# executing encrypted files

**URL:** <https://community.unix.com/t/executing-encrypted-files/141593>\
**Category:** UNIX for Advanced & Expert Users\
**Created:** [March 5, 2002, 6:48am UTC](https://community.unix.com/t/executing-encrypted-files/141593 "2002-03-05T06:48:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kawah\_Cheung](https://community.unix.com/letter_avatar/kawah_cheung/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@Kawah\_Cheung](https://community.unix.com/u/Kawah_Cheung)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2002, 6:48am UTC](https://community.unix.com/t/executing-encrypted-files/141593/1 "2002-03-05T06:48:55Z")

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Hi,

Is there a way of executing encrypted files? I have encrpyted files using vi and crypt, but when I execute the encrypted file, it takes the contents literally (special characters, junk - encrpyted format).

Kind Regards,  
Kawah

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**Author:** ![AtleRamsli](https://community.unix.com/letter_avatar/atleramsli/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@AtleRamsli](https://community.unix.com/u/AtleRamsli)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2002, 2:28pm UTC](https://community.unix.com/t/executing-encrypted-files/141593/2 "2002-03-05T14:28:58Z")

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There may be. Try the Icon Programming language at www.cs.arizona.edu/icon (Icon is C meets Perl meets ProLog meets Beta).  
The reason I think it would work with Icon is that you can modify the way the program is loaded.  
With a pure binary this might get rather involved, since the first part of the program would have to consist of a key prompter, a loader and dectrypter, and the application.

It is an interesting project, but you might want to be quit proficient before attempting it.

Also, what do you want to achieve?  
For copy protection there already exists loads of libraries ... but for putting something together quickly and running it, I don't know.  
For a shell script, you just feed the script to decrypt before executing ...

Atle

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**Author:** ![iat00](https://community.unix.com/letter_avatar/iat00/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@iat00](https://community.unix.com/u/iat00)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2002, 8:03am UTC](https://community.unix.com/t/executing-encrypted-files/141593/3 "2002-03-06T08:03:25Z")

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Try to use gzexe (compress/uncompress and run) and perhaps u will find a similar idea for crypt. Gzexe is a part of GNU Zip;)

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**Author:** ![Kawah\_Cheung](https://community.unix.com/letter_avatar/kawah_cheung/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@Kawah\_Cheung](https://community.unix.com/u/Kawah_Cheung)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2002, 4:59am UTC](https://community.unix.com/t/executing-encrypted-files/141593/4 "2002-03-07T04:59:45Z")

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Thats great, I will give it a go.

Thanks agian.

Kind Regards,  
KC

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**Author:** ![AtleRamsli](https://community.unix.com/letter_avatar/atleramsli/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@AtleRamsli](https://community.unix.com/u/AtleRamsli)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2002, 9:36am UTC](https://community.unix.com/t/executing-encrypted-files/141593/5 "2002-03-10T09:36:28Z")

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HOLD IT!!  
What system are you using?  
I may have told you darn lies and hogwash.  
If it is FreeBSD, there is a compile option that lets you run gzipped executables - I just saw it!  
If you run FreeBSD 386 (or maybe other BSDs?) check out

/usr/src/sys/conf/i386/LINT

and look for it.

Atle