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Archives and Encryption
Archives like .ZIP and .LZH are frequently used to store files. This may be done to reduce storage requirements or just to group all the files needed for a given application. Archives are especially useful when the files are to be transferred electronically.
For best results with archives, first archive your files then encrypt the archive. Archivers cannot compress encrypted files. Compression techniques typically rely upon uneven character distribution or repeating patterns in the data to be able to accomplish their function. After encryption, the data has an even character distribution without any repeating patterns.
Archives can also be used to get around limitations of the electronic file transfer protocols. Some of the protocols add bytes which alter your data. If you archive the encrypted file first, transfer the archive, and then break it out, you will have gotten around these problems. This may in some cases mean that you archive all your files, encrypt the archive, and then archive the encrypted file to get around the protocol limitations.