PGP Desktop lets you encrypt, sign, or encrypt and sign unencrypted files, folders, and even entire drives from the Finder.
Encrypting and/or signing files and folders is a good way to protect just a few important files and/or folders in a situation where a PGP Virtual Disk volume is not justified.
If you are considering encrypting and/or signing a drive in the Finder, a PGP Virtual Disk volume might be a better solution. For more information, see Using PGP Virtual Disks.
To encrypt and/or sign files and/or folders in the Finder
1 In the Finder, select the files and/or folders you want to encrypt and/or sign. Use the Shift or Command keys to select any combination of files and folders.
2 Ctrl+click the selected files and/or folders, or right-click if you have a two-button mouse. From the shortcut menu, choose Encrypt & Sign from the PGP menu. (If you select just Encrypt, you will not be prompted for a signing key; if you select just Sign, you will not be prompted to select a public key to encrypt to.) The PGP Recipients dialog box is displayed.
3 Drag the public keys of the persons you want to be able to decrypt the items you are encrypting into the Recipients field at the bottom of the dialog box.
4 Click the down arrow icon above the OK button to specify the appropriate options:
Conventional Encrypt. Select this checkbox to rely on a common passphrase rather than on public-key cryptography. The file is
encrypted using a session key, which encrypts (and decrypts) using a passphrase you specify.
If you are using PGP Desktop in a PGP Universal Server-managed environment, conventional encryption may be disabled.
Text Output. When sending files as attachments with some email applications, you may need to select the Text Output checkbox to save the file as ASCII text. This is sometimes necessary in order to send a binary file using older email applications. Selecting this option increases the size of the encrypted file by about 30 percent.
Shred Original. Select this checkbox to overwrite the original
document that you are encrypting, so that your sensitive information is not readable by anyone who can access your system.
MacBinary. MacBinary is the standard method by which a Mac OS X file is converted into a single file so that it can be transferred to another Macintosh or PC without losing either its Data or Resource segment. Options are Yes, No, or Smart.
Yes means the whole file is included, including the Mac OS X specific information. No means only the data segment is included. Smart means the file type determines if the Mac OS X specific information is included.
5 Click OK. If you selected the Conventional Encryption option, you are prompted for a passphrase to protect the encrypted items.
6 Enter a passphrase, enter it again, then click OK. The Enter PGP Passphrase dialog box is displayed.
7 Using the Signing Key list, specify a private key to be used to sign the items you are encrypting and signing, then enter the passphrase of the signing key. If the passphrase is cached, you do not have to enter it.
Normally, as an added level of security, the characters you enter for the passphrase do not appear on the screen. However, if you are sure that no one is watching (either physically or over the network) and you would like to see the characters of your passphrase as you type, select the Show
Keystrokes checkbox.
8 To save your passphrase in the Mac OS X Keychain, select the box. You will not need to enter the passphrase the next time you access this feature.
9 Click OK. A PGP Zip archive (<file name>.pgp) file is created at the same location as the encrypted and signed items.
Shred
For those situations where you want to be absolutely certain that specific files and/or folders are securely deleted from your system, you can Shred them from the Finder.
Putting a file or folder into the Mac OS X Trash just allows new files to overwrite the file or folder you think you are “deleting.” In fact, there could be days, weeks, or even months when just about anyone with physical access your system could retrieve these files.
The PGP Desktop Shred feature, in comparison, overwrites your files multiple times as soon as you ask them to be shredded. For more information about how thoroughly the Shred feature erases your files, see Shredding Files.
PGP® Desktop for Mac OS X The PGP Desktop User Interface
To Shred files and/or folders in the Finder
1 In the Finder, select the files and/or folders you want to Shred. Use the Shift or Command keys to select any combination of files and folders.
2 Ctrl+click the selected files and/or folders, or right-click if you are using a two-button mouse.
3 Choose PGP, then Shred from the shortcut menu. A PGP screen is displayed, asking if you are sure you want to Shred the listed files.
4 Click OK. The file(s) are Shredded (secure deleted) from your system; they do not appear in the Trash.