bcrypt(1)                            General Commands Manual                            bcrypt(1)



NAME
       bcrypt - blowfish file encryption

SYNOPSIS
       bcrypt [-orc][-sN] file ...

DESCRIPTION
       bcrypt encrypts and decrypts files using the blowfish algorithm.

       Encrypted files will be saved with an extension of .bfe.  Any files ending in .bfe will be
       assumed to be encrypted with bcrypt and will attempt to  decrypt  them.  Any  other  input
       files  will be encrypted.  If more than one type of file is given, bcrypt will process all
       files which are the same as the first filetype given.

       By default, bcrypt will compress input files before encryption, remove input  files  after
       they  are  processed  (assuming they are processed successfully) and overwrite input files
       with random data to prevent data recovery.

       Passphrases may be between 8 and 56 characters. Regardless of the passphrase size, the key
       is  hashed  internally  to  448 bits - the largest keysize supported by the blowfish algo‐
       rithm. However, it is still wise to use a strong passphrase.

OPTIONS
       -o     print output to standard out. Implies -r.

       -c     DO NOT compress files before encryption.

       -r     DO NOT remove input files after processing

       -sN    How many times to overwrite input files with  random  data  before  deleting.   The
              default number of overwrites is 3. Use -s0 to disable this feature. No effect if -r
              is supplied.

NOTES
       The -o ,-r ,and -c options each have the opposite effects if the appropriate settings  are
       altered from the defaults in config.h. To determine what effect each of these have on your
       system, run bcrypt without any options.

       Encrypted files should be compatible between most systems.  Binary compatibility has  been
       tested  on  all supported systems. There is a list of supported systems in the README file
       that was included with this software.

BUGS
       Probably.  If you find that it will not compile and run on your system, or that  encrypted
       files are not compatible with other platforms, its probably because I don't have access to
       the platform in question. Patches or access to an unsupported machine are welcome.

AUTHOR
       johnny shelley
              <jshelley AT cahaus.com>, <jshelley AT ictransnet.com>

DISTRIBUTION
       bcrypt includes Paul Kocher's implementation of the blowfish algorithm. The  version  dis‐
       tributed   with   bcrypt   has   been   altered.   Original  sources  are  available  from
       http://www.counterpane.com/bfsh-koc.zip



version 1.1                             10 September 2002                               bcrypt(1)