Using the Guard

Guard Settings

3.5.3. Administering keys

In order to send or receive encrypted messages, the functions for administering keys are typically not required. Those functions can be used for the following requirements though:

  • You want to use your Guard PGP keys in other E-Mail clients, e.g. in local E-Mail clients.

  • You have PGP keys from other PGP applications. You want to use those keys in Guard.

  • You have an external partner's public key. In order to read encrypted messages from this external partner without having to access a key server, you want to import the partner's public key into Guard.

  • You want to provide your public key to a recipient in order to give the latter read access to your encrypted messages without the need to access a key server.

How to open the page for administering your keys:

  1. Click the System menu icon on the right side of the menu bar. Click the Settings menu item.

  2. Select the entry Guard Security in the sidebar. Click on Guard PGP Settings.

The page contains the following elements.

  • Options for adjusting the Guard default settings

  • Your Keys section. Contains functions for administering your private and public PGP keys.

  • Public Keys section. Displays the pubic keys shared by you or other users. If a user's public key is shown in this list, you can assume that this user can decrypt the E-Mails that you send encrypted to this user.

The following functions are available:

How to download your public key:

  1. In the settings, open the page for administering the keys.

  2. Click on Download PGP Public Key below Your Keys.

How to send your public key per E-Mail:

  1. In the settings, open the page for administering the keys.

  2. Click on Email your PGP Public Key below Your Keys.

How to add a new key to your keys:

  1. In the settings, open the page for administering the keys.

  2. Click the Add icon . The Adding Keys window opens.

  3. You have the following options:

    • To add a private key, click on Upload Private Key. Select a file containing a private key. The Upload Private Keys window opens.

      To upload the new key, enter your Guard security password. Enter a new password for the new key.

    • To add a public key, click on Upload Public Key Only. Select a file containing a public key.

    • To create a new key pair, click on Create New Keys. The Create Guard Security Keys window opens.

      Enter a password for the new key. Confirm the password.

    The new key will be entered below Your Key List.

How to download your private key:

Caution: Downloading a private key to your local machine can be a security risk. Make sure that no other person can get access to your private key.

  1. In the settings, open the page for administering the keys.

  2. Click the Download icon.

How to upload an external partner's public key:

  1. In the settings, open the page for administering the keys.

  2. Click the Add icon . Select a file containing a public key.