====== Cleartext ======
[[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:start| Return to Glossary ]]

**Cleartext** is transmitted or stored text that has not been subjected to encryption and is not meant to be encrypted. As such, **Cleartext** does not require decryption in order to be displayed. In its simplest form, **Cleartext** is rendered as [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:a:ascii]] that can be read by any word processor or text editor. However, **Cleartext** can be subjected to encoding in a special format for use by [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:a:application | Applications]] such as Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:h:html]]. Any text that can be read on a computer with the appropriate program but without the need for [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:d:decryption]] is considered **Cleartext**.

The terms **Cleartext** and [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:p:plaintext]] are sometimes confused. 

  : **Note:** **Plaintext** is a special instance of Cleartext
  
The characteristics of **Cleartext** it is:

  - Meant to be [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:e:encryption | Encrypted]] prior to transmission or storage or
  - The result of [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:d:decryption]] of received or retrieved data

In [[dido:public:ra:xapend:xapend.a_glossary:i:infotech]], text is any human-readable sequence of characters and the words they form that can be encoded into computer-readable formats.

  : **Note:** Text differs from non-character encoded data, such as graphic images or programs, that are sometimes said to be in "binary" code but are actually in their own computer-readable formats.

Source: [[https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/cleartext ]]


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