File Encryption using GPG in Linux: How to ??

File Encryption using GPG in Linux:

GPG is an encryption and signing tool for Linux/UNIX like operating system. With GPG you can encrypt and decrypt files with a password. Basically gpg uses a pair of keys, public key and private key. Data encrypted with one key can only be decrypted with the other. You can use gpg to provide digital encryption and signing services using the OpenPGP standard.

gpg may be run as stand alone without any commands, in which case it will perform a reasonable action depending on the type of file it is given as input.

Possible inputs are as follows.

1. Encrypted message is decrypted

2. Signature is verified

3. File containing keys is listed

Command to encrypt a file

#gpg -c sample

Above command will create a encrypted sample.gpg file. The -c option will encrypt with symmetric cipher. Make sure to remember your passphrase, if you forgot it then you cannot recover the data as it uses a very strong encryption. 

Let us now see few examples of encryption and decryption with gpg command.

1.Key Generation

#gpg --gen-key

gpg (GnuPG) 1.4.5; Copyright (C) 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

This program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.

This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it

under certain conditions. See the file COPYING for details.

Please select what kind of key you want:

(1) DSA and Elgamal (default)

(2) DSA (sign only)

(5) RSA (sign only)

 Select default (1) and press enter.

DSA keypair will have 1024 bits.

ELG-E keys may be between 1024 and 4096 bits long.

What keysize do you want? (2048)

 Use the default here and press enter.

Requested keysize is 2048 bits

Please specify how long the key should be valid.

0 = key does not expire

= key expires in n days

w = key expires in n weeks

m = key expires in n months

y = key expires in n years

 Use the default option

Key does not expire at all

Is this correct? (y/N)

 Enter “y” and press enter.

You need a user ID to identify your key; the software constructs the user ID

from the Real Name, Comment and Email Address in this form:

“Heinrich Heine (Der Dichter) <heinrichh@duesseldorf.de>”

Real name:

 Type a name here. For example I used here “sam”. Remember the name you use..

Then enter your email address and comment.

Change (N)ame, (C)omment, (E)mail or (O)kay/(Q)uit?

 Press O and then Enter.

Enter passphrase:

2. Encryption of file

Syntax for encryption is

#gpg -e -r

Let us now encrypt a file named chumma.txt with above generated key “india”. 

#gpg -e -r india /home/mades/chumma.txt

Above command will generate chumma.txt.gpg file.

3.Decryption of File

Syntax for decryption is

#gpg --output --decrypt

##gpg -d sample.gpg

If you want to decrypt the file and send output to a new file name instead of standard output. You can do this as follow.

#gpg -o chumma -d chumma.gpg