Robo-FTP User's Guide > Appendix > Security > PGP Encryption and Decryption

Robo-FTP incorporates the ability to encrypt and decrypt files using PGP (an acronym for Pretty Good Privacy) cryptography and to manage a PGP keyring.

PGP is a commonly recognized method of what is referred to as strong cryptography. Cryptography is the science of using mathematics to encrypt and decrypt data. PGP cryptography enables you to protect sensitive information when it is stored locally or transmitted across the Internet, so that it cannot be read by anyone except the intended recipient.

Of course, PGP cryptography is useless if only one party uses it. To use PGP in conjunction with Robo-FTP, you and the FTP site must be in agreement to use PGP cryptography. Furthermore, you most likely would not use PGP cryptography when connecting to a secure SSH or TLS FTP site.

In general, cryptography can be strong or weak. Cryptographic strength is measured in the time and resources it would require to recover the original information. For all practical purposes, using the technology available, it is impossible for an undesired recipient to decipher the result of strong cryptography. No one can say if strong encryption will hold up under tomorrow's computing power, but the cryptography employed by PGP (and by most SSH and TLS secured FTP sites) is the best available today.

PGP Concepts: PGP Public and Private Keys, PGP Passphrases, PGP ASCII Armoring, PGP Digital Signatures

PGP Usage: Robo-FTP's Implementation of PGP, PGP Step-By-Step Guide, Backing up Robo-FTP's PGP Keys