Mailing List Archive: GnuPG: users

beginner type questions

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ddurant at intevaproducts

Oct 5, 2009, 9:07 AM

Post #1 of 4 (737 views)
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beginner type questions

Hello, I noticed, on windows (which I truly despise), when I type

C:\Documents and Settings\me\Application Data\gnupg>gpg --gen-key

I get:

gpg (GnuPG) 2.0.12; Copyright (C) 2009 Free Software Foundation, Inc. (add'l copyleft info)

Please select what kind of key you want:
(1) RSA and RSA (default)
(2) DSA and Elgamal
(3) DSA (sign only)
(4) RSA (sign only)

on ubuntu, I get these choices (the version of GPG is 2.0.9):
Please select what kind of key you want:

(1) DSA and Elgamal (default)
(2) DSA (sign only)
(5) RSA (sign only)

What is the difference? Isn't RSA better?

I tried using apt-get to get the version on linux up to the same version # on windows, and it wouldn't.

Once you generate a key, is it bound to the email address supplied during generation, so that, if someone else emails your key out, you won't be able to decrypt something encrypted to their email? Or is the email address completely uninvolved?

Thanks, Dean

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rjh at sixdemonbag

Oct 5, 2009, 10:54 AM

Post #2 of 4 (681 views)
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Re: beginner type questions [In reply to]

Durant, Dean wrote:
> What is the difference? Isn't RSA better?

The differences are irrelevant to the overwhelming majority of users.

Arguments about whether RSA or DSA are better pop up from time to time.
These arguments have always struck me as being kind of like arguing
over whether Godzilla or King Kong is better at urban destruction.
Maybe you like Godzilla, maybe I like King Kong, but at the end of the
day either one of them will get the job done in style.

> I tried using apt-get to get the version on linux up to the same
> version # on windows, and it wouldn't.

This is expected. New versions of GnuPG are being released all the
time. Most releases offer very, /very/ small improvements over what
came before. Ubuntu keeps track of what's changed in GnuPG since 2.0.9
was released. If something major was added or a security bug was fixed,
Ubuntu will modify their version of GnuPG appropriately. Otherwise,
Ubuntu's policy is generally, "wait until late October for Karmic Koala
to come out, and that will have the latest version of everything you want."

> Or is the email address completely uninvolved?

Uninvolved. The email addresses exist to make the keys easier for human
beings to use. By and large, the computer doesn't use the User ID at
all. :)

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jmoore3rd at bellsouth

Oct 5, 2009, 1:02 PM

Post #3 of 4 (673 views)
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Re: beginner type questions [In reply to]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA512

Durant, Dean wrote:
> Hello, I noticed, on windows (which I truly despise), when I type
>
> C:\Documents and Settings\me\Application Data\gnupg>gpg --gen-key
>
> I get:
>
> gpg (GnuPG) 2.0.12; Copyright (C) 2009 Free Software Foundation, Inc. (add'l copyleft info)
>
> Please select what kind of key you want:
> (1) RSA and RSA (default)
> (2) DSA and Elgamal
> (3) DSA (sign only)
> (4) RSA (sign only)
>
> on ubuntu, I get these choices (the version of GPG is 2.0.9):
> Please select what kind of key you want:
>
> (1) DSA and Elgamal (default)
> (2) DSA (sign only)
> (5) RSA (sign only)
>
> What is the difference? Isn't RSA better?

Robert's answer was accurate but I'm not sure it was the answer to the
question You were asking. Between versions 2.0.9 & 2.0.12 the Default
for Key Generation was changed. This change is viewed as minor by many
which apparently includes the Ubuntu developers. :)

The reason the Default was changed was to make better use of available
Hash functions. DSA Signing Keys are limited to 160bit Hashes unless
DSA2 is invoked, RSA Signing Keys can utilize all the Hash functions
without any 'games' being played. To eliminate any confusion in the
future and based upon the number of folks who eventually migrated away
from DSA Keys to RSA Keys due to personal perceptions the Default was
changed to RSA.

Additionally, in the very beginning RSA was encumbered by patents which
have now expired. You can easily work around this in Ubuntu at present
by selecting option 5 and then generating an RSA Encryption sub-Key.

HTH

JOHN ;)
Timestamp: Monday 05 Oct 2009, 16:02 --400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.10 (MingW32)
Comment: Public Key at: http://tinyurl.com/8cpho
Comment: Gossamer Spider Web of Trust: http://www.gswot.org
Comment: Personal Web Page: http://tinyurl.com/yzhbhx

iQEcBAEBCgAGBQJKylDaAAoJEBCGy9eAtCsPdPgIAI/SfIwVc2RVR8I8lhBcem8s
vJzcAz+gZ41vH0afLPRo3RbUmJbxhkzX2qxPZ8w8mH4csTSIAfCtdlG9h+sqXWK/
HB8Hxxk1zVahPSqHo8i5PT//cSM1SMES5K5dw9dFZrCO0IcQZwy81MDxJt6sw7cK
mxCO89fZVC1PpPgh352jWh1DUKqvQ1K5hok8zAzvQvdKimWfoG7K2sRXMuvDfn30
6F6+kWCGEzM3C+oMqEhLXAqhQl1FCfv4slyfmZUhHLc8Q30RJy3R4gIYpigVl0h0
pP5ZQy01SqklRBxg1naWBx/rVAUuWYdIiKnGXPVNf11GLA7mOMsZVIzXni6HYXU=
=ycQz
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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hs2412 at gmail

Oct 10, 2009, 10:37 AM

Post #4 of 4 (640 views)
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Re: beginner type questions [In reply to]

try gpg --gen-key --expert

Hardeep Singh
http://blog.Hardeep.name

On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 9:37 PM, Durant, Dean <ddurant [at] intevaproducts> wrote:
> Hello, I noticed, on windows (which I truly despise), when I type
>
> C:\Documents and Settings\me\Application Data\gnupg>gpg --gen-key
>
> I get:
>
> gpg (GnuPG) 2.0.12; Copyright (C) 2009 Free Software Foundation, Inc. (add'l copyleft info)
>
> Please select what kind of key you want:
> � (1) RSA and RSA (default)
> � (2) DSA and Elgamal
> � (3) DSA (sign only)
> � (4) RSA (sign only)
>
> on ubuntu, I get these choices (the version of GPG is 2.0.9):
> Please select what kind of key you want:
>
> (1) DSA and Elgamal (default)
> (2) DSA (sign only)
> (5) RSA (sign only)
>
> What is the difference? � Isn't RSA better?
>
> I tried using apt-get to get the version on linux up to the same version # on windows, and it wouldn't.
>
> Once you generate a key, is it bound to the email address supplied during generation, so that, if someone else emails your key out, you won't be able to decrypt something encrypted to their email? � Or is the email address completely uninvolved?
>
> Thanks, Dean
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Gnupg-users mailing list
> Gnupg-users [at] gnupg
> http://lists.gnupg.org/mailman/listinfo/gnupg-users
>

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