Encrypting Files with GPG

Encrypting Files with GPG | Generated by AI

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Encrypting a File with Your GPG Key

Your GPG key listing shows a public key (pub) with the fingerprint 982740390B5D33E90B6B6133892BC5A4789B71CD associated with your email lzwjava@gmail.com. To encrypt a file using this key (so only you can decrypt it with your private key), follow these steps in your terminal:

Navigate to the directory containing the file you want to encrypt (e.g., if your file is secret.txt):
```
cd ~/path/to/your/file
```
Encrypt the file using the --encrypt option and specify the recipient (your email or key ID). This creates an encrypted .gpg file.
- Using your email (simpler):
```
gpg --encrypt --recipient lzwjava@gmail.com secret.txt
```
- Using the key ID (full fingerprint):
```
gpg --encrypt --recipient 982740390B5D33E90B6B6133892BC5A4789B71CD secret.txt
```
This outputs secret.txt.gpg, which is the encrypted version. The original secret.txt remains unchanged.
Verify the encryption (optional):
```
gpg --list-packets secret.txt.gpg
```
This shows details about the encrypted packet.

Decrypting the File (For Later Reference)

To decrypt it back (only possible with your private key and passphrase):

gpg --decrypt secret.txt.gpg > secret.txt.decrypted

Enter your passphrase when prompted.

Tips

Symmetric encryption (if you don’t need a recipient key, just a passphrase): Use gpg -c secret.txt instead.
Encrypt and sign (to prove it’s from you): Add --sign to the encrypt command, e.g., gpg --encrypt --sign --recipient lzwjava@gmail.com secret.txt.
If you encounter errors (e.g., key not trusted), run gpg --edit-key lzwjava@gmail.com and use trust to set it to ultimate.
Always back up your ~/.gnupg directory for key safety.

For more details, check the GPG manual: GPG Documentation.

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