trunk/Doc/winpt.texi

\input texinfo

@setfilename WinPT

This file describes the Windows Privacy Tray program and its main functions

This file is free under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2.

Copyright (C) 2006 Timo Schulz

Version 0.0.0

@settitle WinPT - The Windows Privacy Tray; a free GPG front-end for Windows

@section Requirements for WinPT

First you need to have a working GnuPG 1.4 installtion on the machine you
plan to install WinPT. If you don't have GPG in your machine, please
visit http://www.gnupg.org and download the latest GPG version there.
It comes with a graphical installer so there is no need to do this
step manually.

You need at least Windows 98/2K/XP, but Windows XP or better is
recommend. The program also works on NT/95/ME but there is no support
for these OS versions any longer.


@section Installation of the Program

It is always recommend to use the latest version of the program. You
can download it from http://wald.intevation.org/projects/winpt.
Download the zip file with the binaries inside and unpack them in
a folder. All files need to be in the same folder, so if you change
the folder don't forget to move all files.

To activate the program you just need to start WinPT.exe. You should
now see a little (golden key) icon in the taskbar which indicates that 
the program is running. If you want to quit the program, right click
on the symbol and select "Exit".

Alternative, you may use one of the graphical GPG installers which
are available on the internet. I recommend to use Gpg4Win which
includes a set of very useful privacy tools, beside WinPT and it
is very easy to use with an average size (~4MB). For non-German
speaking users, I recommend the light version because it does not
contain the 2 German PDF manuals.

@subsection Configure the Program
After the installation not much of the default settings need to
be changed. If you prefer a special keyserver, it is propably a good 
idea to open the keyserver dialog and to set one of the existing 
keyservers as the default or create a new entry and mark it as the 
new default. The default keyserver is subkeys.pgp.net, which is
the best choice for most users.

@subsection GPG Options
For expert users, the GPG preference dialog might contain some
interesting options. For example to set the expiration date of
a signature and/or to set the signing level for key signing.
It also allows to set a default 'encrypt-to' key and to set
the comment in ASCII armored files.

@subsection Preferences
In the WinPT preference dialog, the user can modify and/or disable
the default options. For new users it is suggested to leave the
default values as they are, except when there are problems related
to the hotkeys.

To enable keyring backups, the user can either decide to use the
GPG home directory as the backup folder or any other folder. In
the latter case, a folder needs to be chosen. If the backup should
also include the secret keyring, please check the corresponding box.


@section The First Start
This section is only important for people who never installed
and/or used WinPT before.

When the program is started the first time, it offers two choices.
The one is to generate a key pair and the other is to copy
existing GPG keyrings into the current installation.

We assume the user will select the first entry.

Now a new dialog is shown which requests some information from
the user to allow a meaningful association between the key and
the user. If the user prefer RSA keys, the check box should be marked. 
If the entered data is OK, WinPT then generates a new key pair. As long
as this step takes, a progress dialog is shown to indicate the 
enduring process. When the generation of the keypair is done, WinPT 
offers the chance to backup the existing keyrings. This is definitely
an important decision because if the keyring will get corrupted
or lost, there is no way to recover the encrypted data. That is
why it is also important to store the backup, at least of the
secret keyring, at a @strong{safe} place.

@section Keyserver Access
An easy way to retrieve keys is the keyserver. You can think of
it like a huge database with a lot of keys as its content. It is 
possible to search keys by a pattern, a keyid or even a fingerprint.
WinPT allows to access different kind of keyservers. For example
LDAP, HKP, Finger and HTTP. But the focus will be set on HKP because
this is the common case.

In some situations WinPT asks the user whether to retrieve keys 
automatically. One example is the signature verification when the 
key that issued the signature was not found in the keyring.

The main keyserver dialog allows to fetch one or more keys directly
or to search for a given pattern.

@subsection Retrieve a key by Key ID

@subsection Retrieve a key by its email address

@subsection Search for a key by pattern
If you want to communicate with a new mail partner and you are
not sure about the key ID, it can be useful to search for his
email address. This address is considered as quite unique.

An example:

pattern: twoaday@@freakmail.de

[Search]

Now a dialog is opened with a list of all keys which matched
the search string. If the name @strong{and} the email address
is known, the matching key should be selected and "Receive"
should be clicked. Then the key will be downloaded and added
to your keyring. Now you can encrypt data with this key, for
example an email.

@section Adding new elements to your key

@subsection Adding a new secondary key

For most users the existing keys in the key pair are enough
and no extra key is needed. But there are some exceptions.

@itemize @bullet

@item
The primary key has no secondary key and the primary key is not
able to encrypt data. In this case it can be a good idea to
add a secondary encryption key.

@item
A lot of people use secondary encryption keys with an expiration
date. Usually the key is valid for 1-2 years. After the key is expired,
a new key is needed in order to encrypt data.

@end itemize

What kind of public key algorithm should be selected is a matter
of taste. RSA and ElGamal are both capable for encryption. For most
users it's a good idea to let the program chose the key size (in bits).
The default settings should be secure enough for most purposes.

@subsection Adding a new user ID
If you got a new email account, it's propably a good idea to
add these new account to your key also. For example:

A new account was registed at gmail.com (john.doo@@gmail.com).
Then you should create a new user ID with the following fields:

name: John Doo

email: john.doo@@gmail.com

comment: (optional)

Now email programs are able to associate this address with your
key when somebody wants to send you a protected mail to this account.

@subsection Adding a photographic ID
With this function you can add a photo to your public. It will be
displayed in the key property dialog.

You just need to select a JPEG file which contains the photo and
enter your passphrase and confirm with OK. Please read the note
in the dialog carefully to make sure the photo has a proper size
(file, height and weight).

@subsection Adding a new designated revoker
If you want to allow another key to revoke your own key, this
might be useful if you lost your secret or a simliar situation,
you can use this function to add a designated revoker to your key.

All you need to do is to select the key you want to add as a desig
revoker. But please bear in mind that this procedure cannot be undone
and that this person really has the power to make your public key
unuseable. You really should trust the selected key, in case it is
not a key owned by yourself.

@bye
1	\input texinfo
2
3	@setfilename WinPT
4
5	This file describes the Windows Privacy Tray program and its main functions
6
7	This file is free under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2.
8
9	Copyright (C) 2006 Timo Schulz
10
11	Version 0.0.0
12
13	@settitle WinPT - The Windows Privacy Tray; a free GPG front-end for Windows
14
15	@section Requirements for WinPT
16
17	First you need to have a working GnuPG 1.4 installtion on the machine you
18	plan to install WinPT. If you don't have GPG in your machine, please
19	visit http://www.gnupg.org and download the latest GPG version there.
20	It comes with a graphical installer so there is no need to do this
21	step manually.
22
23	You need at least Windows 98/2K/XP, but Windows XP or better is
24	recommend. The program also works on NT/95/ME but there is no support
25	for these OS versions any longer.
26
27
28	@section Installation of the Program
29
30	It is always recommend to use the latest version of the program. You
31	can download it from http://wald.intevation.org/projects/winpt.
32	Download the zip file with the binaries inside and unpack them in
33	a folder. All files need to be in the same folder, so if you change
34	the folder don't forget to move all files.
35
36	To activate the program you just need to start WinPT.exe. You should
37	now see a little (golden key) icon in the taskbar which indicates that
38	the program is running. If you want to quit the program, right click
39	on the symbol and select "Exit".
40
41	Alternative, you may use one of the graphical GPG installers which
42	are available on the internet. I recommend to use Gpg4Win which
43	includes a set of very useful privacy tools, beside WinPT and it
44	is very easy to use with an average size (~4MB). For non-German
45	speaking users, I recommend the light version because it does not
46	contain the 2 German PDF manuals.
47
48	@subsection Configure the Program
49	After the installation not much of the default settings need to
50	be changed. If you prefer a special keyserver, it is propably a good
51	idea to open the keyserver dialog and to set one of the existing
52	keyservers as the default or create a new entry and mark it as the
53	new default. The default keyserver is subkeys.pgp.net, which is
54	the best choice for most users.
55
56	@subsection GPG Options
57	For expert users, the GPG preference dialog might contain some
58	interesting options. For example to set the expiration date of
59	a signature and/or to set the signing level for key signing.
60	It also allows to set a default 'encrypt-to' key and to set
61	the comment in ASCII armored files.
62
63	@subsection Preferences
64	In the WinPT preference dialog, the user can modify and/or disable
65	the default options. For new users it is suggested to leave the
66	default values as they are, except when there are problems related
67	to the hotkeys.
68
69	To enable keyring backups, the user can either decide to use the
70	GPG home directory as the backup folder or any other folder. In
71	the latter case, a folder needs to be chosen. If the backup should
72	also include the secret keyring, please check the corresponding box.
73
74
75	@section The First Start
76	This section is only important for people who never installed
77	and/or used WinPT before.
78
79	When the program is started the first time, it offers two choices.
80	The one is to generate a key pair and the other is to copy
81	existing GPG keyrings into the current installation.
82
83	We assume the user will select the first entry.
84
85	Now a new dialog is shown which requests some information from
86	the user to allow a meaningful association between the key and
87	the user. If the user prefer RSA keys, the check box should be marked.
88	If the entered data is OK, WinPT then generates a new key pair. As long
89	as this step takes, a progress dialog is shown to indicate the
90	enduring process. When the generation of the keypair is done, WinPT
91	offers the chance to backup the existing keyrings. This is definitely
92	an important decision because if the keyring will get corrupted
93	or lost, there is no way to recover the encrypted data. That is
94	why it is also important to store the backup, at least of the
95	secret keyring, at a @strong{safe} place.
96
97	@section Keyserver Access
98	An easy way to retrieve keys is the keyserver. You can think of
99	it like a huge database with a lot of keys as its content. It is
100	possible to search keys by a pattern, a keyid or even a fingerprint.
101	WinPT allows to access different kind of keyservers. For example
102	LDAP, HKP, Finger and HTTP. But the focus will be set on HKP because
103	this is the common case.
104
105	In some situations WinPT asks the user whether to retrieve keys
106	automatically. One example is the signature verification when the
107	key that issued the signature was not found in the keyring.
108
109	The main keyserver dialog allows to fetch one or more keys directly
110	or to search for a given pattern.
111
112	@subsection Retrieve a key by Key ID
113
114	@subsection Retrieve a key by its email address
115
116	@subsection Search for a key by pattern
117	If you want to communicate with a new mail partner and you are
118	not sure about the key ID, it can be useful to search for his
119	email address. This address is considered as quite unique.
120
121	An example:
122
123	pattern: twoaday@@freakmail.de
124
125	[Search]
126
127	Now a dialog is opened with a list of all keys which matched
128	the search string. If the name @strong{and} the email address
129	is known, the matching key should be selected and "Receive"
130	should be clicked. Then the key will be downloaded and added
131	to your keyring. Now you can encrypt data with this key, for
132	example an email.
133
134	@section Adding new elements to your key
135
136	@subsection Adding a new secondary key
137
138	For most users the existing keys in the key pair are enough
139	and no extra key is needed. But there are some exceptions.
140
141	@itemize @bullet
142
143	@item
144	The primary key has no secondary key and the primary key is not
145	able to encrypt data. In this case it can be a good idea to
146	add a secondary encryption key.
147
148	@item
149	A lot of people use secondary encryption keys with an expiration
150	date. Usually the key is valid for 1-2 years. After the key is expired,
151	a new key is needed in order to encrypt data.
152
153	@end itemize
154
155	What kind of public key algorithm should be selected is a matter
156	of taste. RSA and ElGamal are both capable for encryption. For most
157	users it's a good idea to let the program chose the key size (in bits).
158	The default settings should be secure enough for most purposes.
159
160	@subsection Adding a new user ID
161	If you got a new email account, it's propably a good idea to
162	add these new account to your key also. For example:
163
164	A new account was registed at gmail.com (john.doo@@gmail.com).
165	Then you should create a new user ID with the following fields:
166
167	name: John Doo
168
169	email: john.doo@@gmail.com
170
171	comment: (optional)
172
173	Now email programs are able to associate this address with your
174	key when somebody wants to send you a protected mail to this account.
175
176	@subsection Adding a photographic ID
177	With this function you can add a photo to your public. It will be
178	displayed in the key property dialog.
179
180	You just need to select a JPEG file which contains the photo and
181	enter your passphrase and confirm with OK. Please read the note
182	in the dialog carefully to make sure the photo has a proper size
183	(file, height and weight).
184
185	@subsection Adding a new designated revoker
186	If you want to allow another key to revoke your own key, this
187	might be useful if you lost your secret or a simliar situation,
188	you can use this function to add a designated revoker to your key.
189
190	All you need to do is to select the key you want to add as a desig
191	revoker. But please bear in mind that this procedure cannot be undone
192	and that this person really has the power to make your public key
193	unuseable. You really should trust the selected key, in case it is
194	not a key owned by yourself.
195
196	@bye