Hiding the contents of .ini files

Often, SQL Anywhere expects an .ini file to have a particular name. When you want to add simple encryption to a file whose name is important (such as saldap.ini), you must save a copy of the original file with a different name when you add simple encryption to the file. If you do not keep a copy of the original file, then you cannot modify the contents of the file once it has been obfuscated. The following steps explain how to add simple encryption to a .ini file.

 To hide the contents of a file
  1. Save the file with a different name.

    rename saldap.ini saldap.ini.org
  2. Obfuscate the file with the File Hiding utility, giving the obfuscated file the required file name.

    dbfhide saldap.ini.org saldap.ini
  3. Protect the saldap.ini.org file using file system or operating system protection, or store the file in a secure location.

    To make a change to the saldap.ini file, edit the saldap.ini.org file and repeat step 2.

Caution

You should not add simple encryption to the system information file (named .odbc.ini by default) with the File Hiding utility (dbfhide) on Unix unless you will only be using SQL Anywhere data sources. If you plan to use other data sources (for example, for MobiLink synchronization), then obfuscating the contents of the system information file may prevent other drivers from functioning properly.

 See also