To decrypt the file:

| Method | Advantages | Disadvantages | | --- | --- | --- | | tar and openssl | Wide compatibility, easy to use | Requires separate encryption step | | tar and gpg | Strong encryption, easy to use | Requires GPG installation | | 7-Zip | Easy to use, strong encryption | Limited compatibility, requires 7-Zip installation |

To extract the file:

tar -czf - directory/ | openssl enc -e -aes-256-cbc -in - -out encrypted.tar.gz This will prompt you to enter a password to encrypt the file.

tar -czf - directory/ | 7z a -p -mhe=on encrypted.tar.gz This will prompt you to enter a password to encrypt the file.