Reorganize mentions to passphrases in Split GPG

I added a mention about the limitation regarding passphrase-protected GPG keys
in the *Setting up the GPG backend domain* section, which is the one that users
will follow up in their initial set up. Given that this issue is not specific of any
QubesOS version I don't think it deserves a mention in those sections.
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Fidel Ramos 2018-10-20 19:28:29 +00:00 committed by GitHub
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@ -77,11 +77,11 @@ there? To Be Determined.
- The Split GPG client will fail to sign or encrypt if the private key in the
GnuPG backend is protected by a passphrase, it will give a *"Inappropriate ioctl
for device"* error. Avoid setting passphrases for the private keys in the GPG
backend domain, it won't provide extra security anyway, if an attacker gains
access to it they will likely be able to get the passphrase too. If you have a
private key that already has a passphrase set use `gpg2 --edit-key <key_id>`,
then `passwd`. Be aware that `pinentry-ncurses` doesn't allow setting empty
passphrases, so you would need to install `pinentry-gtk`.
backend domain, it won't provide extra security anyway, as explained before. If
you have a private key that already has a passphrase set use `gpg2 --edit-key
<key_id>`, then `passwd` to set an empty passphrase. Be aware that
`pinentry-ncurses` doesn't allow setting empty passphrases, so you would need to
install `pinentry-gtk` for it to work.
## Configuring Split GPG ##
@ -123,6 +123,9 @@ for key access should be valid (default 5 minutes). This is adjustable via
[user@work-gpg ~]$ echo "export QUBES_GPG_AUTOACCEPT=86400" >> ~/.bash_profile
Please be aware of the caveat regarding passphrase-protected keys in the
[Current limitations][current-limitations] section.
### Configuring the client apps to use Split GPG backend ###
Normally it should be enough to set the `QUBES_GPG_DOMAIN` to the GPG backend
@ -171,14 +174,6 @@ the name of the GPG backend VM. This file survives the AppVM reboot, of course.
[user@work ~]$ sudo bash
[root@work ~]$ echo "work-gpg" > /rw/config/gpg-split-domain
A note on passphrases:
You may experience trouble when attempting to use a PGP key *with a passphrase*
along with Split-GPG and Enigmail. If you do, you may need to remove the
passphrase from your (sub)key(s) in order to get Split-GPG working correctly.
As mentioned above, we do not believe PGP key passphrases to be significant
from a security perspective.
## Qubes 4.0 Specifics ##
### Using Thunderbird + Enigmail with Split GPG ###
@ -411,4 +406,5 @@ exercise caution and use your good judgment.)
[cabal]: https://alexcabal.com/creating-the-perfect-gpg-keypair/
[luck]: https://gist.github.com/abeluck/3383449
[apapadop]: https://apapadop.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/using-gnupg-with-qubesos/
[current-limitations]: #current-limitations