Encrypt messages in GPG on Linux

Encryption is our best friend!

With the birth of civilization, there was a need to transmit information to people. And in such a way that this information does not become available to third parties. Over time, technologies developed, the amount of information increased, and the methods of its interception became more complicated. Currently, digital technologies are being actively implemented in various spheres of human life, therefore the issue of information protection during its storage and transmission is particularly relevant. Encryption is used to authenticate the source of the information and prevent the sender of the information from denying the fact that the data was sent to them. In order to read the encrypted information, the receiving party needs a key and a decryptor (a device that implements the decryption algorithm). The most reliable type of encryption is encryption via GPG/PGP.

GnuPG (Gnu Privacy Guard) is a free program for encrypting information and creating electronic digital signatures. It uses a hybrid system combining symmetric and asymmetric encryption. GPG was created as a free alternative to the non-free PGP. GPG is used to encrypt information and provides various algorithms (RSA, DSA, AES, etc.) to solve this task. Linux has programs that make it easier to communicate over this type of communication. The higher the key, the lower the risk that the message will be decoded if it is intercepted, but the time required to calculate the processes will also increase. Debian has the GPA package which is a convenient solution for sending and receiving encrypted messages. No one but you and your interlocutor will be able to decipher it. Think about how much we use to communicate today: text messages, phone calls, emails, social media posts. In these realities, encryption is our best friend.

GPA package in debian

Let’s start the work, which I will show on the example of the debian distribution. We download the GPA package with the command in the terminal:

sudo apt install gpa

Then you find the program, log in and click “Create key”.

1. Create a name:


 

2. Enter your e-mail address, it is not necessary to enter your own:



3. Make a backup copy and store in a safe place:



4.Створюєте надійний пароль. Зберігайте резервну копію ключа:

Have a nice and safe communication!

To exchange public keys with the interlocutor, export the key and send it. To do this, click in the program: Windows (windows) -> Keyring Manager (key manager), click on your key and the button -> Export Keys, save it. Then send your key file. To add the sent key to yourself, the interlocutor must enter the program and go to the following items: Windows -> Keyring Manager -> Import keys (import keys), select a key.

When you have exchanged keys, you can proceed to communication. To do this, go to the item: Windows -> Clipboard in the GPA program. Write your message and press the button: Encrypt the buffer text. Select your key and press OK.

5. Your message is encrypted, you copy it and send it through any type of communication, in order to decrypt the interlocutor needs to open your encrypted text in the buffer and press the button: Decrypt the buffer text (Decrypt the text from the clipboard).

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