PGP Error with Linux Mint

[kman1985]

I just installed Linux Mint 17.1 Rebecca 64-bit and for some reason I just cannot generate a pgp key.  I goto Passwords and Keys and File -> New -> PGP Key -> Enter Name and Email ->  Then I enter password and nothing happens.  It was saying "Could Not Generate PGP Key - General Error" but I changed my password length from 50 characters to 25 and now it's just not saying anything.  I press okay and nothing happens.  If someone could help me out that would be great. Could this be a file/folder permission issue, idk? Also I'm kind of a new Linux user, so keep that in mind.  Thanks in advanced for the help.

[simonlang]

don't use the graphical interface to create gpg keys;

do it via the Konsole/terminal

gpg --gen-key 

[kman1985]

I tried this, but it's still not working....If someone could help me out that'd be great.  It's a new mint install..Heres my output....

gpg --gen-key

gpg (GnuPG) 1.4.16; Copyright (C) 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

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)
Your selection? 1
RSA keys may be between 1024 and 4096 bits long.
What keysize do you want? (2048) 4096
Requested keysize is 4096 bits
Please specify how long the key should be valid.
         0 = key does not expire
      <n>  = key expires in n days
      <n>w = key expires in n weeks
      <n>m = key expires in n months
      <n>y = key expires in n years
Key is valid for? (0) 0
Key does not expire at all
Is this correct? (y/N) y

You need a user ID to identify your key; the software constructs the user ID
from the Real Name, Comment and Email Address in this form:
    "Heinrich Heine (Der Dichter) <heinrichh@duesseldorf.de>"

Real name: K
Email address: k@gmail.com
Comment:
You selected this USER-ID:
    "K <k@gmail.com>"

Change (N)ame, (C)omment, (E)mail or (O)kay/(Q)uit? o
You need a Passphrase to protect your secret key.

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.

Not enough random bytes available.  Please do some other work to give
the OS a chance to collect more entropy! (Need 231 more bytes)
..+++++

Not enough random bytes available.  Please do some other work to give
the OS a chance to collect more entropy! (Need 198 more bytes)
........+++++
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.

Not enough random bytes available.  Please do some other work to give
the OS a chance to collect more entropy! (Need 250 more bytes)
+++++

Not enough random bytes available.  Please do some other work to give
the OS a chance to collect more entropy! (Need 256 more bytes) 

[simonlang]

why it's not working? looks like it's collecting all the needed bytes. just let it run and do some work, browse the web. it might take up to 15mins till ennough random bytes are collected. be patient. 

[kman1985]

Oh okay.  I didn't know it takes that long. sorry about that.   So after this is done and finished generating my key, can I encrypt clipboard messages with public keys, and decrypt clipboard, with the gui?  Thanks.

[simonlang]

i don't know about the clipboard encryption - never heard of it honestly. i am using gpg to encrypt and sign my email messages.

[kman1985]

Ok. So the key generated alright. Also, I'm using GPA as the gui. GPA has a clipboard feature.

I wanted to know. Whats the point of having an expiration date on my gpg key if I can just generate a new one? Does it just make it so I cannot use that key to encrypt/decrypt past that date and it forces me to generate a new one? Thanks.

[Gerowen]

Ok. So the key generated alright. Also, I'm using GPA as the gui. GPA has a clipboard feature.

I wanted to know. Whats the point of having an expiration date on my gpg key if I can just generate a new one? Does it just make it so I cannot use that key to encrypt/decrypt past that date and it forces me to generate a new one? Thanks.

For personal use, there's not much use.  If you were implementing PGP in a business environment though where you were dealing with lots of data and lots of PGP keys for lots of people, where compromised security could mean lost man hours and money, expiration dates would help you make sure things stayed secure.  For example if an employee leaves your company and you forget to revoke their e-mail keys, having an expiration date makes sure they get invalidated automatically after a while anyway.  Regularly changing file encryption keys would help make sure that only people in the company with access to the updated keys have access to the files, and not adversaries who may have come into possession of of older encryption keys.

 

For your personal use though, an expiration date isn't really necessary.

[simonlang]

Ok. So the key generated alright. Also, I'm using GPA as the gui. GPA has a clipboard feature.

I wanted to know. Whats the point of having an expiration date on my gpg key if I can just generate a new one? Does it just make it so I cannot use that key to encrypt/decrypt past that date and it forces me to generate a new one? Thanks.

 

well it looks like the clipboard is there to try to see if encryption/decryption works and can be used to directly do so

 

 

 

How to create your encrypted message.

In the GPA, there is a clipboard tool. This is a place where you will write and encrypt your messages.

Try encrypting a message in your own key.

1) Open the clipboard in the GPA and type a message.

2) Select the encrypt option up top.

3) Select the Key that you wish to encrypt to, try your key first so you get the hang of it. The message should now become the same kind of random looking data you saw earlier.

4) Choose the decrypt option and type in your password if you encrypted to your own key, the message should now return to its original format.

 

read here

 

personally i rather use KGpg and encrypt my emails directly in Kontact/Kmail or via a Dolphin-extension i use it to encrypt/decrypt files/folders.

 

for ubuntu, use nautilus and nautilus-seahorse for encryption/decryption via the context menu.