How to encrypt a specific column in a MySQL table?

Question

I am experimenting with creating a simple message system (PHP) page that uses a MySQL table to store the entries. The rough outline of the columns I\'ll use in the table are

Answer 1

You can also encrypt the data prior to the query to insert it, so that MySQL doesn't even know it's encrypted, and decrypt it on retrieval in the application. For that, you should store it in a varbinary or blob column though.