# File encryption

GEDKeeper supports storing and loading encrypted GEDCOM files. The GEDCOM standard does not support encryption, therefore GEDKeeper has its own implementation of file encryption.

When saving a database, you must choose "GEDKeeper GEDCOM encrypted files (*.geds)" as the target file format. Files of this format have a "`.geds`" extension. After you have selected the file format and entered a file name, you are prompted to enter password. When you load an encrypted file, select the encrypted file format and enter the password when prompted. Note: passwords are case-sensitive.

Attention: GEDKeeper uses a cryptographically secure encryption method and following "security best practices" it does not store the password within an encrypted file. Therefore, if you forget or lose your password, nobody (including the GEDKeeper author) will be able to open your database file. Be careful and enter your password cautiously. Any symbol inadvertently added can be a cause for losing your file.

Currently GEDKeeper uses the "AES" algorithm for encryption and "SHA-1" for signing.

The following features are delayed for future development: choosing the encryption method, prompting for the password only once for the same file, and adding a password repeat field when a file is saved the first time (to avoid typos in the password).