Question

I am using MS SQL Server compact edition within a project. The client has requested for all data contained in the database to be encrypted. The key for the encryption may be installation-specific or even a global key for all installations, it is more intended as minimal barrier for people that have taken a copy of the sdf and try to read the data contained in it.

Is there a setting within SQL Server CE that enables encryption on the DB or is there no mechanism like that and the application has to take care of encryption of the data on its own?

Thx!

Answer 1

i find that (source)

Use the SQL Server Compact File Encryption Within the SQL Server
Compact Connection String you can tell the engine to encrypt the
datafile with a password. By simply specifying a password, the
database is automatically encrypted. We used to support an encrypt =
true name/value pair, but it was sort of silly to have a password
without encryption, and encryption without a password is about as
useful as putting a lock on a door but leaving the key in the lock (on
the outside of the door). So, we no longer use this name/value pair
and will likely throw an error in a future release if the engine sees
it. Today Compact just ignores it.

To turn on Encryption, simply set the Password like the following:

Data Source=|DataDirectory|\Localdatabase.sdf;Password=Foo