPG Suite can make encrypting email easy in Apple Mail. In today’s world, ...

Not long ago, I made the case that for most users file-level encryption is adequately secure and much higher-performing than full-disk encryption. I received a lot less pushback than anticipated for ...