Current File : //usr/share/help/C/seahorse/misc-key-fingerprint.page
<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
xmlns:its="http://www.w3.org/2005/11/its"
type="topic" style="task"
id="misc-key-fingerprint">
<info>
<link type="guide" xref="concepts"/>
<revision pkgversion="3.14" date="2014-10-06" status="review"/>
<include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
<credit type="author copyright">
<name>Aruna Sankaranarayanan</name>
<email its:translate="no">aruna.evam@gmail.com</email>
<years>2013</years>
</credit>
<desc>The key fingerprint is a unique ID for each key, often used to verify
the ownership of a key</desc>
</info>
<title>What is a key fingerprint?</title>
<p>The fingerprint of a key is a unique sequence of letters and numbers
used to identify the key. Just like the fingerprints of two different people,
the fingerprints of two different keys can never be identical. The
fingerprint is the best way to identify a particular key.</p>
<p>A key has several properties like the name and email of the key owner,
key type, key expiration date and so on. When you are searching for a public
key and you find multiple keys with the same properties, the only way to
identify the key you are looking for is to compare the fingerprints of the
two keys with the fingerprint of the key you require.</p>
<p>It is the fingerprint of a key that is verified when you try to login to a
remote computer using <link xref="index#ssh-keys">SSH</link>. While signing a
<link xref="index#pgp-keys">PGP</link> key, you must always check the key
fingerprint and verify the key owner's identity to ensure that you are
signing the correct key.</p>
<section id="fingerprint-ui">
<title>Fingerprints on <app>Passwords and Keys</app></title>
<p>You can look at the fingerprint of a key on
<app>Passwords and Keys</app> by checking the properties of the key.</p>
<steps>
<title>To check the fingerprint of a key:</title>
<item>
<p>Select <gui>GnuPG keys</gui> from the left side panel.</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>Select the PGP key from the list.</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>Right click the key and select
<gui style="menuitem">Properties</gui>.</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>In the new dialog, select the <gui>Details</gui> tab.</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>You can see the fingerprint of the key on the left hand side.</p>
</item>
</steps>
<!-- stefw: Suggest documenting that the key fingerprint is the
only way to uniquely tell the difference between two keys.
Two keys may have the same name and description. The label or name
is no guarantee that the key represents the person described in the label.
The way to guarantee that you have a given key is to compare the
fingerprint with the person who owns the key.
For SSH keys this is done when you initially connect to a server.
For PGP keys this is usually done through the web of trust. Where someone
you know signs a key, and vouches that the key with a given fingerprint
is owned by the person noted on the label.
-->
</section>
</page>
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