fr: synchronize with enc efa2eb8.
[enc-live.git] / en / index.html
CommitLineData
bdf319c4 1<!DOCTYPE html>
19bce4d7 2<html lang="en">
116f80c3 3<head>
19bce4d7
TG
4<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
5<title>Email Self-Defense - a guide to fighting surveillance with GnuPG
6encryption</title>
7<meta name="keywords" content="GnuPG, GPG, openpgp, surveillance, privacy,
77aea16c 8email, security, GnuPG2, encryption" />
19bce4d7
TG
9<meta name="description" content="Email surveillance violates our fundamental
10rights and makes free speech risky. This guide will teach you email
11self-defense in 40 minutes with GnuPG." />
12<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
14c5f099 13<link rel="stylesheet" href="../static/css/main.css" />
19bce4d7 14<link rel="shortcut icon"
14c5f099 15href="../static/img/favicon.ico" />
116f80c3 16</head>
cb1cec74 17<body>
e59c77da 18<!--<div style="text-align: center; padding: 2.5px; background-color: #a94442; color:#fcf8e3;"><p>Due to Enigmail's PGP functionality being migrated into Icedove and Thunderbird, steps 2 and 3 of the guide are currently out of date.</p><p> Thank you for your patience while we're working on a new round of updates.</p></div>-->
0e203e6f 19
f12cd56f 20<!-- PLACE FUNDRAISER MODAL WINDOW HERE -->
aa082aba 21
19bce4d7
TG
22<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ GnuPG Header and introduction text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
23<header class="row" id="header"><div>
116f80c3 24
e59c77da 25
19bce4d7 26<h1>Email Self-Defense</h1>
116f80c3 27
19bce4d7
TG
28<!-- Language list for browsers that do not have JS enabled -->
29<ul id="languages" class="os">
de17dfbe 30<li><a class="current" href="/en">English - v5.0</a></li>
7c252a78 31<li><a href="/es">español - v5.0</a></li>
de17dfbe
TG
32<li><a href="/fr">français - v5.0</a></li>
33<li><a href="/tr">Türkçe - v5.0</a></li>
7c252a78 34<!--<li><a href="/cs">čeština - v4.0</a></li>
f7d7ddc2 35<li><a href="/de">Deutsch - v4.0</a></li>
7c4f505e 36<li><a href="/el">ελληνικά - v3.0</a></li>
7c4f505e 37<li><a href="/fa">فارسی - v4.0</a></li>
7c4f505e
ZR
38<li><a href="/it">italiano - v3.0</a></li>
39<li><a href="/ja">日本語 - v4.0</a></li>
7c4f505e 40<li><a href="/pt-br">português do Brasil - v3.0</a></li>
a78dcf32 41<li><a href="/ro">română - v3.0</a></li>-->
8a64efa9
I
42<li><a href="/ru">русский - v5.0</a></li>
43<!--<li><a href="/sq">Shqip - v4.0</a></li>
1ad8e716 44<li><a href="/sv">svenska - v4.0</a></li>
1ad8e716 45<li><a href="/zh-hans">简体中文 - v4.0</a></li>-->
77aea16c
TG
46<li><strong><a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Translation_Guide">
47Translate!</a></strong></li>
19bce4d7
TG
48</ul>
49
50<ul id="menu" class="os">
37d0bc33 51<li class="spacer"><a href="index.html" class="current">Set up guide</a></li>
52<!--<li><a href="mac.html">Mac OS</a></li>-->
53<!--<li><a href="windows.html">Windows</a></li>-->
f211d856
I
54<li class="spacer"><a href="workshops.html">Teach your friends</a></li>
55<li class="spacer"><a
770452f9 56href="https://fsf.org/share?u=https://u.fsf.org/zb&amp;t=Email%20encryption%20for%20everyone%20via%20%40fsf">
f211d856 57Share&nbsp;
14c5f099 58<img src="../static/img/gnu-social.png" class="share-logo"
19bce4d7 59alt="[GNU Social]" />&nbsp;
14c5f099 60<img src="../static/img/mastodon.png" class="share-logo"
d06ce723 61alt="[Mastodon]" />&nbsp;
14c5f099 62<img src="../static/img/reddit-alien.png" class="share-logo"
19bce4d7 63alt="[Reddit]" />&nbsp;
14c5f099 64<img src="../static/img/hacker-news.png" class="share-logo"
f211d856 65alt="[Hacker News]" /></a></li>
19bce4d7
TG
66</ul>
67
68<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ FSF Introduction ~~~~~~~~~ -->
69<div id="fsf-intro">
70
6003a573 71<h3><a href="https://u.fsf.org/ys"><img
19bce4d7 72alt="Free Software Foundation"
14c5f099 73src="../static/img/fsf-logo.png" />
19bce4d7
TG
74</a></h3>
75
76<div class="fsf-emphasis">
77
78<p>We fight for computer users' rights, and promote the development of free (as
79in freedom) software. Resisting bulk surveillance is very important to us.</p>
80
81<p><strong>Please donate to support Email Self-Defense. We need to keep
82improving it, and making more materials, for the benefit of people around
83the world taking the first step towards protecting their privacy.</strong></p>
84
85</div>
86
d1f39676 87<div style="text-align: center;">
33eab950
TG
88<p><a href="https://crm.fsf.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&amp;id=14&amp;mtm_campaign=email_self_defense&amp;mtm_kwd=guide_donate"><img alt="Donate" src="../static/img/en/donate.png" /></a></p>
89
d1f39676 90<h5>Sign up</h5>
91<form action="https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=31" method="post">
92<p>Enter your email address to receive our monthly newsletter, the<br><a href="https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/">Free Software Supporter</a></p>
93
94<p><input id="frmEmail" type="text" name="email-Primary" size="18" maxlength="80" /></p>
95<p><input type="submit" name="_qf_Edit_next" value="Subscribe me" /></p>
96<div><input name="postURL" type="hidden" value="" />
97<input type="hidden" name="group[25]" value="1" />
98<input name="cancelURL" type="hidden" value="https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile?reset=1&gid=31" />
99<input name="_qf_default" type="hidden" value="Edit:cancel" />
100</div>
101</form></div>
64a48f78 102
19bce4d7
TG
103</div><!-- End #fsf-intro -->
104
105<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Guide Introduction ~~~~~~~~~ -->
106<div class="intro">
107
108<p><a id="infographic" href="infographic.html"><img
14c5f099 109src="../static/img/en/infographic-button.png"
19bce4d7
TG
110alt="View &amp; share our infographic &rarr;" /></a>
111Bulk surveillance violates our fundamental rights and makes free speech
5b97f4df
TG
112risky. This guide will teach you a basic surveillance self-defense skill: email
113encryption. Once you've finished, you'll be able to send and receive emails
114that are scrambled to make sure a surveillance agent or thief intercepting
115your email can't read them. All you need is a computer with an Internet
116connection, an email account, and about forty minutes.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
117
118<p>Even if you have nothing to hide, using encryption helps protect the privacy
119of people you communicate with, and makes life difficult for bulk surveillance
120systems. If you do have something important to hide, you're in good company;
121these are the same tools that whistleblowers use to protect their identities
80b64e11 122while shining light on human rights abuses, corruption, and other crimes.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
123
124<p>In addition to using encryption, standing up
125to surveillance requires fighting politically for a <a
e59c77da 126href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">reduction
19bce4d7
TG
127in the amount of data collected on us</a>, but the essential first step is
128to protect yourself and make surveillance of your communication as difficult
129as possible. This guide helps you do that. It is designed for beginners, but
130if you already know the basics of GnuPG or are an experienced free software
131user, you'll enjoy the advanced tips and the <a href="workshops.html">guide
132to teaching your friends</a>.</p>
133
134</div><!-- End .intro -->
135</div></header><!-- End #header -->
136
137<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 1: Get the pieces ~~~~~~~~~ -->
138<section class="row" id="section1"><div>
139
140<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
141<div class="section-intro">
142
143<h2><em>#1</em> Get the pieces</h2>
144
145<p class="notes">This guide relies on software which is <a
146href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">freely licensed</a>;
147it's completely transparent and anyone can copy it or make their
148own version. This makes it safer from surveillance than proprietary
80b64e11 149software (like Windows or macOS). Learn more about free software at <a
19bce4d7
TG
150href="https://u.fsf.org/ys">fsf.org</a>.</p>
151
c174e65c 152<p>Most GNU/Linux operating systems come with GnuPG installed on them, so if you're running one of these systems, you don't have to download it. If you're running macOS or Windows, steps to download GnuPG are below. Before configuring your encryption setup with this guide, though, you'll need a desktop email program installed on your computer. Many GNU/Linux distributions have one installed already, such as Icedove, which may be under the alternate name "Thunderbird." Programs like these are another way to access the same email accounts you can access in a browser (like Gmail), but provide extra features.</p>
19bce4d7 153
19bce4d7
TG
154</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
155
156<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
157<div id="step-1a" class="step">
158<div class="sidebar">
159
69e314de 160<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 161src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step1a-install-wizard.png"
19bce4d7
TG
162alt="Step 1.A: Install Wizard" /></p>
163
164</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
165<div class="main">
166
167<h3><em>Step 1.a</em> Set up your email program with your email account</h3>
168
169<p>Open your email program and follow the wizard (step-by-step walkthrough)
37d0bc33 170that sets it up with your email account. This usually starts from "Account Settings" &rarr; "Add Mail Account". You should get the email server settings from your systems administrator or the help section of your email account.</p>
77aea16c 171
19bce4d7
TG
172
173<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
174<div class="troubleshooting">
175
176<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
177
178<dl>
179<dt>The wizard doesn't launch</dt>
180<dd>You can launch the wizard yourself, but the menu option for doing so is
181named differently in each email program. The button to launch it will be in
182the program's main menu, under "New" or something similar, titled something
183like "Add account" or "New/Existing email account."</dd>
184
185<dt>The wizard can't find my account or isn't downloading my mail</dt>
186<dd>Before searching the Web, we recommend you start by asking other people
187who use your email system, to figure out the correct settings.</dd>
188
b7f7b4a2 189<dt>I can't find the menu</dt>
19bce4d7
TG
190<dd>In many new email programs, the main menu is represented by an image of
191three stacked horizontal bars.</dd>
192
19bce4d7
TG
193<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
194<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
195href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
196page</a>.</dd>
197</dl>
198
199</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
200</div><!-- End .main -->
201</div><!-- End #step1-a .step -->
202
203<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
204<div id="step-1b" class="step">
19bce4d7
TG
205<div class="main">
206
63fe86d5
TG
207<h3><em>Step 1.b</em> Install GnuPG</h3>
208
209<p>If you are using a GNU/Linux machine, you should already have GnuPG installed, and you can skip to <a href="#section2">Section 2</a>.</p>
19bce4d7 210
63fe86d5 211<p>If you are using a macOS or Windows machine, however, you need to first install the GnuPG program. Select your operating system below and follow the instructions. For the rest of this guide, the steps are the same for all operating systems. </p>
19bce4d7 212
37d0bc33 213<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ MACOS ~~~~~~~~~ -->
214<div class="troubleshooting">
19bce4d7 215
77aea16c 216<h4>macOS</h4>
64af8734 217
37d0bc33 218<dl>
219<dt>Use a third-party package manager to install GnuPG</dt>
63fe86d5
TG
220<dd>
221<p>The default macOS package manager makes it difficult to install GnuPG and other pieces of free software (like Emacs, GIMP, or Inkscape). To make things easier, we recommend setting up the third-party package manager "Homebrew" to install GnuPG. For this, we will use a program called "Terminal," which is pre-installed on macOS.</p>
222
223<p># Copy the first command on the home page of <a href="https://brew.sh/">Homebrew</a> by clicking on the clipboard icon, and paste it in Terminal. Click "Enter" and wait for the installation to finalize.</p>
224<p># Then install GnuPG by entering the following code in Terminal:<br/>
225<code>brew install gnupg gnupg2</code></p>
226</dd>
37d0bc33 227</dl>
228
229</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
230
231<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ WINDOWS ~~~~~~~~~ -->
19bce4d7
TG
232<div class="troubleshooting">
233
37d0bc33 234<h4>Windows</h4>
19bce4d7
TG
235
236<dl>
37d0bc33 237<dt>Get GnuPG by downloading GPG4Win</dt>
b4a6695d 238<dd><p><a href="https://www.gpg4win.org/">GPG4Win</a> is an email and file encryption software package that includes GnuPG. Download and install the latest version, choosing default options whenever asked. After it's installed, you can close any windows that it creates.</p>
37d0bc33 239</dd>
19bce4d7
TG
240</dl>
241
242</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
243</div><!-- End .main -->
37d0bc33 244</div><!-- End #step1-b .step -->
245
80b64e11 246<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
247<div id="terminology" class="step">
248<div class="main">
249
a4eb3926 250<h3>GnuPG, OpenPGP, what?</h3>
80b64e11 251
252<p>In general, the terms GnuPG, GPG, GNU Privacy Guard, OpenPGP and PGP
253are used interchangeably. Technically, OpenPGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is the
254encryption standard, and GNU Privacy Guard (often shortened to GPG or GnuPG)
255is the program that implements the standard. Most email programs provide an interface for GnuPG. There is also a newer version of GnuPG, called GnuPG2.</p>
256
257</div><!-- End .main -->
258</div><!-- End #terminology.step-->
259
19bce4d7
TG
260</div></section><!-- End #section1 -->
261
262<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 2: Make your keys ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 263<section id="section2" class="row"><div>
19bce4d7
TG
264
265<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
266<div class="section-intro">
267
268<h2><em>#2</em> Make your keys</h2>
69e314de 269<p class="float medium"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step2a-01-make-keypair.png" alt="A robot with a head shaped like a key holding a private and a public key"/></p>
19bce4d7
TG
270
271<p>To use the GnuPG system, you'll need a public key and a private key (known
272together as a keypair). Each is a long string of randomly generated numbers
273and letters that are unique to you. Your public and private keys are linked
274together by a special mathematical function.</p>
275
276<p>Your public key isn't like a physical key, because it's stored in the open
277in an online directory called a keyserver. People download it and use it,
278along with GnuPG, to encrypt emails they send to you. You can think of the
279keyserver as a phonebook; people who want to send you encrypted email can
280look up your public key.</p>
281
282<p>Your private key is more like a physical key, because you keep it to
283yourself (on your computer). You use GnuPG and your private key together to
77aea16c
TG
284descramble encrypted emails other people send to you. <strong>You should never share your private key with anyone, under any
285circumstances.</strong></p>
19bce4d7
TG
286
287<p>In addition to encryption and decryption, you can also use these keys to
288sign messages and check the authenticity of other people's signatures. We'll
289discuss this more in the next section.</p>
290
291</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
292
293<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
294<div id="step-2a" class="step">
295<div class="sidebar">
69e314de 296<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 297src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step2a-02-make-keypair.png"
35f08087 298alt="Step 2.A: Make your Keypair" /></p>
69e314de
TG
299
300<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 301src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step2a-03-make-keypair.png"
7b83f7f9 302alt="Step 2.A: Set your passphrase" /></p>
19bce4d7
TG
303
304</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
305<div class="main">
306
307<h3><em>Step 2.a</em> Make a keypair</h3>
77aea16c
TG
308
309<h4>Make your keypair</h4>
19bce4d7 310
63fe86d5
TG
311<p>We will use the command line in a terminal to create a keypair using the
312GnuPG program.</p>
19bce4d7 313
63fe86d5
TG
314<p class="notes">Whether on GNU/Linux, macOS or Windows, you can launch your
315terminal ("Terminal" in macOS, "PowerShell" in Windows) from the Applications
316menu (some GNU/Linux systems respond to the <kbd>Ctrl + Alt + T</kbd>
317shortcut).</p>
318
319<p># Enter <code>gpg --full-generate-key</code> to start the process.</p>
77aea16c
TG
320<p># To answer what kind of key you would like to create, select the default option: <samp>1&nbsp;RSA&nbsp;and&nbsp;RSA</samp>.</p>
321<p># Enter the following keysize: <code>4096</code> for a strong key.</p>
63fe86d5 322<p># Choose the expiration date; we suggest <code>2y</code> (2 years).</p>
e59c77da 323<p>Follow the prompts to continue setting up with your personal details.</p>
a7ba22c6 324<p class="notes"> Depending on your version of GPG, you may need to use <code>--gen-key</code> instead of <code>--full-generate-key</code>.</p>
19bce4d7 325
77aea16c 326<h4>Set your passphrase</h4>
7b83f7f9 327<p>On the screen titled "Passphrase," pick a strong password! You can
19bce4d7
TG
328do it manually, or you can use the Diceware method. Doing it manually
329is faster but not as secure. Using Diceware takes longer and requires
4d10d72d 330dice, but creates a password that is much harder for attackers to figure
19bce4d7 331out. To use it, read the section "Make a secure passphrase with Diceware" in <a
f211d856 332href="https://theintercept.com/2015/03/26/passphrases-can-memorize-attackers-cant-guess/">
7b83f7f9 333this article</a> by Micah Lee.</p>
334
19bce4d7 335
7b83f7f9 336<p>If you'd like to pick a passphrase manually, come up with something
19bce4d7
TG
337you can remember which is at least twelve characters long, and includes
338at least one lower case and upper case letter and at least one number or
339punctuation symbol. Never pick a password you've used elsewhere. Don't use
340any recognizable patterns, such as birthdays, telephone numbers, pets' names,
341song lyrics, quotes from books, and so on.</p>
342
19bce4d7
TG
343<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
344<div class="troubleshooting">
345
346<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
19bce4d7 347<dl>
e59c77da 348<dt>GnuPG is not installed</dt>
7b83f7f9 349<dd>
63fe86d5
TG
350You can check if this is the case with the command <code>gpg --version</code>&#65279;.
351If GnuPG is not installed, it will bring up the following result on most GNU/Linux operating systems, or something like it:
77aea16c
TG
352<samp>Command 'gpg' not found, but can be installed with:
353 sudo apt install gnupg</samp>. Follow that command and install the program.</dd>
7b83f7f9 354
061aad83 355<dt><i>gpg --full-generate-key</i> command not working</dt>
412a3134 356<dd>Some distributions use a different version of GPG. When you receive an error code that is something along the lines of: <samp>gpg: Invalid option "--full-generate-key"</samp>, you can try the following commands: <br />
061aad83 357<code>sudo apt update</code><br />
358<code>sudo apt install gnupg2</code><br />
359<code>gpg2 --full-generate-key</code><br />
a7ba22c6 360If this resolved the issue, you need to continue to use the gpg2 identifier instead of gpg throughout the following steps of the guide.
361<p class="notes"> Depending on your version of GPG, you may need to use <code>--gen-key</code> instead of <code>--full-generate-key</code>.</p></dd>
061aad83 362
7b83f7f9 363<dt>I took too long to create my passphrase</dt>
b7f7b4a2 364<dd>That's okay. It's important to think about your passphrase. When you're ready, just follow the steps from the beginning again to create your key.</dd>
19bce4d7 365
b7f7b4a2 366<dt>How can I see my key?</dt>
7b83f7f9 367<dd>
63fe86d5
TG
368Use the following command to see all keys: <code>gpg --list-keys</code>&#65279;. Yours should be listed in there, and later, so will Edward's (<a href="#section3">Section 3</a>).<br />
369If you want to see only your key, you can use <code>gpg --list-key [your@email]</code>&#65279;.<br />
77aea16c 370You can also use <code>gpg --list-secret-key</code> to see your own private key.</dd>
19bce4d7 371
19bce4d7 372<dt>More resources</dt>
7b83f7f9 373<dd>For more information about this process, you can also refer to <a
374href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/c14.html#AEN25">The GNU Privacy
375Handbook</a>. Make sure you stick with "RSA and RSA" (the default),
376because it's newer and more secure than the algorithms the documentation
63fe86d5 377recommends. Also make sure your key is at least 4096&nbsp;bits if you
80b64e11 378want to be secure.</dd>
19bce4d7
TG
379
380<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
381<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
382href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
383page</a>.</dd>
384</dl>
385
386</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
387
388<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
389<div class="troubleshooting">
390
391<h4>Advanced</h4>
19bce4d7 392<dl>
19bce4d7
TG
393<dt>Advanced key pairs</dt>
394<dd>When GnuPG creates a new keypair, it compartmentalizes
395the encryption function from the signing function through <a
396href="https://wiki.debian.org/Subkeys">subkeys</a>. If you use
7b83f7f9 397subkeys carefully, you can keep your GnuPG identity more
19bce4d7
TG
398secure and recover from a compromised key much more quickly. <a
399href="https://alexcabal.com/creating-the-perfect-gpg-keypair/">Alex Cabal</a>
6003a573 400and <a href="https://keyring.debian.org/creating-key.html">the Debian wiki</a>
19bce4d7 401provide good guides for setting up a secure subkey configuration.</dd>
64f8f564 402</dl>
19bce4d7
TG
403
404</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
405</div><!-- End .main -->
406</div><!-- End #step-2a .step -->
407
408<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
409<div id="step-2b" class="step">
7b83f7f9 410<div class="sidebar">
69e314de 411<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 412src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step2b-04-upload-and-certificate.png"
80b64e11 413alt="Step 2.B: Send to server and generate a certificate" /></p>
19bce4d7 414
7b83f7f9 415</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
416<div class="main">
19bce4d7 417
7b83f7f9 418<h3><em>Step 2.b</em> Some important steps following creation</h3>
19bce4d7 419
77aea16c 420<h4>Upload your key to a keyserver</h4>
7b83f7f9 421<p>We will upload your key to a keyserver, so if someone wants to send you an encrypted message, they can download your public key from the Internet. There are multiple keyservers
9c973564 422that you can select from the menu when you upload, but they are mostly all copies
423of each other. Any server will work, but it's good to remember which one you uploaded your key to originally. Also keep in mind, sometimes takes a few hours for them to match each other when a new key is uploaded.</p>
77aea16c
TG
424<p># Copy your keyID: <code>gpg --list-key [your@email]</code> will list your public ("pub") key information, including your keyID, which is a unique list of numbers and letters. Copy this keyID, so you can use it in the following command.</p>
425<p># Upload your key to a server:
426<code>gpg --send-key [keyID]</code></p>
7b83f7f9 427
77aea16c 428<h4>Export your key to a file</h4>
4f41943f 429<p>Use the following command to export your secret key so you can import it into your email client at the next <a href="#section3">step</a>. To avoid getting your key compromised, store this in a safe place, and make sure that if it is transferred, it is done so in a trusted way. Exporting your keys can be done with the following commands:</p>
77aea16c 430<p><code>
8099cef4
TG
431$ gpg --export-secret-keys -a [keyID] > my_secret_key.asc<br/>
432$ gpg --export -a [keyID] > my_public_key.asc
77aea16c 433</code></p>
7b83f7f9 434
77aea16c 435<h4>Generate a revocation certificate</h4>
63fe86d5 436<p>Just in case you lose your key, or it gets compromised, you want to generate a certificate and choose to save it in a safe place on your computer for now (please refer to <a href="#step-6c">Step 6.C</a> for how to best store your revocation cerficate safely). This step is essential for your email self-defense, as you'll learn more about in <a href="#section5">Section 5</a>.</p>
b7f7b4a2 437
77aea16c
TG
438<p># Copy your keyID: <code>gpg --list-key [your@email]</code> will list your public ("pub") key information, including your keyID, which is a unique list of numbers and letters. Copy this keyID, so you can use it in the following command.</p>
439<p># Generate a revocation certificate: <code>gpg --gen-revoke --output revoke.asc [keyID]</code></p>
440<p># It will prompt you to give a reason for revocation, we recommend to use <samp>1&nbsp;=&nbsp;key has been compromised</samp>.</p>
63fe86d5 441<p># You don't have to fill in a reason, but you can; then press "Enter" for an empty line, and confirm your selection.</p>
80b64e11 442
19bce4d7
TG
443
444<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
445<div class="troubleshooting">
446
447<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
448
449<dl>
563fcf5d 450<dt>Sending my key to the keyserver is not working</dt>
412a3134 451<dd>Instead of using the general command to upload your key to the keyserver, you can use a more specific command and add the keyserver to your command <code>gpg --keyserver keys.openpgp.org --send-key [keyID]</code>&#65279;.</dd>
563fcf5d 452
b7f7b4a2 453<dt>My key doesn't seem to be working or I get a "permission denied."</dt>
e4fa2e82 454<dd><p>Like every other file or folder, gpg keys are subject to permissions. If these are not set correctly, your system may not be accepting your keys. You can follow the next steps to check, and update to the right permissions.</p>
19bce4d7 455
77aea16c 456<p># Check your permissions: <code>ls -l ~/.gnupg/*</code></p>
e4fa2e82 457<p># Set permissions to read, write, execute for only yourself, no others. These are the recommended permissions for your folder. <br/>
77aea16c 458You can use the code: <code>chmod 700 ~/.gnupg</code></p>
e4fa2e82 459<p># Set permissions to read and write for yourself only, no others. These are the recommended permissions for the keys inside your folder. <br/>
77aea16c 460You can use the code: <code>chmod 600 ~/.gnupg/*</code></p>
19bce4d7 461
e4fa2e82 462<p class="notes">If you have (for any reason) created your own folders inside ~/.gnupg, you must also additionally apply execute permissions to that folder. Folders require execution privileges to be opened. For more information on permissions, you can check out <a href="https://helpdeskgeek.com/linux-tips/understanding-linux-permissions-chmod-usage/">this detailed information guide</a>.</p>
7b83f7f9 463</dd>
412a3134 464
19bce4d7
TG
465<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
466<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
467href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
468page</a>.</dd>
469</dl>
470
471</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
472
473<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
474<div class="troubleshooting">
475
476<h4>Advanced</h4>
477
478<dl>
7b83f7f9 479<dt>More about keyservers</dt>
480<dd>You can find some more keyserver information<a
803e8e2e 481href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x457.html"> in this manual</a>. <a
19bce4d7
TG
482href="https://sks-keyservers.net/overview-of-pools.php">The sks Web site</a>
483maintains a list of highly interconnected keyservers. You can also <a
484href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x56.html#AEN64">directly export
485your key</a> as a file on your computer.</dd>
7b83f7f9 486
487<dt>Transferring your keys</dt>
e4fa2e82
TG
488<dd>
489<p>Use the following commands to transfer your keys. To avoid getting your key compromised, store it in a safe place, and make sure that if it is transferred, it is done so in a trusted way. Importing and exporting a key can be done with the following commands:</p>
7b83f7f9 490
77aea16c 491<p><code>
63fe86d5
TG
492$ gpg --export-secret-keys -a [keyID] > my_private_key.asc<br />
493$ gpg --export -a [keyID] > my_public_key.asc<br />
494$ gpg --import my_private_key.asc<br />
e4fa2e82 495$ gpg --import my_public_key.asc
77aea16c 496</code></p>
7b83f7f9 497
35f08087 498<p>Ensure that the keyID printed is the correct one, and if so, then go ahead and add ultimate trust for it:</p>
e4fa2e82 499
77aea16c 500<p><code>
35f08087 501$ gpg --edit-key [your@email]
77aea16c 502</code></p>
7b83f7f9 503
dbfeba09 504<p>Because this is your key, you should choose <code>ultimate</code>&#65279;. You shouldn't trust anyone else's key ultimately.</p>
80b64e11 505
63fe86d5 506<p class="notes"> Refer to <a href="#step-2b">Troubleshooting in Step 2.B</a> for more information on permissions. When transferring keys, your permissions may get mixed, and errors may be prompted. These are easily avoided when your folders and files have the right permissions</p>
7b83f7f9 507</dd>
19bce4d7
TG
508</dl>
509
510</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
511</div><!-- End .main -->
512</div><!-- End #step-2b .step -->
19bce4d7
TG
513</div></section><!-- End #section2 -->
514
7b83f7f9 515<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 3: Set up email encryption ~~~~~~~~~ -->
516<section id="section3" class="row"><div>
19bce4d7
TG
517
518<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
519<div class="section-intro">
520
7b83f7f9 521<h2><em>#3</em> Set up email encryption</h2>
64f8f564 522<p class="notes">The Icedove (or Thunderbird) email program has PGP functionality integrated, which makes it pretty easy to work with. We'll take you through the steps of integrating and using your key in these email clients.</p>
7b83f7f9 523
524</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
19bce4d7
TG
525
526<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 527<div id="step-3a" class="step">
528<div class="sidebar">
529
69e314de 530<p class="large"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step3a-open-key-manager.png"
fedfd572 531alt="Step 3.A: Email Menu" /></p>
69e314de
TG
532
533<p class="large"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step3a-import-from-file.png"
7b83f7f9 534alt="Step 3.A: Import From File" /></p>
69e314de
TG
535
536<p class="large"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step3a-success.png"
7b83f7f9 537alt="Step 3.A: Success" /></p>
69e314de
TG
538
539<p class="large"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step3a-troubleshoot.png"
40833450 540alt="Step 3.A: Troubleshoot" /></p>
7b83f7f9 541</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
19bce4d7
TG
542<div class="main">
543
7b83f7f9 544<h3><em>Step 3.a</em> Set up your email with encryption</h3>
e4fa2e82
TG
545
546<p>Once you have set up your email with encryption, you can start contributing to encrypted traffic on the Internet. First we'll get your email client to import your secret key, and we will also learn how to get other people's public keys from servers so you can send and receive encrypted email.</p>
19bce4d7 547
fb4dff9b 548<p># Open your email client and use "Tools" &rarr; <i>OpenPGP Key Manager</i></p>
77aea16c 549<p># Under "File" &rarr; <i>Import Secret Key(s) From File</i></p>
63fe86d5 550<p># Select the file you saved under the name [my_secret_key.asc] in <a href="#step-2b">Step 2.B</a> when you exported your key</p>
7b83f7f9 551<p># Unlock with your passphrase</p>
552<p># You will receive a "OpenPGP keys successfully imported" window to confirm success</p>
fb4dff9b 553<p># Go to "Account settings" &rarr; "End-To-End Encryption," and make sure your key is imported and select <i>Treat this key as a Personal Key</i>.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
554
555</div><!-- End .main -->
19bce4d7 556
7b83f7f9 557<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 558<div class="main">
559<div class="troubleshooting">
560<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
561<dl>
562<dt>I'm not sure the import worked correctly</dt>
563<dd>
fb4dff9b 564Look for "Account settings" &rarr; "End-To-End Encryption." Here you can see if your personal key associated with this email is found. If it is not, you can try again via the <i>Add key</i> option. Make sure you have the correct, active, secret key file.
7b83f7f9 565</dd>
566
567<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
568<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
569href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
570page</a>.</dd>
571</dl>
572
573</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
574</div><!-- End .main -->
575</div><!-- End #step3-a .step -->
576</div></section><!-- End #section3 -->
577
578<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 4: Try it out ~~~~~~~~~ -->
579<section class="row" id="section4"><div>
19bce4d7
TG
580
581<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
582<div class="section-intro">
583
7b83f7f9 584<h2><em>#4</em> Try it out!</h2>
69e314de 585<p class="float small"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/section3-try-it-out.png" alt="Illustration of a person in a house with a cat connected to a server"/></p>
a4eb3926 586<p>Now you'll try a test correspondence with an FSF computer program named Edward,
19bce4d7
TG
587who knows how to use encryption. Except where noted, these are the same
588steps you'd follow when corresponding with a real, live person.</p>
589
590<!-- <p>NOTE: Edward is currently having some technical difficulties, so he
591may take a long time to respond, or not respond at all. We're sorry about
592this and we're working hard to fix it. Your key will still work even without
593testing with Edward.</p> -->
69e314de
TG
594
595<div style="clear: both"></div>
19bce4d7
TG
596</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
597
598<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 599<div id="step-4a" class="step">
19bce4d7
TG
600<div class="sidebar">
601
69e314de 602<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 603src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step4a-send-key-to-Edward.png"
7b83f7f9 604alt="Step 4.A Send key to Edward." /></p>
19bce4d7
TG
605
606</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
607<div class="main">
608
7b83f7f9 609<h3><em>Step 4.a</em> Send Edward your public key</h3>
19bce4d7
TG
610
611<p>This is a special step that you won't have to do when corresponding
7b83f7f9 612with real people. In your email program's menu, go to "Tools" &rarr; "OpenPGP Key
a4eb3926 613Manager." You should see your key in the list that pops up. Right click
77aea16c 614on your key and select <i>Send Public Keys by Email</i>. This will create a new draft message, as if you had just hit the "Write" button, but in the attachment you will find your public keyfile.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
615
616<p>Address the message to <a
617href="mailto:edward-en@fsf.org">edward-en@fsf.org</a>. Put at least one word
618(whatever you want) in the subject and body of the email. Don't send yet.</p>
619
77aea16c 620<p>We want Edward to be able to open the email with your keyfile, so we want this first special message to be unencrypted. Make sure encryption is turned off by using the dropdown menu "Security" and select <i>Do Not Encrypt</i>. Once encryption is off, hit Send.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
621
622<p class="notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to
623respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the <a
b7f7b4a2 624href="#section6">Use it Well</a> section of this guide. Once you have received a response,
19bce4d7
TG
625head to the next step. From here on, you'll be doing just the same thing as
626when corresponding with a real person.</p>
627
7b83f7f9 628<p>When you open Edward's reply, GnuPG may prompt you for your passphrase
19bce4d7
TG
629before using your private key to decrypt it.</p>
630
631</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 632</div><!-- End #step-4a .step -->
19bce4d7
TG
633
634<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 635<div id="step-4b" class="step">
636<div class="sidebar">
19bce4d7 637
69e314de 638<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 639src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step4b-option1-verify-key.png"
7b83f7f9 640alt="Step 4.B Option 1. Verify key" /></p>
69e314de
TG
641
642<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 643src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step4b-option2-import-key.png"
7b83f7f9 644alt="Step 4.B Option 2. Import key" /></p>
645</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
19bce4d7 646
7b83f7f9 647<div class="main">
19bce4d7 648
7b83f7f9 649<h3><em>Step 4.b</em> Send a test encrypted email</h3>
77aea16c
TG
650
651<h4>Get Edward's key</h4>
652
80b64e11 653<p>To encrypt an email to Edward, you need its public key, so now you'll have
7b83f7f9 654to download it from a keyserver. You can do this in two different ways:</p>
fb4dff9b 655<p><strong>Option 1.</strong> In the email answer you received from Edward as a response to your first email, Edward's public key was included. On the right of the email, just above the writing area, you will find an "OpenPGP" button that has a lock and a little wheel next to it. Click that, and select <i>Discover</i> next to the text: "This message was signed with a key that you don't yet have." A popup with Edward's key details will follow.</p>
19bce4d7 656
fb4dff9b 657<p><strong>Option 2.</strong> Open your OpenPGP Key manager, and under "Keyserver" choose <i>Discover Keys Online</i>. Here, fill in Edward's email address, and import Edward's key.</p>
19bce4d7 658
77aea16c 659<p>The option <i>Accepted (unverified)</i> will add this key to your key manager, and now it can be used to send encrypted emails and to verify digital signatures from Edward.</p>
19bce4d7 660
b7f7b4a2 661<p class="notes">In the popup window confirming if you want to import Edward's key, you'll see many different emails that are all associated with its key. This is correct; you can safely import the key.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
662
663<p class="notes">Since you encrypted this email with Edward's public key,
664Edward's private key is required to decrypt it. Edward is the only one with
80b64e11 665its private key, so no one except Edward can decrypt it.</p>
19bce4d7 666
77aea16c 667<h4>Send Edward an encrypted email</h4>
7b83f7f9 668
a4eb3926 669<p> Write a new email in your email program, addressed to <a
7b83f7f9 670href="mailto:edward-en@fsf.org">edward-en@fsf.org</a>. Make the subject
671"Encryption test" or something similar and write something in the body.</p>
672
77aea16c 673<p>This time, make sure encryption is turned on by using the dropdown menu "Security" and select <i>Require Encryption</i>. Once encryption is on, hit Send.</p>
7b83f7f9 674
19bce4d7
TG
675
676<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
677<div class="troubleshooting">
678
679<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
680
681<dl>
7b83f7f9 682<dt>"Recipients not valid, not trusted or not found"</dt>
412a3134 683<dd>You could get the above error message, or something along these lines: "Unable to send this message with end-to-end encryption, because there are problems with the keys of the following recipients: ..." In these cases, you may be trying to send an encrypted email to someone when you do not have their public key yet. Make sure you follow the steps above to import the key to your key manager. Open the OpenPGP Key Manager to make sure the recipient is listed there.</dd>
7b83f7f9 684
685<dt>Unable to send message</dt>
77aea16c 686<dd>You could get the following message when trying to send your encrypted email: "Unable to send this message with end-to-end encryption, because there are problems with the keys of the following recipients: edward-en@fsf.org." This usually means you imported the key with the "unaccepted (unverified) option." Go to the "key properties" of this key by right clicking on the key in the OpenPGP Key Manager, and select the option <i>Yes, but I have not verified that this is the correct key</i> in the "Acceptance" option at the bottom of this window. Resend the email.</dd>
7b83f7f9 687
688<dt>I can't find Edward's key</dt>
19bce4d7 689<dd>Close the pop-ups that have appeared since you clicked Send. Make sure
412a3134 690you are connected to the Internet and try again. If that doesn't work, you can download the key manually from <a href="https://keys.openpgp.org/search?q=edward-en%40fsf.org">the keyserver</a>, and import it by using the <i>Import Public Key(s) from File</i> option in the OpenPGP Key Manager.</dd>
19bce4d7
TG
691
692<dt>Unscrambled messages in the Sent folder</dt>
693<dd>Even though you can't decrypt messages encrypted to someone else's key,
694your email program will automatically save a copy encrypted to your public key,
695which you'll be able to view from the Sent folder like a normal email. This
696is normal, and it doesn't mean that your email was not sent encrypted.</dd>
697
19bce4d7
TG
698<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
699<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
700href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
701page</a>.</dd>
702</dl>
703
704</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
705
706<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
707<div class="troubleshooting">
708
709<h4>Advanced</h4>
710
711<dl>
712<dt>Encrypt messages from the command line</dt>
713<dd>You can also encrypt and decrypt messages and files from the <a
714href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x110.html">command line</a>,
715if that's your preference. The option --armor makes the encrypted output
716appear in the regular character set.</dd>
717</dl>
718
719</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
720</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 721</div><!-- End #step-4b .step -->
19bce4d7
TG
722
723<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
724<div id="step-headers_unencrypted" class="step">
725<div class="main">
726
727<h3><em>Important:</em> Security tips</h3>
19e80165 728
19bce4d7
TG
729<p>Even if you encrypt your email, the subject line is not encrypted, so
730don't put private information there. The sending and receiving addresses
731aren't encrypted either, so a surveillance system can still figure out who
732you're communicating with. Also, surveillance agents will know that you're
733using GnuPG, even if they can't figure out what you're saying. When you
7b83f7f9 734send attachments, you can choose to encrypt them or not,
19bce4d7 735independent of the actual email.</p>
bdf319c4 736
e72398d7
MB
737<p>For greater security against potential attacks, you can turn off
738HTML. Instead, you can render the message body as plain text. In order
77aea16c
TG
739to do this in Icedove or Thunderbird, go to "View" &rarr; "Message Body As" &rarr; <i>Plain
740Text</i>.</p>
e72398d7 741
19bce4d7
TG
742</div><!-- End .main -->
743</div><!-- End #step-headers_unencrypted .step-->
d85363e7 744
19bce4d7 745<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 746<div id="step-4c" class="step">
747<div class="sidebar">
748
69e314de 749<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 750src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step4c-Edward-response.png"
7b83f7f9 751alt="Step 4.C Edward's response" /></p>
752
753</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
754
19bce4d7
TG
755<div class="main">
756
7b83f7f9 757<h3><em>Step 4.c</em> Receive a response</h3>
19bce4d7 758
80b64e11 759<p>When Edward receives your email, it will use its private key to decrypt
f54f2134 760it, then reply to you. </p>
19bce4d7
TG
761
762<p class="notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to
763respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the <a
7b83f7f9 764href="#section6">Use it Well</a> section of this guide.</p>
765
169c7097 766<p>Edward will send you an encrypted email back saying your email was received and decrypted. Your email client will automatically decrypt Edward's message.</p>
7b83f7f9 767
f2545138 768<p class="notes">The OpenPGP button in the email will show a little green checkmark over the lock symbol to show the message is encrypted, and a little orange warning sign which means that you have accepted the key, but not verified it. When you have not yet accepted the key, you will see a little question mark there. Clicking the prompts in this button will lead you to key properties as well.</p>
19bce4d7 769
19bce4d7 770</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 771</div><!-- End #step-4c .step -->
19bce4d7
TG
772
773<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 774<div id="step-4d" class="step">
19bce4d7
TG
775<div class="main">
776
80b64e11 777<h3><em>Step 4.d</em> Send a signed test email</h3>
19bce4d7
TG
778
779<p>GnuPG includes a way for you to sign messages and files, verifying that
780they came from you and that they weren't tampered with along the way. These
781signatures are stronger than their pen-and-paper cousins -- they're impossible
782to forge, because they're impossible to create without your private key
783(another reason to keep your private key safe).</p>
784
785<p>You can sign messages to anyone, so it's a great way to make people
786aware that you use GnuPG and that they can communicate with you securely. If
787they don't have GnuPG, they will be able to read your message and see your
788signature. If they do have GnuPG, they'll also be able to verify that your
789signature is authentic.</p>
790
a4eb3926 791<p>To sign an email to Edward, compose any message to the email address and click the
19bce4d7
TG
792pencil icon next to the lock icon so that it turns gold. If you sign a
793message, GnuPG may ask you for your password before it sends the message,
794because it needs to unlock your private key for signing.</p>
795
77aea16c 796<p>In "Account Settings" &rarr; "End-To-End-Encryption" you can opt to <i>add digital signature by default</i>.</p>
19bce4d7 797
7b83f7f9 798</div><!-- End .main -->
799</div><!-- End #step-4d .step -->
19bce4d7
TG
800
801<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 802<div id="step-4e" class="step">
19bce4d7
TG
803<div class="main">
804
7b83f7f9 805<h3><em>Step 4.e</em> Receive a response</h3>
19bce4d7 806
f54f2134
Z
807<p>When Edward receives your email, he will use your public key (which
808you sent him in <a href="#step-3a">Step 3.A</a>) to verify the message
80b64e11 809you sent has not been tampered with and to encrypt a reply to you.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
810
811<p class="notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to
812respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the <a
7b83f7f9 813href="#section6">Use it Well</a> section of this guide.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
814
815<p>Edward's reply will arrive encrypted, because he prefers to use encryption
816whenever possible. If everything goes according to plan, it should say
817"Your signature was verified." If your test signed email was also encrypted,
818he will mention that first.</p>
819
7b83f7f9 820<p>When you receive Edward's email and open it, your email client will
f54f2134
Z
821automatically detect that it is encrypted with your public key, and
822then it will use your private key to decrypt it.</p>
823
19bce4d7 824</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 825</div><!-- End #step-4e .step -->
19bce4d7
TG
826</div></section>
827
803e8e2e 828<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 5: Learn About the Web of Trust ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 829<section class="row" id="section5"><div>
19bce4d7
TG
830
831<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
832<div class="section-intro">
833
b7f7b4a2 834<h2><em>#5</em> Learn about the Web of Trust</h2>
69e314de 835<p class="float small"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/section5-web-of-trust.png" alt="Illustration of keys all interconnected with a web of lines"/></p>
19bce4d7 836
b7f7b4a2 837<p>Email encryption is a powerful technology, but it has a weakness:
19bce4d7
TG
838it requires a way to verify that a person's public key is actually
839theirs. Otherwise, there would be no way to stop an attacker from making
b7f7b4a2 840an email address with your friend's name, creating keys to go with it, and
19bce4d7
TG
841impersonating your friend. That's why the free software programmers that
842developed email encryption created keysigning and the Web of Trust.</p>
843
844<p>When you sign someone's key, you are publicly saying that you've verified
845that it belongs to them and not someone else.</p>
846
847<p>Signing keys and signing messages use the same type of mathematical
848operation, but they carry very different implications. It's a good practice
849to generally sign your email, but if you casually sign people's keys, you
77aea16c 850may accidentally end up vouching for the identity of an imposter.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
851
852<p>People who use your public key can see who has signed it. Once you've
853used GnuPG for a long time, your key may have hundreds of signatures. You
854can consider a key to be more trustworthy if it has many signatures from
855people that you trust. The Web of Trust is a constellation of GnuPG users,
856connected to each other by chains of trust expressed through signatures.</p>
857
858</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
859
860<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 861<div id="step-5a" class="step">
19bce4d7
TG
862<div class="sidebar">
863
69e314de 864<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 865src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step5a-key-properties.png"
7b83f7f9 866alt="Section 5: trusting a key" /></p>
19bce4d7
TG
867
868</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
869<div class="main">
870
7b83f7f9 871<h3><em>Step 5.a</em> Sign a key</h3>
19bce4d7 872
77aea16c 873<p>In your email program's menu, go to OpenPGP Key Manager and select <i>Key properties</i> by right clicking on Edward's key.</p>
19bce4d7 874
77aea16c 875<p>Under "Your Acceptance," you can select <i>Yes, I've verified in person this key has the correct fingerprint"</i>.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
876
877<p class="notes">You've just effectively said "I trust that Edward's public
878key actually belongs to Edward." This doesn't mean much because Edward isn't
b7f7b4a2 879a real person, but it's good practice, and for real people it is important. You can read more about signing a person's key in the <a href="#check-ids-before-signing">check IDs before signing</a> section.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
880
881<!--<div id="pgp-pathfinder">
882
883<form enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded" action="/mk_path.cgi"
884method="get">
885
f211d856 886<p><strong>From:</strong><input type="text" value="xD41A008"
19bce4d7
TG
887name="FROM"></p>
888
f211d856 889<p><strong>To:</strong><input type="text" value="50BD01x4" name="TO"></p>
19bce4d7
TG
890
891<p class="buttons"><input type="submit" value="trust paths" name="PATHS"><input
892type="reset" value="reset" name=".reset"></p>
893
894</form>
895
896</div>End #pgp-pathfinder -->
897</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 898</div><!-- End #step-5a .step -->
19bce4d7
TG
899
900<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
901<div id="step-identify_keys" class="step">
902<div class="main">
903
904<h3>Identifying keys: Fingerprints and IDs</h3>
905
906<p>People's public keys are usually identified by their key fingerprint,
907which is a string of digits like F357AA1A5B1FA42CFD9FE52A9FF2194CC09A61E8
908(for Edward's key). You can see the fingerprint for your public key, and
7b83f7f9 909other public keys saved on your computer, by going to OpenPGP Key
19bce4d7
TG
910Management in your email program's menu, then right clicking on the key
911and choosing Key Properties. It's good practice to share your fingerprint
912wherever you share your email address, so that people can double-check that
913they have the correct public key when they download yours from a keyserver.</p>
914
c0c01f86 915<p class="notes">You may also see public keys referred to by a shorter
a4eb3926 916keyID. This keyID is visible directly from the Key Management
917window. These eight character keyIDs were previously used for
c0c01f86
MB
918identification, which used to be safe, but is no longer reliable. You
919need to check the full fingerprint as part of verifying you have the
920correct key for the person you are trying to contact. Spoofing, in
921which someone intentionally generates a key with a fingerprint whose
922final eight characters are the same as another, is unfortunately
923common.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
924
925</div><!-- End .main -->
926</div><!-- End #step-identify_keys .step-->
927
928<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
929<div id="check-ids-before-signing" class="step">
930<div class="main">
931
932<h3><em>Important:</em> What to consider when signing keys</h3>
933
934<p>Before signing a person's key, you need to be confident that it actually
935belongs to them, and that they are who they say they are. Ideally, this
936confidence comes from having interactions and conversations with them over
937time, and witnessing interactions between them and others. Whenever signing
938a key, ask to see the full public key fingerprint, and not just the shorter
a4eb3926 939keyID. If you feel it's important to sign the key of someone you've just
19bce4d7 940met, also ask them to show you their government identification, and make
7b83f7f9 941sure the name on the ID matches the name on the public key.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
942
943<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
944<div class="troubleshooting">
945
946<h4>Advanced</h4>
947
948<dl>
949<dt>Master the Web of Trust</dt>
950<dd>Unfortunately, trust does not spread between users the way <a
6003a573 951href="https://fennetic.net/irc/finney.org/~hal/web_of_trust.html">many people
a4eb3926 952think</a>. One of the best ways to strengthen the GnuPG community is to deeply <a
19bce4d7
TG
953href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x334.html">understand</a> the Web of
954Trust and to carefully sign as many people's keys as circumstances permit.</dd>
19bce4d7
TG
955</dl>
956
957</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
958</div><!-- End .main -->
959</div><!-- End #check-ids-before-signing .step-->
7b83f7f9 960</div></section><!-- End #section5 -->
d85363e7 961
7b83f7f9 962<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 6: Use it well ~~~~~~~~~ -->
963<section id="section6" class="row"><div>
19bce4d7
TG
964
965<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
966<div class="section-intro">
967
7b83f7f9 968<h2><em>#6</em> Use it well</h2>
19bce4d7
TG
969
970<p>Everyone uses GnuPG a little differently, but it's important to follow
971some basic practices to keep your email secure. Not following them, you
972risk the privacy of the people you communicate with, as well as your own,
973and damage the Web of Trust.</p>
974
975</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
976
977<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 978<div id="step-6a" class="step">
19bce4d7
TG
979<div class="sidebar">
980
69e314de 981<p class="medium"><img
1805f65d 982src="../static/img/en/screenshots/section6-01-use-it-well.png"
7b83f7f9 983alt="Section 6: Use it Well (1)" /></p>
19bce4d7
TG
984
985</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
986<div class="main">
987
988<h3>When should I encrypt? When should I sign?</h3>
989
990<p>The more you can encrypt your messages, the better. If you only encrypt
991emails occasionally, each encrypted message could raise a red flag for
992surveillance systems. If all or most of your email is encrypted, people
993doing surveillance won't know where to start. That's not to say that only
994encrypting some of your email isn't helpful -- it's a great start and it
995makes bulk surveillance more difficult.</p>
996
997<p>Unless you don't want to reveal your own identity (which requires other
998protective measures), there's no reason not to sign every message, whether or
999not you are encrypting. In addition to allowing those with GnuPG to verify
1000that the message came from you, signing is a non-intrusive way to remind
1001everyone that you use GnuPG and show support for secure communication. If you
1002often send signed messages to people that aren't familiar with GnuPG, it's
1003nice to also include a link to this guide in your standard email signature
1004(the text kind, not the cryptographic kind).</p>
1005
1006</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 1007</div><!-- End #step-6a .step -->
19bce4d7
TG
1008
1009<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 1010<div id="step-6b" class="step">
19bce4d7
TG
1011<div class="sidebar">
1012
69e314de 1013<p class="medium"><img
1805f65d 1014src="../static/img/en/screenshots/section6-02-use-it-well.png"
7b83f7f9 1015alt="Section 6: Use it Well (2)" /></p>
19bce4d7
TG
1016
1017</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
1018<div class="main">
1019
1020<h3>Be wary of invalid keys</h3>
1021
1022<p>GnuPG makes email safer, but it's still important to watch out for invalid
1023keys, which might have fallen into the wrong hands. Email encrypted with
1024invalid keys might be readable by surveillance programs.</p>
1025
1026<p>In your email program, go back to the first encrypted email that Edward
1027sent you. Because Edward encrypted it with your public key, it will have a
80b64e11 1028green checkmark a at the top "OpenPGP" button.</p>
19bce4d7 1029
77aea16c 1030<p><strong>When using GnuPG, make a habit of glancing at that button. The program
4227f3fd 1031will warn you there if you get an email signed with a key that can't
77aea16c 1032be trusted.</strong></p>
19bce4d7
TG
1033
1034</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 1035</div><!-- End #step-6b .step -->
19bce4d7
TG
1036
1037<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 1038<div id="step-6c" class="step">
19bce4d7
TG
1039<div class="main">
1040
1041<h3>Copy your revocation certificate to somewhere safe</h3>
1042
1043<p>Remember when you created your keys and saved the revocation certificate
80b64e11 1044that GnuPG made? It's time to copy that certificate onto the safest storage that you have -- a flash drive, disk, or hard drive stored in a safe place in your home could work, not on a device you carry with you regularly. The safest way we know is actually to print the revocation certificate and store it in a safe place.</p>
19bce4d7
TG
1045
1046<p>If your private key ever gets lost or stolen, you'll need this certificate
1047file to let people know that you are no longer using that keypair.</p>
1048
1049</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 1050</div><!-- End #step-6c .step -->
19bce4d7
TG
1051
1052<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1053<div id="step-lost_key" class="step">
1054<div class="main">
1055
b7f7b4a2 1056<h3><em>IMPORTANT:</em> ACT SWIFTLY if someone gets your private key</h3>
19bce4d7 1057
b7f7b4a2 1058<p>If you lose your private key or someone else gets a hold
19bce4d7
TG
1059of it (say, by stealing or cracking your computer), it's
1060important to revoke it immediately before someone else uses
1061it to read your encrypted email or forge your signature. This
1062guide doesn't cover how to revoke a key, but you can follow these <a
1063href="https://www.hackdiary.com/2004/01/18/revoking-a-gpg-key/">instructions</a>.
1064After you're done revoking, make a new key and send an email to everyone
1065with whom you usually use your key to make sure they know, including a copy
1066of your new key.</p>
1067
1068</div><!-- End .main -->
1069</div><!-- End #step-lost_key .step-->
1070
35f08087 1071<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
19bce4d7
TG
1072<div id="webmail-and-GnuPG" class="step">
1073<div class="main">
1074
1075<h3>Webmail and GnuPG</h3>
1076
1077<p>When you use a web browser to access your email, you're using webmail,
1078an email program stored on a distant website. Unlike webmail, your desktop
1079email program runs on your own computer. Although webmail can't decrypt
1080encrypted email, it will still display it in its encrypted form. If you
1081primarily use webmail, you'll know to open your email client when you receive
1082a scrambled email.</p>
1083
1084</div><!-- End .main -->
1085</div><!-- End #webmail-and-GnuPG .step-->
1086
35f08087 1087<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 1088<div id="step-6d" class="step">
19bce4d7
TG
1089<div class="main">
1090
1091<h3>Make your public key part of your online identity</h3>
1092
1093<p> First add your public key fingerprint to your email signature, then
1094compose an email to at least five of your friends, telling them you just
1095set up GnuPG and mentioning your public key fingerprint. Link to this guide
1096and ask them to join you. Don't forget that there's also an awesome <a
1097href="infographic.html">infographic to share.</a></p>
1098
1099<p class="notes">Start writing your public key fingerprint anywhere someone
1100would see your email address: your social media profiles, blog, Website,
1101or business card. (At the Free Software Foundation, we put ours on our
1102<a href="https://fsf.org/about/staff">staff page</a>.) We need to get our
1103culture to the point that we feel like something is missing when we see an
1104email address without a public key fingerprint.</p>
1105
35f08087 1106</div><!-- End .main-->
1107</div><!-- End #step-6d .step-->
7b83f7f9 1108</div></section><!-- End #section6 -->
19bce4d7 1109
7b83f7f9 1110<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 7: Next steps ~~~~~~~~~ -->
b7f7b4a2 1111<section class="row" id="section7">
19bce4d7
TG
1112<div id="step-click_here" class="step">
1113<div class="main">
0a225228 1114
19bce4d7 1115<h2><a href="next_steps.html">Great job! Check out the next steps.</a></h2>
bb28ee32 1116
19bce4d7
TG
1117</div><!-- End .main -->
1118</div><!-- End #step-click_here .step-->
7b83f7f9 1119</section><!-- End #section7 -->
bdf319c4 1120
19bce4d7 1121<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ FAQ ~~~~~~~~~ -->
f44dd62f 1122<!-- When un-commenting this section go to main.css and search
116f80c3 1123for /* Guide Sections Background */ then add #faq to the desired color
19bce4d7 1124<section class="row" id="faq"><div>
116f80c3 1125<div class="sidebar">
19bce4d7 1126
116f80c3 1127<h2>FAQ</h2>
6c495e2d 1128
19bce4d7 1129</div>
116f80c3 1130<div class="main">
19bce4d7 1131
116f80c3
ZR
1132<dl>
1133<dt>My key expired</dt>
1134<dd>Answer coming soon.</dd>
6c495e2d 1135
116f80c3
ZR
1136<dt>Who can read encrypted messages? Who can read signed ones?</dt>
1137<dd>Answer coming soon.</dd>
6c495e2d 1138
19bce4d7
TG
1139<dt>My email program is opening at times I don't want it to open/is now my
1140default program and I don't want it to be.</dt>
116f80c3
ZR
1141<dd>Answer coming soon.</dd>
1142</dl>
19bce4d7 1143
116f80c3
ZR
1144</div>
1145</div>
1146</section> --><!-- End #faq -->
bdf319c4 1147
19bce4d7
TG
1148<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Footer ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1149<footer class="row" id="footer"><div>
1150<div id="copyright">
1151
1152<h4><a href="https://u.fsf.org/ys"><img
1153alt="Free Software Foundation"
14c5f099 1154src="../static/img/fsf-logo.png" /></a></h4>
19bce4d7 1155
37d0bc33 1156<p>Copyright &copy; 2014-2021 <a
19bce4d7
TG
1157href="https://u.fsf.org/ys">Free Software Foundation</a>, Inc. <a
1158href="https://my.fsf.org/donate/privacypolicy.html">Privacy Policy</a>. Please
1159support our work by <a href="https://u.fsf.org/yr">joining us as an associate
1160member.</a></p>
1161
1162<p>The images on this page are under a <a
1163href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons
1164Attribution 4.0 license (or later version)</a>, and the rest of it is under
1165a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0">Creative Commons
1166Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license (or later version)</a>. Download the <a
6003a573 1167href="https://agpl.fsf.org/emailselfdefense.fsf.org/edward/CURRENT/edward.tar.gz">
f211d856 1168source code of Edward reply bot</a> by Andrew Engelbrecht
a3a9a0ac 1169&lt;andrew@engelbrecht.io&gt; and Josh Drake &lt;zamnedix@gnu.org&gt;,
19bce4d7 1170available under the GNU Affero General Public License. <a
6003a573 1171href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#OtherLicenses">Why these
19bce4d7
TG
1172licenses?</a></p>
1173
1174<p>Fonts used in the guide &amp; infographic: <a
1175href="https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Dosis">Dosis</a> by Pablo
6003a573 1176Impallari, <a href="https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Signika">Signika</a>
19bce4d7 1177by Anna Giedry&#347;, <a
6003a573 1178href="https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Archivo+Narrow">Archivo
19bce4d7
TG
1179Narrow</a> by Omnibus-Type, <a
1180href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Graphics_Howto#Pitfalls">PXL-2000</a>
1181by Florian Cramer.</p>
1182
1183<p>Download the <a href="emailselfdefense_source.zip">source package</a>
1184for this guide, including fonts, image source files and the text of Edward's
1185messages.</p>
1186
1187<p>This site uses the Weblabels standard for labeling <a
1188href="https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/freejs">free JavaScript</a>. View
abf30801 1189the JavaScript <a href="https://weblabels.fsf.org/emailselfdefense.fsf.org/"
19bce4d7
TG
1190rel="jslicense">source code and license information</a>.</p>
1191
1192</div><!-- /#copyright -->
1193
1194<p class="credits">Infographic and guide design by <a rel="external"
6003a573 1195href="https://jplusplus.org"><strong>Journalism++</strong><img
138192ae 1196src="static/img/jplusplus.png"
19bce4d7
TG
1197alt="Journalism++" /></a></p><!-- /.credits -->
1198</div></footer><!-- End #footer -->
116f80c3 1199
116f80c3 1200
f211d856 1201<script type="text/javascript"
14c5f099 1202src="../static/js/jquery-1.11.0.min.js"></script>
f211d856 1203<script type="text/javascript"
14c5f099 1204src="../static/js/scripts.js"></script>
116f80c3 1205<!-- Piwik -->
e609e128 1206<script type="text/javascript">
77aea16c 1207 // @license magnet:?xt=urn:btih:cf05388f2679ee054f2beb29a391d25f4e673ac3&amp;dn=gpl-2.0.txt GPL-2.0-or-later
e609e128
AE
1208 var _paq = _paq || [];
1209 _paq.push(["trackPageView"]);
1210 _paq.push(["enableLinkTracking"]);
1211
1212 (function() {
1213 var u = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https" : "http") + "://"+"piwik.fsf.org//";
1214 _paq.push(["setTrackerUrl", u+"piwik.php"]);
1215 _paq.push(["setSiteId", "13"]);
1216 var d=document, g=d.createElement("script"), s=d.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; g.type="text/javascript";
1217 g.defer=true; g.async=true; g.src=u+"piwik.js"; s.parentNode.insertBefore(g,s);
1218 })();
1219 // @license-end
1220</script>
1221<!-- End Piwik Code -->
1222<!-- Piwik Image Tracker -->
770452f9 1223<noscript><img src="https://piwik.fsf.org//piwik.php?idsite=13&amp;rec=1" style="border:0" alt="" /></noscript>
e609e128 1224<!-- End Piwik -->
116f80c3 1225</body>
bdf319c4 1226</html>