Mailing List Archive: Key Generation

I would really like to find out what I am doing wrong. I have tried
for 2 weeks now to create a key pair and keep getting the same message
only with different "Bytes Needed". This is the message I just got
from the lastest version of G10 (V.0.3.1)

gpg: Warning: using insecure memory!
We need to generate a lot of random bytes. It is a good idea to
perform
some other action (work in another window, move the mouse, utilize the
network and the disks) during the prime generation; this gives the
random
number generator a better chance to gain enough entropy.
+++++..........+++++.+++++...+++++......+++++.+++++......++++++++++..............++++++++++...+++++..+++++................+++++.......++++++++++.++++++++++......+++++........++++++++++.+++++.............+++++...+++++..........++++++++++...+++++>+++++.........+++++>...........+++++...................+++++

Not enough random bytes available. Please do some other work to give
the OS a chance to collect more entropy! (Need 20 more bytes)

I am running on a Cyrix 6x86P200+ with 48meg of RAM. I am using Linux
Kernel 2.0.34 and am on a Debian 2.0 (hamm) system. I have libc5 and
libc6 installed and have not had any problems with any other program.
I have tried moving my mouse, running processes in the background,
compiling programs on another tty, and just about everything I could
think of to generate enough ENTROPY. I also have another 50 meg of
swap file available.

If anyone can help me out please let me know. The ./configure and make
goes fine with no errors or warnings. Would really like to get this
working as I have been using PGP for the last 4 years and want to be
able to stay with the GNU License programs.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

--
Mike Acklin
htuttle@samson.ml.org
Debian Newbie

Harry Tuttle <htuttle@samson.ml.org> writes:

> only with different "Bytes Needed". This is the message I just got
> from the lastest version of G10 (V.0.3.1)

Time for a FAQ :-)

It is really not easy to fill the Linux internal entropy buffer; I
talked to Ted Ts'o and he commited that the best way to fill the
buffer is to play with your keyboard.

What I do is to hit several times on the shift,control, alternate,
capslock keys, as these keys do not produce any output. This way you
get your keys really fast (it's the same thing pgp2 does).

A problem might be another program which eats up your random bytes
(a program (look at your daemons) that reads from /dev/[u]random).

I have the same problem when I try to do this via telnet - not for
real work but to test the program - it takes *very* long. You should
NEVER do this via telnet (even not with ssh) as your passphrase walks
over a telco (or Ethernet) line and is easy to spy out. Also you have
no physical control over your secret keyring (which is in most cases
vulnerable to advanced dictionary attacks) - I strongly encourage
everyone to only create keys on a local computer (a disconnected
laptop is probably the best choice) and if you need it on your
connected box (of course, we all do this) be sure to have a strong
password for your account and trust your root.

Hope this helps, if not keep on asking

Werner