Hi all, Sorry I can't reply to the message Ben just sent, since I only just subscribed to the list. I'm going to kick off a discussion on Thursday about PGP (Pretty Good Privacy -- i.e., the public key signing and encryption system). I thought it would be useful to have a key signing party at the same time. I've personally got just three signatures on my key so it would be good to get some more. If you have a PGP private key, please bring along your key fingerprint to give to others. Maybe print a few copies to hand out (Ben has them on his business card, which is what started this topic in the first place) and/or bring some paper to write down other peoples'. Also bring some ID such as a drivers' license -- technically nobody should sign your key unless they see some ID. To do this, just type gpg --fingerprint <your name> For example, I typed: $ gpg --fingerprint Matt pub 2048R/17CD4540 2010-07-28 [expires: 2012-07-27] Key fingerprint = D72A 85CC E446 FBA5 99E5 C2B1 F50F BA8E 17CD 4540 uid Matt Giuca <matt.giuca@gmail.com> uid Matt Giuca <mgiuca@csse.unimelb.edu.au> sub 2048R/204479B7 2010-07-28 [expires: 2012-07-27] Write down the 40 digit string after "Key fingerprint" and bring it along. Note: That's just an example. You shouldn't trust that the above string is actually my fingerprint until you see me in person (that's the whole point of PGP). If you don't have a private key, maybe now is a good time to get one. Install GnuPG (http://www.gnupg.org/) and then type: gpg --gen-key and follow the prompts. The default settings should be fine. Use your real name (that appears on your driver's license) and a valid email address that you control. Make sure you pick a strong password which you haven't used elsewhere, and remember it. Afterwards, the contents of your ~/.gnupg directory should be considered sensitive (although nobody will be able to impersonate you unless they guess your secret password as well). Then, upload your key to a keyserver: gpg --list-keys Find your key in the list. Your key ID is the part after the slash. For me, this shows: pub 2048R/17CD4540 2010-07-28 [expires: 2012-07-27] uid Matt Giuca <matt.giuca@gmail.com> uid Matt Giuca <mgiuca@csse.unimelb.edu.au> sub 2048R/204479B7 2010-07-28 [expires: 2012-07-27] So my key ID is 17CD4540. gpg --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --send-keys <your-key-id> That's just an example keyserver. You can choose any one you like, and they should all eventually synchronise your key. Hope to see you on Thursday. Matt Giuca 0x17CD4540