What Is a PGP Keyring?

PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) keyrings store security values used in computer networks.

PGP, or Pretty Good Privacy, refers to a computer program that provides authentication and security for data communication in networks. PGP stores values used for authentication in keyring files.

Data Encryption

Data encryption involves the coding of data by means of mathematical computations called algorithms. These algorithms create a value composed of a series of numbers or characters called a public key. The public key is used to code a digital message in order to make it unreadable without the use of a private key, which typically takes the form of a password.

Keyrings

Keyrings are part of the encryption scheme used in PGP. A keyring consists of a public key and a private key, which are both needed to decrypt or code data sent in a digital message.

PGP Files

A PGP program stores keys within specific files in the user's computer hard drive. PGP creates and dedicates one file for public keys and another file for private keys. These files are keyring files. Public keys for a user's message recipients can be stored in the public keyring, and the user's private keys can be stored in the private keyring.

References

• PC Mag: Definition of: PGP
• "Secure Messaging with PGP and S/MIME"; Rolf Oppliger; 2000.

Resources

• "Encyclopedia of Cryptography and Security"; Henk C.A. van Tilborg; 2005.