Use gpg

Introduction

gpg (more specific: GnuPG) can be used to encrypt/decrypt all sort of data, text including mails and binary files, for use of a recipient or for everyone who knows the passphrase (symmetric encryption). It is one of the most established standards for encryption and embedded into many applications, though this article focuses on direct use of gpg on the CLI.

Installation

Packages should be available for all distributions. The package is usually called "gnupg". If you do not know how to install packages, look here.

Usage

Creating a key

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Exporting your key

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Importing keys

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Listing all known keys

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Encryption

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Decryption

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Signing and verifying signs

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Symmetric encryption/decryption

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Going further

• Setup gpg-agent which helps you by caching pass phrases, if you want.
• Install a graphical frontend like kgpg (good KDE frontend, albeit a bit buggy).