P G P . N E T

What you can do here

• Find a public key by fingerprint, key ID or email with the key lookup. Old wwwkeys.pgp.net/pks/lookup links land there and look the key up on keys.openpgp.org; if it is not there, the page links to keyserver.ubuntu.com.
• Fix old instructions that use subkeys.pgp.net or apt-key adv --keyserver: see what to use instead.
• Learn OpenPGP step by step: install GnuPG, create a key, encrypt files, sign and verify and check a download.
• Get answers in the PGP FAQ, rewritten for today's tools, and look up words in the glossary.
• Download the classic archive of ftp.pgp.net: PGP 2.x and 5.0 for DOS, Windows, Mac, Unix, Amiga, Atari and more, with the original documentation, in the download archive.
• Check a server's certificate with the SSL checker: it verifies TLS/SSL certificate installation, names, expiry and chain.
• Check an IBAN with the IBAN checker before you send money abroad: it validates the number and finds the bank's BIC/SWIFT code.

Keyservers

The pgp.net names were once a worldwide network of keyservers and FTP mirrors. That network is gone, but the addresses still matter: they are printed in books, mailing-list footers and install scripts. Every old name now leads to this site.

• Key lookupLook up an OpenPGP public key by fingerprint, key ID or email address. Old wwwkeys.pgp.net and subkeys.pgp.net /pks/lookup links land here.
• Replacing subkeys.pgp.netsubkeys.pgp.net, wwwkeys.pgp.net and pool.subkeys.pgp.net no longer run a keyserver. Tested replacements for gpg, dirmngr.conf and apt-key commands.
• keys.openpgp.orgHow keys.openpgp.org works: upload your key, confirm your email, find keys by address or fingerprint with gpg, and what the server strips or will not publish.
• HKP protocolThe HTTP Keyserver Protocol explained: /pks/lookup with op=get, index and vindex, options=mr, fingerprint=on, ports 11371 and 443, and why short key IDs are unsafe.
• Web Key DirectoryHow WKD lets a mail domain serve its users' OpenPGP keys over HTTPS: the hashed URL, gpg --locate-keys, gpg-wks-client --install-key, nginx and Apache setups, and tests.
• Email keyserverHow the 1990s email keyserver at pgp-public-keys@keys.pgp.net worked, what its ADD, INDEX, GET, MGET and LAST commands did, and what to use now that it is gone.
• Keyserver historyFrom 1990s email keyservers and keys.pgp.net to PKS, SKS, the 2019 certificate flooding attack, the 2021 end of the SKS pool, Hockeypuck and keys.openpgp.org.
• Run a keyserverWhen your own keyserver makes sense, how to install Hockeypuck 2.4 with Docker or from source, a working config, peering, key deletion, and privacy risks.

Guides

• Install GnuPGHow to install GnuPG on Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, macOS (GPG Suite or Homebrew) and Windows (Gpg4win), check the version, and which branch is current.
• Create a keyMake a GnuPG key with --full-generate-key or --quick-generate-key, pick algorithm and expiry, keep the revocation certificate, then export and publish it.
• Encrypt filesEncrypt files with gpg --encrypt --recipient or a passphrase with --symmetric, encrypt whole folders with tar, decrypt them again, and avoid the usual mistakes.
• Sign and verifyMake detached .asc/.sig signatures with gpg --detach-sign, clearsign text, verify with gpg --verify, read Good/BAD signature output and check the signer's fingerprint.
• Verify downloadsWorked examples: check a Debian ISO with SHA512SUMS and SHA512SUMS.sign, verify a GnuPG tarball's .sig, compare release-key fingerprints, and what to do when it fails.
• Email encryptionOpenPGP email in 2026: Thunderbird's built-in OpenPGP, Gpg4win GpgOL for Outlook, Apple Mail, Android, Autocrypt, Proton Mail, and what stays visible.
• Backup and revokeHow to back up a GnuPG key (export-secret-keys, paperkey), restore it on a new computer, extend an expiry date, and revoke a key with its revocation certificate.
• Smartcards and YubiKeyPut your GnuPG subkeys on an OpenPGP card such as a YubiKey or Nitrokey: change the PINs, move keys with keytocard, keep a backup, and use the card for SSH.
• APT repository keysapt-key is gone in Debian 13 and Ubuntu 26.04. Add a third-party repository key with /etc/apt/keyrings, Signed-By and deb822 .sources files, and convert old commands.
• Git commit signingSet up signed Git commits and tags with an OpenPGP key or an SSH key, verify them locally, and get the Verified badge on GitHub and GitLab.
• OpenPGP standardsWhat each OpenPGP standard changed, from PGP 2 (RFC 1991) to RFC 9580 and post-quantum RFC 9980, the LibrePGP split, and what v4, v5 and v6 keys mean for you.
• PGP historyHow PGP began in 1991, the US export investigation dropped in January 1996, PGP Inc., NAI, PGP Corporation, Symantec and Broadcom, and how GnuPG and OpenPGP grew from it.

PGP FAQ

The questions of the classic comp.security.pgp FAQ, answered again for GnuPG 2.4 and later, the current OpenPGP standard and today's email programs.

• General questionsWhat PGP, OpenPGP and GnuPG are, how public and private keys work, whether it is legal, what it costs, and which program to use on Linux, macOS and Windows.
• Common problemsFixes for common GnuPG errors: No secret key, No public key, Unusable public key, expired keys, Bad passphrase, pinentry trouble and No keyserver available.
• Security questionsHow secure OpenPGP is today: default algorithms, RSA and ECC key sizes under RFC 9580, quantum computers and RFC 9980, EFAIL, SHA-1 collisions and passphrases.
• KeysAnswers about OpenPGP keys: key IDs versus fingerprints, primary keys and subkeys, Ed25519 or RSA 3072, expiry dates, v4/v5/v6 keys, backups and several addresses.
• Message signaturesHow OpenPGP signatures work: detached, clearsigned and inline signatures, how to verify them, what Good signature, BAD signature and the trust warning mean.
• Key signaturesWhat signing a key means, how to check and certify someone's key with GnuPG, how the web of trust and TOFU work, and why keyservers no longer carry signatures.
• Key revocationHow to revoke an OpenPGP key with GnuPG: the certificate in openpgp-revocs.d, gpg --gen-revoke, publishing it, and what to do after a lost key or passphrase.
• Keyserver questionsWhich OpenPGP keyservers exist in 2026, how to set one in GnuPG, why old keys and missing names show up, removing your data, privacy, and what a keyserver proves.
• Recommended readingThe manuals, standards and books worth reading about PGP and GnuPG in 2026, which old guides are out of date, where to ask questions, and practical tips for daily use.
• How PGP worksA beginner's tour of PGP and GnuPG inside: session keys and hybrid encryption, hashes and signatures, compression, packets, ASCII armor and fingerprints.
• GlossaryPlain definitions of PGP, OpenPGP and GnuPG terms, from AEAD and ASCII armor to subkeys, TOFU, the web of trust, WKD and X25519, following RFC 9580 and the GnuPG manual.