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Multiple devices, one set of keys.

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simon.morice

06 Apr, 2012 12:53 PM

I have two Macs, an iPhone and an iPad. How do I go about replicating the keys across multiple devices and apps?

1. Support Staff 1 Posted by Luke Le on 06 Apr, 2012 01:39 PM

   

   Hi Simon,

   since every device containing your secret keys
   poses a security thread, there's no out-of-the-box
   way to so this.
   However in order to install the keys on your second mac
   you can copy the .gnupg folder in your home folder to your second mac.
   As for iPad and iPhone you will have to check the user guides of the
   apps your using to find out what methods they provide

   Hope that helps.

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2. 2 Posted by simon.morice on 06 Apr, 2012 02:29 PM

   

   Brilliant, and speedy too. Thanks Luke.

   I am sure that this will become an issue given the trend towards pervasive computing environments and tools. How would you suggest I approach security, my work mandates that I must use the various tools? Does this mean there is no solution for using machines at Internet Cafes and the like?

   S

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3. Support Staff 3 Posted by Luke Le on 06 Apr, 2012 02:47 PM

   

   One solution for the two different macs would be, to keep the private keys or the entire .gnupg folder on a USB-Drive and link the folder on your drive into the home folders of your mac.
   That solves the syncing problem and is more secure if your machines should be compromised.
   Unfortunately there's no good solution for Internet Cafés yet. Considering that the GPG software needs to be installed on the computer you want to use it from, I don't think many internet Cafés will let you do that.
   Some people have started to develop JavaScript support for GPG (OpenPGP)
   but it'll still take time till such solutions are feasible

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4. 4 Posted by Davduf on 03 Jun, 2012 02:26 AM

   

   I'm sorry but where can i find my .gnupg folder ? I don't see any.

   My best

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5. Support Staff 5 Posted by Luke Le on 03 Jun, 2012 02:29 AM

   

   Hi Davduf,

   the .gnupg folder is in your home directory.
   It's a hidden folder so you can't see it in Finder.

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6. 6 Posted by Davduf on 03 Jun, 2012 02:34 AM

   

   Thank You Luke.
   So, how can i get this .gnupg folder (to copy it into my second Mac) ?

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7. Support Staff 7 Posted by Luke Le on 03 Jun, 2012 02:56 AM

   

   Are you familiar with the Terminal?

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8. 8 Posted by Davduf on 03 Jun, 2012 03:10 AM

   

   I could be ,-)

   Could you tell me what to do?
   All my best

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9. Support Staff 9 Posted by Luke Le on 03 Jun, 2012 03:24 AM

   

   So basically you open Terminal.app.
   And enter the following commands:

   $> cd ~/ $> cp -R .gnupg /Volumes/MyExternalHarddrive/some/path

   Unless you have the hard disk of your second mac mounted you will probably want to have the folder on an external harddrive.

   Hope that helps.

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10. 10 Posted by Davduf on 03 Jun, 2012 03:29 PM

    

    Thanx !

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11. Support Staff 11 Posted by Steve on 04 Jun, 2012 12:08 PM

    

    Hey Davduf and Simon,

    were all your questions answered? Can I close this or is there anything open currently?

    All the best, steve

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12. 12 Posted by Davduf on 04 Jun, 2012 01:12 PM

    

    No problem. Thank you for your help !

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13. Support Staff 13 Posted by Steve on 04 Jun, 2012 01:21 PM

    

    Great stuff. Closing :)

    All the best,
    steve

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14. Steve closed this discussion on 04 Jun, 2012 01:21 PM.