- What Is PGP? GPG?
- Why Should You Care?
- Is GPG Hard to Use?
- Does It Work with Other Crypto Programs?
- Where Can You Find GPG?
- How Does It Work?
- How to Install It
- How to Use It
- Passphrase
- Generate Your Key
- Export Your Key
- Key Management Window
- Importing a Key via the Clipboard
- Importing a Key from the Key Server Network
- Open the GPG Text Editor
- Right-Click Menu
- File Encryption/Decryption
- Problems?
- Possible Legal Hazards
- Resources
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How to Use It
Most of what you’ll do with day-to-day is use the limited set of options that the right-click menu provides. However, you’ll need to set up KGpg first, which isn’t complex—it just looks that way. You’ll also have to learn how to import other people’s keys that aren’t on a key server. Follow the steps described here to learn how.
Once installed, the first thing you must do is to create a public/private key pair. The public key is what people use to encrypt mail to you or to verify your digital signatures to documents you have signed. The public key can be published and/or sent to anyone you want. You want it to get out to as many people who might be interested because you need the public key to be in the hands of anyone who might wish to communicate privately with you or who might need to verify your signature on a public post or contract.
You can post it to a public key server, put it on a web/blog page, or send it in e-mail. People have even used it in e-mail and Usenet post signatures, though for the most part, you aren’t going to be thanked for adding 1/2 page of binary code to every one of your messages. Putting it on the default public key server is good enough. Find out how to do this below.
The private key and the passphrase you use to access it must be kept private. You use it to sign messages and decrypt messages sent to you.