Crouse – UID Zero

I am always on the search for the other ways to encrypt my documents on a server.
I’ve used gpg keys, gpg symetric encryption, but this one seems to fit the bill the best.
Encrypting with vim is a very painless process, it does take some setup, but not much, I promise.

The first thing I do is to setup an alias in my .bashrc file.  I alias the following :

alias vime=”vim -u ~/.vimencrypt -x″

vime is short for “vim encrypted”, at least in my head
WHEW! Step one finished, that was easy! ……hey, where is that “easy button” again ?

Next is to edit/and or/create a separate .vimrc just for this, and I name mine  .vimencrypt
This file will be in your home directory.  ~/.vimencrypt     
It contains the following:

source ~/.vimrc 
set nobackup 
set noswapfile 
set nowritebackup 
set cm=blowfish

Note: Since Vim 7.3 (2010-08-15)(and newer), vim can now use Blowfish encryption.
If your using an older vim — remove the “set cm=blowfish” line. It will then default to crypt for encryption.

I know, very complicated right ?     That’s it folks, you are now READY to use encryption with vim!
Now, simply type “vime something.txt”  and you’re on your way.

You will then see:

Enter encryption key:

Enter same key again:

If you entered the same key twice, then you should be presented with a normal vim interface.

If you use “vime” to encrypt the document the first time, it will stay encrypted.
You can then just use vim normally to edit it endlessly (vim will ask for your password, you only have to use “vime” on the initial creation of the document), and it’s encrypted when you close it.

Now you will see VimCrypt~02……. when you cat your encrypted file, and it’s encrypted with blowfish, a MUCH MUCH stronger encryption than just “crypt” which can be broken fairly easily.

> cat test VimCrypt~02!sD~wLПYEx

I hope you have fun with vim and encryption.