On Nov 11, 2009, at 7:13 AM, Morten Kjærulff wrote:
Hi,
I am new here, so sorry if I ask stupid questions.
I would like to use my unused storage on various web servers for
backup of my personal data, including the file with all my passwords.
Q1) Assume that I make a good passphrase, would it then be safe to
encrypt my backup with "gpg --symmetric ...", and put the backup where
anyone can get it?
Yes, it is safe, but keep in mind that this rests the complete
protection of the data on the passphrase (i.e. it had better be a good
one, since an attacker can download your encrypted backup and spend
all the time they like trying to find the passphrase). Generally,
people don't put their encrypted files in a public place. This aids
in protecting the data since if the attacker can't get the file at
all, they can't even try to attack the passphrase. It's a defense in
depth.
So basically safe, but perhaps inadvisable.
man page for --symmetric say: "... The default symmetric cipher
used is CAST5, but may be chosen with the --cipher-algo option.
...". "gpg --version" says:
Home: ~/.gnupg
Supported algorithms:
Pubkey: RSA, RSA-E, RSA-S, ELG-E, DSA
Cipher: 3DES, CAST5, BLOWFISH, AES, AES192, AES256, TWOFISH
Hash: MD5, SHA1, RIPEMD160, SHA256, SHA384, SHA512, SHA224
Compression: Uncompressed, ZIP, ZLIB, BZIP2
Q2) Why would I use another cipher?
Personal taste, local business or other policy, legal requirements
(some industries in some countries have to use particular ciphers), etc.
Q3) Are some ciphers stronger than others? If so, which is the best
for my purpose? (is it purpose dependent which is best?)
Yes, some are stronger than others, but it's hard to say which is best
without knowing exactly what you want. For example, 3DES is the
oldest (and by far the slowest) cipher in GPG's list, but if you want
the cipher that has withstood attack for the longest period of time,
that's your choice. If you want the one that has had the most recent
study, that's probably AES. If you want to be compatible with really
old versions of PGP (not GPG), you want IDEA (not in your list
above). And so on.
AES256 is probably the best all-round choice in GPG if you want to
just say "strongest" and leave it at that (it is also the default
cipher for new keys), but note that unless your situation is unusual,
any of the ciphers in GPG is likely stronger than they need to be.
David
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