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Keysigning

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Revision as of 22:21, 10 September 2009 by Obscurite (talk | contribs)

Intro

  • You have a private key and a public key, which you generate (your keypair).
  • People use your public key to send you encrypted messages that only you can open via the magic of crypto!
  • You decrypt these messages with your private key, which only you have access to.
  • But first, you must share your public key, either directly or by uploading it to a keyserver.
  • If it's on a keyserver, they must download it from the keyserver.
  • If it was a file, they can import it manually.
  • Now they can sign the key and send the key back to the keyserver.
  • But before anyone signs anyone elses key they have to make sure that person actually owns that key (checking physical ID).
  • Now people can see that you believe that key to be valid, which improves the chances of it being a valid key! (web of trust)
  • Now you're all set, but you also want to...
    • Generate a revokation certificate in case you lose your passphrase or your key is comprimised!

DETAILS

  • For the keysigning party on Thurs 9/10 we will use the pgp.mit.edu keyserver
  • I will pass around copies of signatures so you can check people off as you confirm their identity
  • I recommend using a valid state photo ID as a minimum validation. It is up to your personal "keysigning policy."

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