Securing the contents of a .sql file

Question

So, I'm done backing-up my database file, but as we all know, the contents of a .sql file can be modified using notepad or notepad++, I am looking for any suggestions on how to secure it (like with a password maybe?), so not anyone could modify its contents. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

You can use any solution that is proper for text files. I mention just few of them:

1. ZIP it with password protected and/or encryption
2. Encrypt file using gnupg or other encryption tool
3. At the end calculate MD5 or SHA checksum and check it before restoring - this not save you from changes but any change make checksum invalid.