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The files can be password protected, so you can carry them in a flash memory, and if you loose the flash, you do not have to worry about your info, as it will not be readable.

To encrypt a file in Linux we will use, gpg which is parte of the GnuPG.

Syntax of gpg

gpg -c filename.ext

Let’s imagine we have a file called my-personal-info.txt

I want to encrypt with a password to protect the file, run this command.

gpg -c my-personal-info.txt

The output of the command is:

$ gpg -c my-personal-info.txt 
Enter passphrase: 

Enter a good passphrase, be sure to remember it, and do not use an easy one.

Then you will get:

Repeat passphrase: 

Now gpg has created an encrypted file called my-personal-info.txt.gpg, the original file is still there, so you may want to erase it, or only transport the encrypted one, or send by email the encrypted one.

To decrypt a file just enter this command:

gpg my-personal-info.txt.gpg

You will be asked for the password or passphrase, and the file will be recreated.