File created by Advanced Encryption Package (AEP), a program used for securing files for storage and transfer; may store a public or private key created by the software; generated by the PKI Keys Manager window, which can be opened by choosing Tools → RSA Key Generator....

When you create a public and private key pair in AEP, the software creates files with the following names, assuming that you chose to name your key as "mykey" and used 1024-bit encryption: mykey_1024bit_private.aepkey mykey_1024bit_public.aepkey Public and private keys allow files to be encrypted so that only the complementary key can decrypt the file. For example, if you create private key A and public key B as complementary keys, only public key B can decrypt files encrypted with private key A. This helps verify the identity of the sender of the file and limits distribution to the entities that have the appropriate keys. NOTE: Encrypted files created by Advanced Encryption Package use the .AEP file extension.