GPG
From Koset
What is GPG?
The gnu privacy guard is an easy way to encrypt email so that only the sender and recipient can read it.
Why would I need that?
Ever send an email to the wrong person by mistake? Ever hit reply-all? A friend of mine switched to gpg while going through a divorce.
Ever lose a laptop? Has anyone you know ever lost a laptop?
Email is in no way secure. It is very easily intercepted or recovered by unknown parties even if you think you delete a message.
In short, this is useful if you ever want your email to never be read by unwanted parties.
What is encryption?
It's the process of using your password to convert something readable into something unreadable. This unreadable, encrypted text looks like gibberish to third parties. It can only be converted back to readable text by the person for whom it's intended.
Here's a brief primer on the topic.
How do I get started?
An easy way to get started is to sign up for a free mail account with MailVault It has pgp built in, no software to install. Of course, I am koset(at)mailvault.com.
Installing GPG for yourself
The definitive web site is http://www.gnupg.org/ Windows users can download this. Contact me and I'll be happy to help!
In short, the steps are:
- Download and install the software
- Create your own key with a password
- Give out your public key (see mine below)
- Get keys from your friends
- Encrypt email messages to friends
- Decrypt messages from others
The encrypted messages will be stored that way on your PC so that if anyone does access or steal your PC, they won't be able to read your mail. Messages are encrypted over the internet so anyone who can intercept a message can't read it. You can even encrypt files on your PC that are not email. Do you have any passwords stored in a file? How about a personal diary?
My GPG Key
You'll need my public key to send me an encrypted message. Note, all other keys for me on key servers are invalid. (Note to self: need to generate revokation certs.)
-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (Darwin) mQGiBEF6AFMRBACAO5yVA4MGjdDqpTjvfrfEyv5YV9tFU698wYovvHXtxfJE3idg Xb61e5xdlisgx9vQSG+qWzU5Fl9kr/YPa0lm1SF3EU/j8+133Te84STfQSaEiUVc Pwzocl4FpfRhO4EDENWIeFOD9gYAcUDWko3uQ8QthkyVtSh3bshqBZ7GXwCgunlP Ive/ENSF/nF0dpGOWy5pncMD/A0kRyACzAgJ+RVaANWSRgR1woe9Ij3IvOGq9r4X pT+telYZb5QhFVRmwTZyLOUyrlVNPTnAQLHdcmj1I8Ia5/owWuFv2UCtQV+C99sI z0DAA2y3fPe6tK6Prm/mwtRhwgNR1OqM6/+kHQDAYWmofdLIc3uhRd1sqnNMdFNq vr5cA/9dLccRPWCJN9PjOxe+qG5zwi5RNYnfUtoXfCaIkn+i/2dVn+bftJTnJnO+ NYEpCwTxiPM1V0OKwbckfd/WTki4XIg1SBQ1ucwcWCXtNnUfV7xRYY3IO3GMcur3 qz6JhWsbEUBmpcZfTF6J7RMBs9tD74ieDFDHV280LOULfdVt3LQlS29zZXQgU3Vy YWtvbW9sIDxrb3NldEBzdXJha29tb2wuY29tPoheBBMRAgAeBQJBegBTAhsDBgsJ CAcDAgMVAgMDFgIBAh4BAheAAAoJEK374+NWWHuBLNkAn05S+qZv6vAmp+CkJoL0 OGb/1O8LAKCQU3L9H7DsMiOtfl1rlXPodPehVrkBDQRBegBcEAQAmNWoN778IJaE JQFflnFfp3/wonf/9ulHohc4KWzq1cV4jHL2L626cAW6/yOnKUTUdzr5KuM2eplX /qeGAfuTsJJlt2+SGTp3+0Qx0fLAEnGgo62KrqN4WQJa4mpvRcdFatAOBItkR3sM Xsqz3RfQrF4lLeSopEau5chnCuuz1UMAAwUD/ihoskQaPj4oGNuiq0xuHusyPPAI bFKsA23pUGev14nWe00L7tKC4IHz2htDlZ0RrdNe5yvaNcPzYjxFuK+/cBptpCc2 gT5nNIn1z/VgSKP6J4UVYJ8sB74zEdvwJxXQr99Ev2ktsuyyk+wue8HmDDlL6tLv oq/L5mK/Z0bboEG7iEkEGBECAAkFAkF6AFwCGwwACgkQrfvj41ZYe4EVpgCfe7Y5 mmEYFUdBeanZk0343QA6apgAniyh+GaICLDtRFdnoLI+vKqhUHum =lRg2 -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
Note, GPG is similar to PGP, the pretty good privacy software. However, the latter is commercial software. I have no problem with that, but I figure, why not use something that's free?
A note about key management
I highly recommend you back up your keyring files, e.g. CD-ROM and keep it someplace other than where your PC is. How about your folks' house?
Another good idea is to not keep your keyring on your PC. Keep it on a USB flash drive on your car keyring so you take it with you when you leave. That way, if your PC is stolen, the thief won't have both the keys and they encrypted files.
