What Are Digital Signatures; Additional Resources - Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX 3 - STEP BY STEP GUIDE Manual

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gpg: key F78FFE84: public key imported
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:
To check that the process was successful, use the
newly imported key listed on your keyring.
When you import a public key, you add that key to your keyring (a file in which public and secret keys
are kept). Then, when you download a document or file from that entity, you can check the validity of
that document against the key you added to your keyring.
B.7. What Are Digital Signatures?
Digital signatures can be compared to your written signature. Unlike traditional correspondence, in
which it might be possible to tamper with your written signature, digital signatures can not be forged.
That is because the signature is created with your unique secret key and can be verified by your
recipient using your public key.
A digital signature timestamps a document; essentially, that means that the time you signed the doc-
ument is part of that signature. So if anyone tries to modify the document, the verification of the
signature fails. Some email applications, such as Exmh or KDE's KMail, include the ability to sign
documents with GnuPG within the application's interface.
Two useful types of digital signatures are clearsigned documents and detached signatures. Both types
of signatures incorporate the same security of authenticity, without requiring your recipient to decrypt
your entire message.
In a clearsigned message, your signature appears as a text block within the context of your letter; a
detached signature is sent as a separate file with your correspondence.
B.8. Additional Resources
There is more to encryption technology than can be covered in one slim introduction to GnuPG. Here
are some resources where you can learn more.
B.8.1. Installed Documentation
and
•
man gpg info gpg
B.8.2. Useful Websites
http://www.gnupg.org — The GnuPG website with links to the latest GnuPG releases, a compre-
•
hensive user's guide, and other cryptography resources.
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/backend/security/tutorials/tutorial1.html
•
Encryption Tutorial from Webmonkey to learn more about encryption and how to apply
encryption techniques.
http://www.eff.org/pub/Privacy — The Electronic Frontier Foundation, "Privacy, Security, Crypto,
•
& Surveillance" Archive.
Appendix B. Getting Started with Gnu Privacy Guard
imported: 1
— Quick Reference of GnuPG commands and options.
gpg --list-keys
command; you should see your
— Visit the