PGP Public Keyservers --------------------- There are PGP public key servers which allow one to exchange public keys running through the Internet and UUCP mail systems. NOTE! This service is NOT supported in any way whatsoever by the schools or organizations on which these servers run. It is here only to help transfer keys between PGP users. It does NOT attempt to guarantee that a key is a valid key; use the signators on a key for that kind of security. This service can be discontinued at any time without prior notification. Each keyserver processes requests in the form of mail messages. The commands for the server are entered on the Subject: line. To: pgp-public-keys@pgp.mit.edu From: johndoe@some.site.edu Subject: help Sending your key to ONE server is enough. After it processes your key, it will forward your add request to other servers automagically. For example, to add your key to the keyserver, or to update your key if it is already there, send a message similar to the following to any server: To: pgp-public-keys@pgp.mit.edu From: johndoe@some.site.edu Subject: add -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.2i -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- COMPROMISED KEYS: Create a Key Revocation Certificate (read the PGP docs on how to do that) and mail your key to the server once again, with the ADD command. Valid commands are: Command Message body contains -------------------------------------------------------------------- ADD Your PGP public key (key to add is body of msg) (-ka) INDEX List all PGP keys the server knows about (-kv) VERBOSE INDEX List all PGP keys, verbose format (-kvv) GET Get the whole public key ring (-kxa *) GET Get just that one key (-kxa ) MGET Get all keys which match LAST Get all keys uploaded during last days -------------------------------------------------------------------- Examples for the MGET command: MGET michael Gets all keys which have "michael" in them MGET iastate All keys which contain "iastate" MGET 0AF605A5|683A738B Those two keyids If you wish to get the entire key ring and have access to FTP, it would be a lot more efficient to use FTP rather than e-mail. Using e-mail, the entire key ring can generate a many part message, which you will have to reconstruct into a single file before adding it to your key ring. As of 21-Apr-95, these sites are running this system: pgp-public-keys@pgp.mit.edu Derek Atkins pgp-public-keys@pgp.iastate.edu Michael Graff pgp-public-keys@burn.ucsd.edu Andy Howard pgp-public-keys@fbihh.informatik.uni-hamburg.de Vesselin V. Bontchev public-key-server@martigny.ai.mit.edu Brian A. LaMacchia pgp-public-keys@pgp.ox.ac.uk Paul Leyland pgp-public-keys@dsi.unimi.it David Vincenzetti pgp-public-keys@kub.nl Teun Nijssen pgp-public-keys@ext221.sra.co.jp Hironobu Suzuki pgp-public-keys@sw.oz.au Jeremy Fitzhardinge pgp-public-keys@kiae.su pgp-public-keys@srce.hr Cedomir Igaly pgp-public-keys@pgp.pipex.net Mark Turner Sites accessible via WWW: http://martigny.ai.mit.edu/~bal/pks-toplev.html http://ibd.ar.com/PublicKeys.html Key server keyrings accessible via FTP: ftp://pgp.iastate.edu/pub/pgp/public-keys.pgp ftp://pgp.mit.edu/pub/keys/public-keys.pgp ftp://burn.ucsd.edu/Crypto/public-keys.pgp ftp://alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu/links/security/pubring.pgp ftp://ftp.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/pub/virus/misc/pubkring.pgp ftp://ftp.dsi.unimi.it/pub/security/crypt/PGP/public-keys.pgp The following key servers are no longer in operation: pgp-public-keys@phil.utmb.edu pgp-public-keys@proxima.alt.za pgp-public-keys@demon.co.uk In addition to the "traditional" keyservers, there is a commercial key registry in operation at four11.com. Four11 Directory Services is set up primarily as a directory service to assist in searching for people or groups. Members of the service may have their key certified by Four11 and placed on their server; a key signature from Four11 indicates that you have met their signing requirements. At the time of this writing, they offer "SLED Silver Signatures", which require identification of the key holder through one of the following: - a mailed or faxed driver's license - a mailed or faxed copy of a passport - payment for services with a preprinted personal check which cleared Send mail to info@four11.com or connect to http://www.four11.com/ for more information on SLED/Four11 or to search their server. Their current certification keys may be retrieved by sending mail to key-pgp-silver@sled.com or by looking up "SLED" on the other keyservers. Check the Usenet newsgroup alt.security.pgp for updates to this system and for new sites, or take a look at the PGP FAQ by Jeff Licquia , available via WWW from: http://www.prairienet.org/~jalicqui/pgpfaq.txt or via FTP: ftp://ftp.prairienet.org/pub/providers/pgp/pgpfaq.txt