73 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
73 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
# Easy Paper Backups of Ascii PGP Keys
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Shell scripts to convert between ascii armor PGP keys and QR codes for paper backup.
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After exporting your private keys in ascii armor format, you can use the scripts
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in this project to convert them to PNG images that can be printed and archived.
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This is ever so slightly easier than printing the ascii key directly and using OCR
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software to recreate the key files.
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## Dependencies
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This project depends on a couple libraries that come with applicatons that are called
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by these scripts.
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1. [libqrencode](http://fukuchi.org/works/qrencode/)
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2. [zbar](http://zbar.sourceforge.net)
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## Export keys From GPG
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There are several good guides on the web about managing GPG keys and creating backups.
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The quick version is to use one of these commands:
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gpg --armor --export > pgp-public-keys.asc
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gpg --armor --export-secret-keys > pgp-private-keys.asc
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gpg --armor --gen-revoke [your key ID] > pgp-revocation.asc
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**NOTE** Be sure to securely remove your private and revocation keys once they
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are correctly backed up. This can be done from the command line with either the 'srm'
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tool on Max OS X or with 'shred' on Linux.
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## Convert To QR Code Images
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Use the asc2qr.sh script to convert a public or private key in ascii armor format
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into QR code PNG images.
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[kevin@computer]$ asc2qr.sh ~/gpg_public_key.asc
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generating QR1.png
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generating QR2.png
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[kevin@computer]$ ls -l
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total 24
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-rw-r--r-- 1 kevin group 6873 Mar 7 11:30 QR1.png
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-rw-r--r-- 1 kevin group 1251 Mar 7 11:30 QR2.png
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Print the resulting images and save them in a fireproof safe or safety deposit box.
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## Convert To Ascii Armor Key Files
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Use the qr2asc.sh script to convert QR code images (created from an photo of
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the image) to a public or private key in ascii armor format.
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[kevin@computer]$ qr2asc.sh *.png
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decoding QR1.png
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decoding QR2.png
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[kevin@computer]$ ls -l
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total 32
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-rw-r--r-- 1 kevin group 3127 Mar 7 11:30 mykey.asc
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[kevin@computer]$ diff ~/gpg_public_key.asc mykey.asc
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[kevin@computer]$
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## Import Keys Into GPG
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To import keys into GPG use one of these commands:
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gpg --import pgp-public-keys.asc
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gpg --import pgp-private-keys.asc
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**NOTE** Be sure to securely remove your private and revocation keys once they
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are correctly backed up. This can be done from the command line with either the 'srm'
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tool on Max OS X or with 'shred' on Linux.
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