Robo-FTP: PGP how-to guide

Company | Contact Us | Partners

PGP Basics
Creating a Key Pair
Importing a Key Pair
Importing a Public Key
Exporting a Public Key
Encrypting a File
Decrypting a File

PGP Basics

To effectively use PGP encryption and decryption with Robo-FTP, you must first have a basic understanding of how PGP works in general. This quick intro should be enough to get you started, but it is recommended that you look to the many excellent resources available on the web for a more in-depth explanation.

PGP (short for Pretty Good Privacy), created by Philip Zimmermann, has become a widely used method for sharing information in a secure way. When you encrypt a file with PGP and send it over the internet, you can be reasonably confident that:

Only the intended recipient can read the contents of the file
The file has not been modified in any way since being encrypted
The sender is really who he says he is

This is all achieved using a scheme commonly referred to as "public key encryption." To have somebody encrypt files in such a way that only you can decrypt them, you must first create a key pair. This key pair is made up of a public key and a private key. You keep the private key to yourself -- nobody else should ever have access to this. You distribute your public key to anybody you would like to be able to encrypt files for you to read.

Let's say that you need to encrypt a file and upload it to a bank's FTP server. The bank needs to first give you their public key. You can then encrypt the file with this public key. The encrypted file can only be decrypted by somebody who has access to the matching private key.

Sound simple? It is. There is more to the story, but this is all the background you need to get started.

Creating a Key Pair

You must create a key pair if you wish to have anybody encrypt files so that you (and only you) can decrypt them. If you already have a key pair (perhaps from using another PGP program) then you may wish to skip this section and take a look at Importing a Key Pair. Once you have completed these steps to create a key pair you will need to follow these steps to export your public key.

Launch the Robo-FTP Configurator (Start | Programs | Robo-FTP | Configure Robo-FTP) and click the 'Configure PGP' tab.
Click the 'Create Key' button.
Make sure the 'Create Empty Keyring' box is not selected.
You must enter a User Name and email address, the comment field is optional.
Enter the size (default is 1024).
Enter an expiration date (default is never).
Enter a Passphrase and verify it.
Save the passphrase to use it without specifying it in your script (for added security).
Select the folder where the keyring will be created.
Click 'OK' to create the keyring and add the key-pair to this keyring.

Importing a Key Pair

If you already have a key pair (perhaps from using another PGP program) then you may import this key pair into Robo-FTP. First, you must export the key pair (presumably using the same program you used to create the key pair).

Launch the Robo-FTP Configurator (Start | Programs | Robo-FTP | Configure Robo-FTP) and click the 'Configure PGP' tab.
Click the 'Create Key' button.
Make sure the 'Create Empty Keyring' box is selected.
Select the folder where the keyring will be created.
Click 'OK' to create the empty keyring.
Click the 'Manage Keys' button.
Click the 'Import...' button.
Browse to the folder where your exported PGP keyring is located.
Select the file and click 'OK'.
Your key should now be imported and ready to use.

Importing a Public Key

If you wish to encrypt files so that the recipient (and only the recipient) can decrypt them, you must first import the recipient's public key. The recipient must export his public key and give you access to this file (most often as an e-mail attachment).

Click the 'Manage Keys' button.
Click the 'Import...' button.
Browse to the folder where the public key file is located.
Select the file and click 'OK'.
The key should now be imported and ready to use.

Exporting a Public Key

If you wish to have others encrypt files so that you (and only you) can read them, you must export your public key. You will give this public key (often as an e-mail attachment) to anybody who needs to encrypt files for you to receive.

Click the 'Manage Keys' button.
Select the Key that you would like to export.
Click the 'Export...' button.
Select the location of the file to be exported.
Select 'OK'.
The public key is now exported to a file in that specified folder.
The key will be named by the key's name with an extension of .asc (ASCII armored) or .gpg.

Encrypting a File

Before you can encrypt a file so that only the recipient can read it, you must first import the recipient's public key. Once you've done this, you can encrypt a file with a single script command. For example:

PGPENCRYPT "file_to_encrypt" "destination_encrypted_file" /user="Recipient1"

Decrypting a File

Before others can encrypt files so that only you can read them, you must first create a key pair or (if you already have a key pair you created with another program) import a key pair. You must then export your public key and distribute it to anybody you wish to be able to encrypt files for you to read. Once somebody has encrypted a file with your public key and sent it to you (perhaps by posting it to an FTP server for you to download with Robo-FTP, you can decrypt the file with a single script command. For example: