Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX 3 - STEP BY STEP GUIDE Manual page 145

Appendix B. Getting Started with Gnu Privacy Guard
gpg --gen-key
Since you work with your user account most frequently, you should perform this action while logged
in to your user account (not as root).
You see an introductory screen, with key options, including one recommended option (the default),
similar to the following:
gpg (GnuPG) 1.2.1; Copyright (C) 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it
under certain conditions. See the file COPYING for details.
Please select what kind of key you want:
(1) DSA and ElGamal (default)
(2) DSA (sign only)
(5) RSA (sign only)
Your selection?
Most of the screens which require you to choose an option lists the default option, within parentheses.
You can accept the default options by pressing [Enter].
In the first screen, you should accept the default option:
you to create a digital signature and encrypt (and decrypt) with two types of technologies. Type 1 and
then press [Enter].
Next, choose the key size, or how long the key should be. Generally, the longer the key, the more
resistant against attacks your messages are. The default size, 1024 bits, should be sufficiently strong
for most users, so press [Enter].
The next option asks you to specify how long you want your key to be valid. Usually, the default (
= key does not expire
whom you exchanged your public key also have to be informed of its expiration and supplied with a
new public key. If you do not choose an expiration date, then you are asked to confirm your decision.
Press [y] to confirm your decision.
Your next task is to provide a user ID that consists of your name, your email address, and an optional
comment. When you are finished, you are presented with a summary of the information you entered.
Once you accept your choices, you must enter a passphrase.
Tip
Like your account passwords, a good passphrase is essential for optimal security in GnuPG. For
example, mix your passphrase with uppercase and lowercase letters, use numbers, or punctuation
marks.
Once you enter and verify your passphrase, your keys are generated, and a message similar to the
following is displayed:
We need to generate a lot of random bytes. It is a good idea to perform
some other action (type on the keyboard, move the mouse, utilize the
disks) during the prime generation; this gives the random number
generator a better chance to gain enough entropy.
+++++.+++++.++++++++....++++++++++..+++++.+++++.+++++++.+++++++
+++.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++..........................++++
) is fine. If you do choose an expiration date, remember that anyone with
(1) DSA and ElGamal
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. This option allows
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