Les Mikesell wrote:
> If you want something really simple, there is:
> vi -x filename
> It will prompt for the encryption key and keep the file
> copy encrypted.
Timothy Murphy replied:
> I actually use this for some information,
> but I've often wondered if there is any way of un-encrypting the file?
>
> I know that one can _see_ the file OK after giving the key,
> but I don't know what I would do if a new version of vim came out
> which did not work with -x ...
A quick check suggests that if you type
:set
while in vim, then one of the values given is
key=*****
Entering
:set key=
makes vim forget the key, and any subsequent writes will be in plaintext.
Google suggests that you can run ":h encryption" to read the appropriate
help file, and that ":set key=" is the official way of making vim forget
the key.
Warning: the same help file says:
The algorithm used is breakable. A 4 character key in about one hour,
a 6 character key in one day (on a Pentium 133 PC). This requires
that you know some text that must appear in the file.
I would expect that six-character key to last about one hour on a current
PC. So vim on its own would *not* count as a good lock box.
Hope this helps,
James.
--
E-mail: james@ | "The duke had a mind that ticked like a clock and, like a
aprilcottage.co.uk | clock, it regularly went cuckoo."
| -- Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters
