Privacy is good. I think in a perfect world all correspondence between people who know each other would be encrypted — if only secret stuff is encrypted, then everyone knows that the message contains secret stuff. Toward that end I’m starting to build my own web of trust by making it easy for people to get my public key. If you have GPG or PGP installed, you can cut the block of text at the bottom of this page and import it into your keychain.
If your email program supports it (most will after GnuPG and its various bits are installed), you can download my key directly from pgp.mit.edu (search for my email address), then verify it with the fingerprint below. Otherwise, you can use the version at the bottom of this page. Once you import the key and verify the fingerprint, then you will be able to send me encrypted emails (the first should include your public key), and you will be able to verify my digital signature.
The fact that nothing I say is worth encrypting is beside the point. (In fact, it’s none of the Government’s or any corporation’s business that I have nothing to hide.) Lots of people who have “nothing to hide” have been hurt when their emails get out, not only because of what they say but because of how they say it. And remember, this not only helps you keep stuff secret, it prevents others from modifying your messages later and getting you in trouble.
With Google and others trending farther and farther away from the interests of their users, it’s only a matter of time until your emails are considered public, or at least the property of the host. Protect yourself. Sign all your messages and encrypt what you can.
A brief overview of the subject and a get-started guide are here. The installation instructions are for Mac, but the overview and the explanation of the web of trust apply to all platforms.
My web of trust currently has exactly two members, including myself; I have endorsed one friend’s key, and copied my endorsed version back up to the keyservers. Not so much a web as a strand of trust, I suppose. Still, at least there are two people on the planet with whom I can converse without worrying about it being used against me later. I’m hoping to expand that network. I would like to have a link I could put here to help Windows users get up and running. Any suggestions welcome.
OK, here’s my key:
No matter how you get the key, here is the fingerprint that should match when you’re done:
Fingerprint: 24B6 30B9 E22E 3655 C6C7 372E 5EDC 4546 44C8 578C
Option 1: In your email software, download the key from a keyserver like wwwkeys.pgp.net, searching on my email address.
Option 2: right-click to download this file, and import it into your keychain:
I would really like to hear from someone who tries to import this key – I’m not sure that WordPress hasn’t altered the key text in a way that will break the import.
Jerry,
I stumbled across your website and see that you’re asking for help. Right now I AM NOT at home and I don’t have time to examine a descriptipn of your problem.
My public key will be found at the end of this message. In a day or two I will look at your site again and do what I can to help. :^)
Bob Hazelett
===============================================
—–BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK—–
Version: 6.5.8ckt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=Ugnx
—–END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK—–