Prompts the user for the encryption key upon starting a strongly encrypted database.
{ dbsrv10 | dbeng10 } -ep ...
The -ep option instructs the database server to make a dialog box appear for the user to enter the encryption key for database started on the command line that require an encryption key. This server option provides an extra measure of security by never allowing the encryption key to be seen in clear text.
When used with the server, the user is prompted for the encryption key only if all of the following are true:
the -ep option is specified
the server is a Windows personal server, or the server is just starting up
a key is required to start a database
the server is either not a Windows service, or it is a Windows service with the interact with desktop option turned ON
the server isn't a daemon (Unix)
If you want to secure communication packets between client applications and the database server use the -ec server option and transport-layer security. See Transport-Layer Security.
The user is prompted for the encryption key when the myencrypted.db database is started:
dbsrv10 -ep -x tcpip myencrypted.db