Cleartext

In simple form, cleartext is often rendered in ASCII format and can be read by any word processing or text editing software. It may also be subjected to encoding in other formats such as HTML, Word or WordPerfect. In general, cleartext can be defined as any type of text that can be translated on a computer without the need of decryption. Cleartext is often associated and confused with plaintext. Plaintext essentially describes two different instances of cleartext: text that is intended to be encrypted before transmission or going to storage, or the decrypted results of data that has been received or retrieved. In regard to IT (Information Technology), text is defined as any sequence of characters that is readable by humans. Text contrasts from non-character data that has been encrypted or encoded such as graphic images. It also differs from applications that are said to be in binary code, files that are pre-formatted to be read by its computer system.