OpenPGP is a non proprietary protocol for encrypting e-mail with the use of public key cryptography based on PGP. It defines standard formats for encrypted messages, signatures, private keys and certificates for exchanging public keys.
Public key cryptography is a concept which involves the use of two keys: a public key, that you can give to anyone with whom you would like to communicate, and a private key which is private and must be kept secret.
To create OpenPGP keys:
-
Choose
-
Select PGP Key and click Continue
-
Enter your full name (first - last), your e-mail address and any additional information. You can also specify advanced options for the key: see below.
-
Click Create to create the new key pair.
-
The Passphrase for New PGP Key dialogue will open. Enter the passphrase twice for your new key.
Use similar practises to generating a strong password when choosing a passphrase. The main difference between a password and a passphrase is that, in a passphrase, spaces are valid characters.
Expand the Advanced key options section to specify the following options for a new key:
- Encryption Type
-
This field specifies the encryption algorithms used to generate your keys.
-
DSA ElGamal
-
This is the suggested choice as it will allow you to encrypt, decrypt, sign and verify as needed.
- DSA
-
Will allow signing only.
- RSA
-
Will allow signing only.
- Key Strength (bits)
-
This is the length of the key in bits. The longer the key, the more secure it will be, provided a strong passphrase is used. Conversely, performing any operation with a longer key will require more time than it would with a shorter key. Acceptable values are between 1024 and 4096 bits. At least 2048 bits is recommended.
- Expiration Date
-
This is the date at which the key will cease to be usable for performing encryption or signing operations. 6 months is a reasonable time to set it to. You will have to either change the expiration date or generate a new key or subkey after this amount of time passes.
Sign your new key with your old one before it expires to preserve your trust status.
About
Copyrights
- Copyright © 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Jacob Perkins and Adam Schreiber
- Copyright © 2007 David Lodge (dave@cirt.net)
Legal Notice
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation Licence (GFDL), Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. You can find a copy of the GFDL at this link or in the file COPYING-DOCS distributed with this manual.
This manual is part of a collection of GNOME manuals distributed under the GFDL. If you want to distribute this manual separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the licence to the manual, as described in section 6 of the licence.
Many of the names used by companies to distinguish their products and services are claimed as trademarks. Where those names appear in any GNOME documentation, and the members of the GNOME Documentation Project are made aware of those trademarks, then the names are in capital letters or initial capital letters.
DOCUMENT AND MODIFIED VERSIONS OF THE DOCUMENT ARE PROVIDED UNDER THE TERMS OF THE GNU FREE DOCUMENTATION LICENCE WITH THE FURTHER UNDERSTANDING THAT:
-
DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES THAT THE DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED VERSION OF THE DOCUMENT IS FREE OF DEFECTS MERCHANTABLE, FIT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGING. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY, ACCURACY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED VERSION OF THE DOCUMENT IS WITH YOU. SHOULD ANY DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED VERSION PROVE DEFECTIVE IN ANY RESPECT, YOU (NOT THE INITIAL WRITER, AUTHOR OR ANY CONTRIBUTOR) ASSUME THE COST OF ANY NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. THIS DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY CONSTITUTES AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THIS LICENCE. NO USE OF ANY DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED VERSION OF THE DOCUMENT IS AUTHORISED HEREUNDER EXCEPT UNDER THIS DISCLAIMER; AND
-
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY, WHETHER IN TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE, SHALL THE AUTHOR, INITIAL WRITER, ANY CONTRIBUTOR OR ANY DISTRIBUTOR OF THE DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED VERSION OF THE DOCUMENT OR ANY SUPPLIER OF ANY OF SUCH PARTIES, BE LIABLE TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY CHARACTER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR ANY AND ALL OTHER DAMAGES OR LOSSES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO USE OF THE DOCUMENT AND MODIFIED VERSIONS OF THE DOCUMENT, EVEN IF SUCH PARTY SHALL HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Feedback
To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding the Passwords and Encryption Keys application or this manual, follow the directions in the GNOME Feedback Page.