Create Certificate with GPG Tools
- Start GPG Tools from your launchpad.
- You will see the GPG Tools Window which will show you the certificates you have installed. Notice the type column, which distinguishes between public and public / secret keys you have installed.
- Let’s create your first public key private key pair be clicking the “New” button, or selecting File > New Key from the menu.
- The New Key Pair window will open. Enter the name of the person or organization for which you are creating this certificate, as well as an email address for the person or organization. Then press Advanced Options.
- In the advanced options, you should leave the defaults alone until you know what they mean, but because this is just an example, let’s add a certificate expiration date. While it is not required, it is recommended that you enter a passphrase for your Key, and make the password at least 10 characters long, and include a combination of upper case and lowercase letters, with at least one number. This adds one more layer of security which keeps unauthorized people form using your key even if they gain access to your private key. Do not lose this password, you will need it whenever you plan to decrypt a message encrypted with these keys. Click “Generate Key”.
- The Creating Key window opens. At this point you can type random characters , or move the mouse around to add randomness to the key being generated.
- At this point your certificate key pair is created. We suggest you make a backup of your key and keep it in a safe place by selecting your newly generated key pair and clicking the “Export” button.
- Select a location and filename for your key pair backup. To backup your secret key, make sure you click the checkbox at the bottom of the dialog that says “Include secret key in exported file”. Once you have done this, press Save.
- Back in the main GPG Tools Window, you will now see your new certificate listed in the window. Notice that it has “sec/pub” under the Type heading indicating that you possess both the public and the secret key. In order to allow people to send you encrypted messages or documents with this certificate, you will first need to give them a copy of your public key.
- To export your public key the process is very similar to making a backup of your private key. Select your key and press the Export button. You can name this file anything you want, and save it anywhere you like on your computer. We highly recommend saving it to a different location and giving it a different name from the backup you made of your private key in step 8. If you accidentally send your private key to someone else, they will be able to decrypt any messages encrypted with this key. In order to allow someone to send you an encrypted message, they will need a copy of the public key you just saved. This key can be sent to them as an email attachment, downloaded from a location on the web, or even printed and sent in the mail. The key itself is just a text file which you can open in any standard text editing program.
