I Have a PGP Key Again

2025-02-03 - [53] 11:20

Using Janky PGP Again...

I really didn't expect to use PGP again... It has always been clunky and complicated, but unfortunately it's the battle tested solution we have...

It has been probably about 7-ish years since I used PGP to any capacity, except maybe signing Git commits before I started using my SSH key for that. There were, in my opinion for quite a while, a lot simpler methods for secure communication with others, like Signal or end-to-end encrypted messages via Facebook Messenger. Unfortunately, I plan on getting rid of Facebook Messenger (and my total Meta account) sooner rather than later, especially now that one friend of mine successfully took the plunge. Also unfortunately, my cellphone is a Nokia feature phone, so Signal isn't in the cards.

A while back ago, I received an encrypted email from Idiomdrottning that I was unable to read, as I had thrown away my PGP private key. She had informed me of a way of getting a git server running over HTTP(S) without the need of CGI scripts, which I eventually implemented. Her use of PGP to encrypt an email had stuck in my mind for quite a while, although I REALLY didn't want to go back to using it if I didn't have to.

Below is a post by them about using PGP.

Also, solderpunk, the creator of the Gemini protocol, wrote a post about generating a PGP key, which is linked below.

Considering my lack of accounts in general, the easiest way to communicate with me now is via email, and having encrypted communications is important for both security and privacy. That can't really happen for folks who text me, as the text messages will all be plaintext over an insecure protocol which my cellphone just can't attach encryption on top of.

Finding My PGP Key

Idiomdrottning also posted about WKD (Web Key Directory) as opposed to the method of uploading PGP private keys to keyservers like pgp.mit.edu or keyserver.ubuntu.org. Her post about WKD is linked below.

Using Idiomdrottning's post as a guide, I managed to make my public key available over WKD, which can be found using `gpg --locate-keys vi@vigrey.com`. My PGP public key is also available at the following link.

Contact/Reply

If you would like to reply to this post, feel free to send me an email.