The public key-which you create and send to someone-is used to change plain-text information within a file into ciphertext that only you can decrypt. Rather than password-protecting a file, which is much easier to crack, by encrypting a file using PGP encryption, you are using a system that involves two very complex keys to safeguard the contents of a file. PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) has been around for 30 years now and is primarily used for sending encrypted emails and encrypting standalone files. And that is only half the keys to the kingdom! A file encrypted with this key (in its entirety) would still require a complementary private key to properly decrypt a protected file. Compare 30 characters to the string below:Īnd this is just a partial snippet of a 4096-bit public key. But here is the thing: encryption algorithms are much more sophisticated and capable of safeguarding data. 30?! Bravo to you good people 30 is very strong, and hopefully, there are some creative things stuffed into those 30 characters. How complex, you might ask? Well, your average password is likely somewhere between 9-30 characters.

He’s one of the good guys.Įncryption: “I protect things from unintended eyes.”Įncryption: “Well, sort of, but much more complex than that.” Let me introduce you to your new friend, Encryption. Today, this could not be further from the truth, and when it comes to sensitive information, things should not be left out in the open. Have you ever heard someone say that they never lock their doors? This practice implies that we live in a world where bad people do not exist, that you are not exposing yourself to any risk by doing so, or that nothing bad ever happens around here.

How to encrype and decryp with gpgwin