Symmetric and asymmetric encryption methods are compared. Symmetric encryption uses a single shared key for encryption and decryption while asymmetric encryption uses two separate keys: a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption. The main advantages of symmetric encryption are that it is simple and fast but key distribution is insecure. Asymmetric encryption is more secure for key distribution since users only need to share public keys, but it is more complex computationally.