GPG Encryption

Files.com administrators can enable GPG encryption on a per-folder basis. When enabled for a folder, any files uploaded to that folder or its subfolders are automatically encrypted, unless you explicitly disable the setting in a subfolder.

To encrypt a single file without configuring a folder, use Ad Hoc GPG Encrypt and Decrypt.

Encryption requires a GPG/PGP public key. You can use different keys for each folder and select multiple public keys for encryption. Files uploaded to these folders are encrypted using the selected public keys. You can also choose to sign the encrypted file.

When you enable GPG encryption, files that existed in the folder beforehand remain unchanged. To apply encryption to those files, re-upload them after enabling the setting.

Using Existing Keys From the GPG Key Manager

Select one or more encryption keys from the available key list. You can optionally select a signing key.

Choose an output format: Binary (default) or ASCII Armor if you need text encoding.

Providing Your Own Keys

Select Import from file... when choosing keys.

Enter a name to identify the key or key pair.

If the private key has a passphrase, enter it. You can leave the field blank if there is no passphrase.

Creating a New Key Pair

Select Create new... when choosing keys.

Enter a name and email address for the new key.

Optionally, add a passphrase to protect the private key.

After generating the key pair, you can view and copy the public key before continuing.

Once saved, a popup will display the private key. Download and store it securely.

File Name Suffix

The optional Suffix setting controls the name of each encrypted file. Files.com appends the suffix to the original file name. The default suffix is .gpg, so encrypting report.csv produces report.csv.gpg.

Using a suffix is recommended for automatic folder encryption. Files that already end with the configured suffix are not encrypted, which helps prevent an encrypted output file from being encrypted again. Do not give an unencrypted input file the configured suffix, because Files.com will skip it.

If you leave Suffix blank, the encrypted file keeps the original file name and could be encrypted more than once. If appending the suffix would create a duplicate file name, Files.com adds a date and time to the encrypted file's name instead of overwriting the existing file.

GPG Signing

You can choose to sign encrypted files. Select, import, or create a signing key in the same way you choose decryption and encryption keys.

Signing requires a private key. Public keys cannot sign files and will not appear in the signing key list.

Error Notifications

Errors encountered while attempting to encrypt files will be logged in the Site Alert Emails, which are sent to site administrators that have opted-in to receiving these alerts.

Partial Files

If a file is only partially uploaded when encryption runs, encryption succeeds against the incomplete content. The resulting encrypted file contains only the partial data, and decrypting it produces the same partial file. Upload the complete file before encrypting it.