Printing encrypted files

[Gerry Tully]

I was wondering if someone could tell me the best way to encrypt files, send them over the network to a printer and have them print out as readable data. Thanks.

[A. Clay Stephenson]

Hi Gerry:

If all I get is a printer on the other end then this is going to be tricky.

Plan A) Host --> Cisco PIX Router with VPN ----
WAN/LAN ----> Cisco PIX Router with VPN ---> printer - expensive

Plan B) lp -> Perl Encryption -> socket --> WAN/LAN -----> PC running Perl Decryption listening on a port ---> Printer


A) Expensive but easy. B) If you have a PC lying around inexpensive but more technically difficult but maybe fun. There are already existing Perl encryption modules and sockets are easy.

My 3 cents worth, Clay

[Patrick Wallek]

Are you going to send the files from machine A, encrypt on A, to machine B, decrypt on B, and then have them print to a local printer on machine B? Or do you want to send them from machine A, encrypt on A, over the network directly to a printer, presumably with a jet direct card or something similar, and have the printer decrypt them?

If you want the printer to decrypt the files, I think you may be out of luck. I don't know of a way to do that.

If you wanted to send from machine to machine and then print to a local printer you could use something like SSH or PGP to send the stuff encrypted. You could then drop the files in a sdirectory and have that directory monitored via some sort of script and then print whatever is there and delete it.

Does any of that make sense or help at all?

[Gerry Tully]

Thanks for the input, I didn't think what they wanted to do could be done. They wanted to send some data from within Oracle over the Internet, to a printer( that would unencrypt the data).

[A. Clay Stephenson]

Okay, Plan C. Consider a dial-up serial connection with a printer attached to a modem. If you want security Black Box makes a little module called a 'Lock and Key Set' so that only modems which have a 'key' module can get connected. http://www.blackbox.com Part No: 39625. The downside is, of course, paying for the connection. How's that for thinking outside the box? - blackbox that is.

More food for thought, Clay