Turning on encryption in filePro 5.7.03

[Richard Kreiss]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Filepro-list [mailto:filepro-list-
> bounces+rkreiss=verizon.net at lists.celestial.com] On Behalf Of Mike
> Schwartz
> Sent: Monday, December 08, 2014 4:39 PM
> To: filepro-list at lists.celestial.com
> Subject: Turning on encryption in filePro 5.7.03
> 
>      I've never worked with filepro's encryption (either single-field or
> full-file encryption).   One of my customers wants me to use full-file
> encryption so that their databases are no longer ascii readable.
> 
> 
> 
>      In "define files" I see where I can put an encryption password in.
> (filePro 5.7.03 running under Redhat Linux)
> 
> 
> 
>      I'm not sure what needs to be done after that point.  In the filePro
help
> files, encrypt says "under construction".  In the on-line filePro manual,
most
> of the references to encryption refer to single-field encryption.
> 
> 
> 
>      Once I go into define files and encrypt a file, do I have to add a
password
> to each lookup line?
> 
> 
> 
>      Any other caveats?
> 
> 
> 
>      This customer has over 1,200 filePro files and 10's of thousands of
lines of
> code, so this might be a cost-prohibitive project if I have to modify the
> code...
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> 
> 
> Mike Schwartz

Mike,

1. Each file needs to be encrypted separately
2. The encryption is invisible to the user
3. If you are doing programming either in a development or on your own
system, you will have to have the same encryption code on your system
otherwise you won't be able to read the file.
4. The file encryption and field encryption are different.  The file
encryption will make the file unreadable from outside filePro.  Field
encryption encrypts the field and it is unreadable within filepro unless
decrypted.  Fields with Social security numbers or other private information
are usually encrypted at the field level to prevent prying eyes from seeing
these fields.
5. It takes a bit of time to learn how to use field encryption properly.
You need to make sure that what you encrypt can be decrypted properly.

I understand that FPtech is working on a way to encrypt all files at once
but for now you need to do this one at a time.  Also keep in mind that for
now, indexes are not encrypted.


Richard Kreiss
GCC Consulting

Office: 410-653-2813