Robo-FTP's Implementation of PGP

Robo-FTP’s Implementation of PGP

Top Previous Next

First and foremost, Robo-FTP is a scriptable FTP client and not a comprehensive PGP encryption tool, but Robo-FTP does provide the basic functionality required to utilize PGP.

The following functionality is provided by the Robo-FTP Configurator:

•	The creation of private and public key(s).

•	The ability to export public keys to ASCII armored and non-ASCII armored files from Robo-FTP to be shared with others (ASCII armored key files are plain-text files that are easily shared via e-mail or other means; non-armored files are in a binary format)

•	The ability to export public and private key pairs to be shared with other applications that need to access your pgp encrypted files. The private key will still be encrypted with its passphrase.

•	The ability to import key(s)

•	The ability to delete key(s)

The following functionality is provided by script commands within Robo-FTP itself:

•	The ability to encrypt and optionally digitally sign files (the PGPENCRYPT command)

•	The ability to decrypt files for which you have a corresponding public key (the PGPDECRYPT command)

•	The ability to import keys (the PGPIMPORT command)

PGP has the added advantage of compression. Much like a zip file, files that are encoded using PGP are also compressed. Of course, file(s) are expanded and restored to their original state when they are decrypted by their intended recipient.

PGP is a complex encryption technology and this manual barely scratches the surface as an introduction. If you are new to PGP specifically and public key cryptography in general, we strongly recommend doing some independent study on the subject to make sure that you understand the advantages and dangers associated with the encryption and decryption of files.

The following algorithm chart may be helpful in determining Robo-FTP's compatibility with keys created in other PGP enabled applications:

Key Size	1024, 2048, and 4096 bits.
Key Type	RSA, DSA, and Elgamal.
Encryption Cipher	IDEA, 3DES, CAST5, BLOWFISH, AES (AES-128), AES-192, AES-256, and TWOFISH.
Compression	Uncompressed, ZIP, ZLIB, and BZIP2.
Hash	MD5, SHA1, RIPEMD160, SHA 256-bit, SHA 384-bit, SHA 512-bit, and SHA-224.

Important

If you encounter difficulties not explicitly addressed in this help file, please search the Knowledge Base section of Robo-FTP.com for PGP troubleshooting hints and answers to specific configuration questions.