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Re: [LUG] gpg

 

On 05/02/13 23:07, paul sutton wrote:
Paul

What files do I need to copy between computers so that I can transfer /
copy my gpg key from one computer to another.    If i reinstall Linux at
anytime i would havce to do this in order to keep using my exisiting gpg
set up.

I used to understand this on a basic level  but haven't used it in a few
years, 


As i understand it,  if I attach the public key,  this is what you use
to decrypt it if I have encrypted my e-mail,  but you can also import
this in to your keyring and get this verified (keysigning + passport
needed) so you know e-mails between 2 people are secure.

My private key is stored elsewhere or internally,  this can be exported
buts bad to do so,  however my private key is for encryping my own
files. or is used when i select encrypt.

to do either i need my passphrase which I keep safe and secret.

if that makes sense,  which it probably doesn't



thanks

Paul




On a sane distro, your keys should be in ~/.gnupg

It's not considered good practice to just manually copy these files between machines (although technically possible), you should use the --export and --import options of gpg instead. There are countless tutorials available for this, for example: http://www.debuntu.org/how-to-importexport-gpg-key-pair/

Cheers
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