GNU Privacy Guard or GnuPG, is a program that utilizes authentication and public-key cryptography that allows you to securely transmit email messages over the internet. Released under the GNU General Public License, it is viewed as the free open-source alternative to the PGP program and is designed to support PGP encryption keys. The encryption scheme GnuPG uses consists of a pair of keys: a public key and a private key. The public key is to be shared with the people you want to communicate with while the private key is used to encrypt messages and is to be kept secret. By using the public key, recipients can decrypt and read the messages you send them. The cPanel control panel allows you to easily create or import GnuPG keys and this step by step tutorial will show you how.
Generating Encryption Keys
In order to start working with GnuPG encryption keys, you must first log into your cPanel account. After you are logged in, you can then proceed to create the key pair consisting of both the public and private key.
- From within cPanel, navigate to and click on the “GnuPG” keys icon underneath the “Security” section.
One the GnuPG Keys page, you will observe a number of entry boxes that require you to enter information before proceeding with generation of the key pair. This information is as follows:
Your Name - While this is rather obvious, make sure you enter a name you want recipients to relate to your secure communications. For example, if you are using the name of your business, it would be ideal to enter it in this text field.
Your Email – This is obvious as well, but make sure you enter the full and correct email address you want to associate with the key pair.
Comment/NickName – This field is optional. However, it can be quite useful for specifying the purpose of the key, especially if you create a number of key pairs.
Key Password (blank for none) – This field is also optional. However, if you want to create a password for encryption, this is where you would enter it.
Expire Date – This field is extremely important as it allows you to create an expiration date for your encryption keys. Once that date expires, you will need to create a new GnuPG key pair. Though it also optional, you may want to enter a practical date here.
Key Field – This field is also important. When entering the required details, remember the bigger your key size, the more difficult your messages will be to break without the use of the appropriate decryption key. Therefore, we strongly recommend choosing the largest size, which is 4096.
After entering the required information, simply click on the “Generate Key” button. On the next page, you will see a message asking that you wait patiently while the system generates the key pair. Once the process is complete, you can then view details regarding the key pair your just created.
Importing GnuPG Encryption Keys
To import your encryption keys, navigate down the GnuPG Keys page and click the “Import Key” button. From here, all you have to do is copy the desired key and paste it into the provided entry box. Lastly, simply click “Import” to add the key to your account.
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