The public PGP keys you have in your system are listedĥ. Right-click the file and select EncryptĤ. Find the file that you want to encrypt (it can be on your desktop, in the persistent folder, or wherever) (if you need a file to test, just open gedit, write yourself a little note and save it)ģ. Better yet, make a second public PGP key, and then use itĢ. If you do not have anyone else's public PGP key, you can use your own key and send a file to yourself. Before you choose a file to encrypt, you must have already imported the intended recipient's public PGP key. In the next steps, you are NOT using the Passwords and Encryption Keys programġ. The public PGP key is visible by selecting GnuPG keys from the left column Once imported, you can close the windowĦ. To Import a key, right-click it and select Import. A list of public PGP keys containing the search term will appear. Enter a search term, such as a Key ID or a Key nameĥ. Make sure you are connected to the internetĤ. To import someone's public PGP key from the keyservers:ġ. Keyservers are databases that anyone (even you) can use to share their public PGP key(s) with the world. You can easily look up someone's public PGP key if they upload it to a keyserver. You can now delete the original filename.asc file that you used in Step 1 You have imported the key and can see it by selecting GnuPG keys from the left columnĦ. In the main window, click File > Importĥ. Open the Passwords and Keys program ( Applications > Utilities > Passwords and Keys)ģ. The filename can be any name you chooseĢ. If you only have the text of someone's public PGP key, copy the text into gedit and save it as filename.asc. Save their filename.asc or filename.pgp public PGP key (you can save it anywhere, this is temporary). Likewise, you can post the key's text on a website as opposed to the fileĬopy everything, Starting with “ - BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK -”Īnd ending with “ -END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK -”ġ. For example, instead of attaching a public PGP key file to an email, you can paste its text into an email. You can share this text instead of sharing the file.
An Extra Special Step – Go to the location that you saved your exported public PGP key and use gedit to open it (right-click the file, Open with > gedit Text Editor). It is used to 'lock' a file so that only you can 'unlock' itĩ. You can share it with anyone, post it on a website, and give it to your worst enemy. As the name suggests, it is for the public. Choose a location, and then click ExportĨ. Give your key any Name you wish, just make sure it has the. Select Armored PGP keys from the PGP Keys drop-box (in the bottom right corner of the Export window)Ħ. By right-clicking your key and selecting Properties, you can view its details, as well as change its passwordĥ. Your brand new public PGP key is visible by selecting GnuPG keys from the left column of the Passwords and Keys windowġ1.
Make a strong password and remember it (it is unrecoverable)ġ0. You do not need to set an Expiration Dateĩ. Choose RSA and set the Key Strength to “4096” bits.
Enter a full name and email address (these do not have to be real)ħ. In the Passwords and Keys window, click File > NewĤ. Open the Passwords and Keys program ( Applications > Utilities > Passwords and Keys)Ģ.
If the entire text is pure chaos, including the first line, it is an encrypted file, which you can give a. The top line of the text will tell you if it is a public PGP key, private PGP key or signature file. If you suspect this to be the case, open the file in your gedit program (right-click the file > Open with > gedit). It is common to find PGP related files with the wrong extensions.
sig – this extension is for a signature file (if you sign filename.txt, a second file,, will be created) gpg – this extension is for a file that has been encrypted using GPG. pgp – this extension is for a file that has been encrypted using PGP (if you encrypt filename.txt, the new file created will be named ) asc file (since they are the same, filename.key can be renamed filename.asc)
asc – this extension is for a public PGP key file saved using the American Standard Code for Information Interchange character-encoding scheme, abbreviated ASCII (when you import or export a public PGP key the file name will be keyname.asc) Unless you are a mega uptight person, there is no need to distinguish between the two. They are interoperable, so, using one will not leave you unable to communicate with someone that uses the other. The difference between the two comes down to licensing and encryption algorithms that you probably will never notice. So, if you want to email a secret love note or favorite recipe without Kim Jong-Un fixing his hungry eyes upon it, type it into a little text file, encrypt it and send it.
How to be Anonymous Online: Step-by-Step Anonymity with Tor, Tails, Bitcoin and Writeprints (2016) Section: PGP/GPG - Everything you want to know