OpenSSL provides a popular (but insecure – see below!) command line interface for AES encryption:
openssl aes-256-cbc -salt -in filename -out filename.enc
Python has support for AES in the shape of the PyCrypto package, but it only provides the tools. How to use Python/PyCrypto to decrypt files that have been encrypted using OpenSSL?
Notice
This question used to also concern encryption in Python using the same scheme. I have since removed that part to discourage anyone from using it. Do NOT encrypt any more data in this way, because it is NOT secure by today's standards. You should ONLY use decryption, for no other reasons than BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY, i.e. when you have no other choice. Want to encrypt? Use NaCl/libsodium if you possibly can.
Best Answer
Given the popularity of Python, at first I was disappointed that there was no complete answer to this question to be found. It took me a fair amount of reading different answers on this board, as well as other resources, to get it right. I thought I might share the result for future reference and perhaps review; I'm by no means a cryptography expert! However, the code below appears to work seamlessly:
Usage:
If you see a chance to improve on this or extend it to be more flexible (e.g. make it work without salt, or provide Python 3 compatibility), please feel free to do so.
Notice
This answer used to also concern encryption in Python using the same scheme. I have since removed that part to discourage anyone from using it. Do NOT encrypt any more data in this way, because it is NOT secure by today's standards. You should ONLY use decryption, for no other reasons than BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY, i.e. when you have no other choice. Want to encrypt? Use NaCl/libsodium if you possibly can.