On Thu, Jul 03, 2014 at 02:06:04PM +0200, Daniel Krebs wrote: > Sorry! > I picked the wrong language / list last time... > So in English: > What metaphors do you use when explaining people PGP? Two examples: > 1. A lock with two keys? > 2. A lock (public) and a key (private) > Something completely different? > > Problems with both: > 1. Seems to be kind of hard to understand for most people, because a > lock with one key to open and one key to close is rather special. > 2. Signing emails is hard to explain this way. Signining by putting a > lock on it? > > Any ideas are appreciated. >
The way I attempt to explain public key encryption and signing:
Each key in the keypair - one kept private to the owner, the
other made public - is both:
a) A set of instructions for building a lock that *only* the
other key can unlock; and
b) The key for such a lock as could be built with the other key.
Therefore, a encrypted message can be sent to someone by using
their public key to build a "lock" for the message. Only the
private key is able to "unlock" it.
Similarly, a sender of some message can authenticate it by using
their private key to "lock" the message. If it can be
"unlocked" by their public key, only a person who possesses the
private key could have built that lock.
I hope this explanation makes sense. Let me know if you could
suggest improvements to this analogy.
Cheers,
Fraser
> An Interesting approach (Thanks Neal for the link): Using 4 items: key,
> lock, seal and imprint.
> https://freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/randomwalker/why-king-george-iii-can-encrypt/
>
>
> --
> kind regards
> daniel krebs
>
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