If you are dealing with sensitive data, you might not want the unencrypted tar.gz file to ever touch your storage drive. You can pipe the output of the tar command directly into gpg or openssl . Using Tar + GPG Pipe
For those willing to trade a few extra keystrokes for better security hygiene, the industry standard is actually to skip the tar password entirely and use GPG (GNU Privacy Guard). password protect tar.gz file
But then he remembered the recipient—a contractor in a low-resource environment who might not have GPG installed. He needed something more universal. He deleted the GPG file and tried the If you are dealing with sensitive data, you