hiding the information in txt files

baxy77bax has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

I have a direct question but I am open for any better suggestion. I have an index file (bunch of numbers that don't mean nothing to me but are extremely important for my application) that is going to be transfered over the net. Now the best way to transport the info is as a txt file compressed with some compressing system. However, the numbers are somewhat important and I would not want everyone to look at them. So my options are to send them in binary format. But then I have a portability issue (especially with intel boxes). Is there a way to somehow encode (hide) the content of my txt file or is there maybe an alternative way of transport that i haven't consider yet. (yes and Perl modules if such exist would be of extream help ).

thnx<baxy>

Comment on hiding the information in txt files

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: hiding the information in txt files by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Aug 05, 2013 at 20:31 UTC
Why not encrypt the data after compressing it? With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday' Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error. "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.	[reply]
Re: hiding the information in txt files by moritz (Cardinal) on Aug 05, 2013 at 20:21 UTC
Don't obscure the information; instead store a check sum along with them, and then when reading them, check that the contents still match the check sum. See Digest for a core module that lets you calculate various check sums. Perl 6 - the future is here, just unevenly distributed	[reply]
Re: hiding the information in txt files by Illuminatus (Curate) on Aug 05, 2013 at 20:41 UTC
...that is going to be transfered(sic) over the net... I would not want everyone to look at them... What are your options to 'transfer over the net'? scp/sftp/https will all keep people from seeing them regardless of the format you choose. If you can't use a secure transport, you'll need to encrypt the file. Crypt::* has lots of options What moritz suggests is perfect if you don't care whether the numbers are seen by people; all you care about is that they get to the destination unchanged fnord	[reply]
Re^2: hiding the information in txt files by baxy77bax (Deacon) on Aug 05, 2013 at 21:00 UTC
Ok, so i am going to use a classic https and i trust that is not going to be seen during the transfer , but i would also like, once the file is transfered, that it cannot be seen by the user. Only that the app, user is going to receive from me will be able to read those numbers. So i guess encription would be a way to go ... i guess ???	[reply]
Re^3: hiding the information in txt files by dsheroh (Monsignor) on Aug 06, 2013 at 06:37 UTC
If the data exists - even momentarily - on a machine in the user's control or physical possession and the user cares enough, he will be able to view the data. Period. You cannot prevent this. If you want to follow in the footsteps of the movie industry, you can spend very large amounts of money (definitely in the hundreds of millions of US dollars, probably billions) trying, but you will fail, just as they have failed.	[reply]
Re^3: hiding the information in txt files by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Aug 05, 2013 at 21:34 UTC
You're not hiding proprietary information on users machines in cookies are you? With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday' Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error. "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.	[reply]


laziness, impatience, and hubris
	PerlMonks