Generate Key Pairs

The Handle System provides two forms of authentication, public key and secret key. This window will enable the generation of a public key pair. This requires two keys: a public key and a private key. Public key generation uses the DSA algorithm.
The public key is stored in a handle. It may be publicly readable as it cannot be compromised without the private key. The private key should be stored on the computer with the handle client that will be authenticated. To prevent unauthorized use of a private key it can be encrypted using a symmetric algorithm. The Handle System uses 56 bit DES for this purpose.

To generate key pairs:

  1. Select 'Setup' from the main Handle Administration Tool menu.
  2. Select 'Generate Key Pairs'.
  3. Enter the paths of the private and public key files in the corresponding text fields or use the 'Browse' button to find the files.
  4. Select the Algorithm to be used.
  5. Enter the Strength of the key pair to be generated. The key length is variable from 512 to 1024 bits. The default is 1024 bits. The longer the length, the stronger the key pairs.
  6. Select 'Encrypt' or 'Nocrypt' of the private key. Encryption of the private key requires that you choose a secret passphrase that will need to be entered whenever authenticating using this key pair.
  7. Click 'GenKeys'.
  8. If 'Encrypt' was selected, a window will prompt you to enter your secret passphrase.
  9. A message will confirm the generation of the keys. Click 'Close' to exit the 'Generate Key Pair' window.


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