PGPWriter Component

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The PGPWriter component protects data using PGP keys and certificates.

Syntax

nsoftware.SecureBlackbox.Pgpwriter

Remarks

PGPWriter allows you to encrypt, sign, armor, and compress the input data.

Property List

The following is the full list of the properties of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Method List

The following is the full list of the methods of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Event List

The following is the full list of the events fired by the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Config Settings

The following is a list of config settings for the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Armor Property (PGPWriter Component)

Specifies whether the data should be armored.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool Armor { get; set; }

Public Property Armor As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

Switch this property on to armor the protected data by encoding it in base64 and enveloping with BEGIN and END markings.

ArmorBoundary Property (PGPWriter Component)

A boundary to put around the base64 armor.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string ArmorBoundary { get; set; }

Public Property ArmorBoundary As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to specify the boundary to put around the base64 armor. If set to 'PGP MESSAGE', the armored data will be enveloped with '-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----' and '-----END PGP MESSAGE-----' lines.

This property only makes sense if Armor is set True.

ArmorHeaders Property (PGPWriter Component)

Additional headers to include with the armored message.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string ArmorHeaders { get; set; }

Public Property ArmorHeaders As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to specify additional headers to be included with the armored message.

Assign this property with a multi-line text, with each line being of "header: value" form (without quotes).

Compress Property (PGPWriter Component)

Whether to compress the data before encrypting it.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool Compress { get; set; }

Public Property Compress As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

Set this property to True to compress the data before encryption. Use CompressionAlgorithm and CompressionLevel to tune up compression parameters.

CompressionAlgorithm Property (PGPWriter Component)

The compression algorithm to use.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string CompressionAlgorithm { get; set; }

Public Property CompressionAlgorithm As String

Default Value

"Uncompressed"

Remarks

Use this property to specify the compression algorithm to use before encrypting the data. This property only makes sense if Compress is True.

CompressionLevel Property (PGPWriter Component)

The compression level to use.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public int CompressionLevel { get; set; }

Public Property CompressionLevel As Integer

Default Value

0

Remarks

Use this property to specify the compression level, from 1 (fastest) to 9 (best).

EncryptingKeys Property (PGPWriter Component)

The keys to be used for data encryption.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public PGPKeyList EncryptingKeys { get; }

Public Property EncryptingKeys As PGPKeyList

Remarks

Use this property to set the keys to encrypt the message for. You only need public keys to encrypt data.

This property is not available at design time.

EncryptionAlgorithm Property (PGPWriter Component)

A symmetric algorithm to use for data encryption.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string EncryptionAlgorithm { get; set; }

Public Property EncryptionAlgorithm As String

Default Value

"CAST5"

Remarks

Use this property to specify a symmetric algorithm to use for data encryption.

ExternalCrypto Property (PGPWriter Component)

Provides access to external signing and DC parameters.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public ExternalCrypto ExternalCrypto { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property ExternalCrypto As ExternalCrypto

Remarks

Use this property to tune-up remote cryptography settings. SecureBlackbox supports two independent types of external cryptography: synchronous (based on the ExternalSign event) and asynchronous (based on the DC protocol and the DCAuth signing component).

This property is read-only.

Filename Property (PGPWriter Component)

Specifies the name of the file being protected.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string Filename { get; set; }

Public Property Filename As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to set the name of the file being protected, such as 'document.txt'. If Filename is empty or its value is "_CONSOLE", the data will be protected for-your-eyes-only, meaning the decryptor will only be able to read it on their screen, but not save.

FIPSMode Property (PGPWriter Component)

Reserved.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool FIPSMode { get; set; }

Public Property FIPSMode As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

This property is reserved for future use.

HashAlgorithm Property (PGPWriter Component)

The hash algorithm to use for signing.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string HashAlgorithm { get; set; }

Public Property HashAlgorithm As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to specify the hash algorithm to use for calculating signatures.

InputBytes Property (PGPWriter Component)

Use this property to pass the input to component in byte array form.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public byte[] InputBytes { get; set; }

Public Property InputBytes As Byte()

Remarks

Assign a byte array containing the data to be processed to this property.

This property is not available at design time.

InputFile Property (PGPWriter Component)

Provides a filename of a file to process.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string InputFile { get; set; }

Public Property InputFile As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide a path to the file to be encrypted and/or signed.

InputIsText Property (PGPWriter Component)

Whether the input data is text.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool InputIsText { get; set; }

Public Property InputIsText As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

Set this property to true to indicate that the supplied data should be treated as text.

InputStream Property (PGPWriter Component)

A stream containing the input to process.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public System.IO.Stream InputStream { get; set; }

Public Property InputStream As System.IO.Stream

Default Value

null

Remarks

Use this property to feed the input data to the component from a stream object.

This property is not available at design time.

OutputBytes Property (PGPWriter Component)

Use this property to read the output the component object has produced.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public byte[] OutputBytes { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property OutputBytes As Byte()

Remarks

Read the contents of this property after the operation has completed to read the produced output. This property will only be set if the OutputFile and OutputStream properties had not been assigned.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

OutputFile Property (PGPWriter Component)

The file where the encrypted and/or signed data will be saved.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string OutputFile { get; set; }

Public Property OutputFile As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide a path to the file where the component should store the encrypted and/or signed data.

OutputStream Property (PGPWriter Component)

The stream where the encrypted and/or signed data will be saved.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public System.IO.Stream OutputStream { get; set; }

Public Property OutputStream As System.IO.Stream

Default Value

null

Remarks

Use this property to specify the stream to take the resulting encrypted and/or signed data.

This property is not available at design time.

Passphrase Property (PGPWriter Component)

The encryption password.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string Passphrase { get; set; }

Public Property Passphrase As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide the encryption password. If an encryption password is used, no key will be needed to decrypt the data.

Profile Property (PGPWriter Component)

Specifies a pre-defined profile to apply when creating the signature.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string Profile { get; set; }

Public Property Profile As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Advanced signatures come in many variants, which are often defined by parties that needs to process them or by local standards. SecureBlackbox profiles are sets of pre-defined configurations which correspond to particular signature variants. By specifying a profile, you are pre-configuring the component to make it produce the signature that matches the configuration corresponding to that profile.

Protection Property (PGPWriter Component)

Specifies a password protection level.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public PgpwriterProtections Protection { get; set; }

enum PgpwriterProtections {
  pptNone,
  pptLow,
  pptNormal,
  pptHigh
}

Public Property Protection As PgpwriterProtections

Enum PgpwriterProtections
  pptNone
  pptLow
  pptNormal
  pptHigh
End Enum

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property specifies the complexity of key derivation function for password-protected documents.

Allowed values:

SigningKeys Property (PGPWriter Component)

The keys to be used for signing.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public PGPKeyList SigningKeys { get; }

Public Property SigningKeys As PGPKeyList

Remarks

Use this property to set the keys to sign the message with. The keys need to contain their secret compound.

In most cases you will also need to supply a passphrase for the chosen signing keys. Use this by subscribing to KeyPassphraseNeeded event, or setting the Passphrase property of the relevant key object.

This property is not available at design time.

Timestamp Property (PGPWriter Component)

The date and time of the last modification of the protected data file (in UTC).

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string Timestamp { get; set; }

Public Property Timestamp As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to set a timestamp for the data being protected.

ClearTextSign Method (PGPWriter Component)

Creates a cleartext signature over the provided data.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void ClearTextSign();

Public Sub ClearTextSign()

Remarks

Call this method to create a cleartext signature over the provided data buffer (InputBytes). Only textual data can be signed in cleartext.

Pass the signing key(s) via SigningKeys property.

Config Method (PGPWriter Component)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string Config(string configurationString);

Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String) As String

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every component. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the component.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the component, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

DoAction Method (PGPWriter Component)

Performs an additional action.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string DoAction(string actionID, string actionParams);

Public Function DoAction(ByVal ActionID As String, ByVal ActionParams As String) As String

Remarks

DoAction is a generic method available in every component. It is used to perform an additional action introduced after the product major release. The list of actions is not fixed, and may be flexibly extended over time.

The unique identifier (case insensitive) of the action is provided in the ActionID parameter.

ActionParams contains the value of a single parameter, or a list of multiple parameters for the action in the form of PARAM1=VALUE1;PARAM2=VALUE2;....

Encrypt Method (PGPWriter Component)

Encrypts data.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Encrypt();

Public Sub Encrypt()

Remarks

Use this method to encrypt input data from a byte array (InputBytes), a file (InputFile) or a stream (InputStream) and get the protected message in another byte array (OutputBytes), or another file (OutputFile), or another stream (OutputStream).

Specify encryption keys in EncryptingKeys property, and/or encryption password via Passphrase property.

EncryptAndSign Method (PGPWriter Component)

Encrypts and signs data.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void EncryptAndSign();

Public Sub EncryptAndSign()

Remarks

Use this method to encrypt and sign a byte array (InputBytes), a file (InputFile) or a stream (InputStream) and get the protected message in another byte array (OutputBytes), or another file (OutputFile), or another stream (OutputStream).

Specify encryption keys in EncryptingKeys property, and/or encryption password via Passphrase property. Use SigningKeys to provide the signing keys.

Please note that you might need to provide a passphrase to decrypt your signing key. This can be done via KeyPassphraseNeeded event, or by assigning the passphrase to the key object's Passphrase property.

Sign Method (PGPWriter Component)

Signs data.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Sign(bool detached);

Public Sub Sign(ByVal Detached As Boolean)

Remarks

Use this method to sign a byte array (InputBytes), a file (InputFile) or a stream (InputStream) and get the signed message in another byte array (OutputBytes), or another file (OutputFile), or another stream (OutputStream).

Use SigningKeys to provide the signing keys.

Please note that you might need to provide a passphrase to decrypt your signing key. This can be done via KeyPassphraseNeeded event, or by assigning the passphrase to the key object's Passphrase property.

Error Event (PGPWriter Component)

Information about errors during PGP encryption.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnErrorHandler OnError;

public delegate void OnErrorHandler(object sender, PgpwriterErrorEventArgs e);

public class PgpwriterErrorEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int ErrorCode { get; }
  public string Description { get; }
}

Public Event OnError As OnErrorHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnErrorHandler(sender As Object, e As PgpwriterErrorEventArgs)

Public Class PgpwriterErrorEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property ErrorCode As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property Description As String
End Class

Remarks

The event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during data encryption or signing.

ErrorCode contains an error code and Description contains a textual description of the error.

ExternalSign Event (PGPWriter Component)

Handles remote or external signing initiated by the SignExternal method or other source.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnExternalSignHandler OnExternalSign;

public delegate void OnExternalSignHandler(object sender, PgpwriterExternalSignEventArgs e);

public class PgpwriterExternalSignEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string OperationId { get; }
  public string HashAlgorithm { get; }
  public string Pars { get; }
  public string Data { get; }
  public string SignedData { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnExternalSign As OnExternalSignHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnExternalSignHandler(sender As Object, e As PgpwriterExternalSignEventArgs)

Public Class PgpwriterExternalSignEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property OperationId As String
  Public ReadOnly Property HashAlgorithm As String
  Public ReadOnly Property Pars As String
  Public ReadOnly Property Data As String
  Public Property SignedData As String
End Class

Remarks

Assign a handler to this event if you need to delegate a low-level signing operation to an external, remote, or custom signing engine. Depending on the settings, the handler will receive a hashed or unhashed value to be signed.

The event handler must pass the value of Data to the signer, obtain the signature, and pass it back to the component via the SignedData parameter.

OperationId provides a comment about the operation and its origin. It depends on the exact component being used, and may be empty. HashAlgorithm specifies the hash algorithm being used for the operation, and Pars contains algorithm-dependent parameters.

The component uses base16 (hex) encoding for the Data, SignedData, and Pars parameters. If your signing engine uses a different input and output encoding, you may need to decode and/or encode the data before and/or after the signing.

A sample MD5 hash encoded in base16: a0dee2a0382afbb09120ffa7ccd8a152 - lower case base16 A0DEE2A0382AFBB09120FFA7CCD8A152 - upper case base16

A sample event handler that uses the .NET RSACryptoServiceProvider class may look like the following: signer.OnExternalSign += (s, e) => { var cert = new X509Certificate2("cert.pfx", "", X509KeyStorageFlags.Exportable); var key = (RSACryptoServiceProvider)cert.PrivateKey; var dataToSign = e.Data.FromBase16String(); var signedData = key.SignHash(dataToSign, "2.16.840.1.101.3.4.2.1"); e.SignedData = signedData.ToBase16String(); };

KeyPassphraseNeeded Event (PGPWriter Component)

Requests a key protection password from the application.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnKeyPassphraseNeededHandler OnKeyPassphraseNeeded;

public delegate void OnKeyPassphraseNeededHandler(object sender, PgpwriterKeyPassphraseNeededEventArgs e);

public class PgpwriterKeyPassphraseNeededEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string KeyID { get; }
  public string UserID { get; }
  public bool MainKey { get; }
  public string Passphrase { get; set; }
  public bool Skip { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnKeyPassphraseNeeded As OnKeyPassphraseNeededHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnKeyPassphraseNeededHandler(sender As Object, e As PgpwriterKeyPassphraseNeededEventArgs)

Public Class PgpwriterKeyPassphraseNeededEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property KeyID As String
  Public ReadOnly Property UserID As String
  Public ReadOnly Property MainKey As Boolean
  Public Property Passphrase As String
  Public Property Skip As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

The component fires this event to request a secret key passphrase from the application. Note that this event asks for a key protection passphrase rather than a message protection passphrase. The component fires it when it attempts to use a secret key to sign the data.

This event is fired for every protected secret key residing in SigningKeys. KeyID specifies the key for which the password is requested, and UserID identifies its user. MainKey tells whether the key is a master key or a subkey.

The handler should provide password via the Passphrase parameter, or set Skip to True to skip this key.

For each key KeyPassphraseNeeded is called in a loop until the correct password is provided or the maximum number of password attempts reached.

Notification Event (PGPWriter Component)

This event notifies the application about an underlying control flow event.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnNotificationHandler OnNotification;

public delegate void OnNotificationHandler(object sender, PgpwriterNotificationEventArgs e);

public class PgpwriterNotificationEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string EventID { get; }
  public string EventParam { get; }
}

Public Event OnNotification As OnNotificationHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnNotificationHandler(sender As Object, e As PgpwriterNotificationEventArgs)

Public Class PgpwriterNotificationEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property EventID As String
  Public ReadOnly Property EventParam As String
End Class

Remarks

The component fires this event to let the application know about some event, occurrence, or milestone in the component. For example, it may fire to report completion of the document processing. The list of events being reported is not fixed, and may be flexibly extended over time.

The unique identifier of the event is provided in the EventID parameter. EventParam contains any parameters accompanying the occurrence. Depending on the type of the component, the exact action it is performing, or the document being processed, one or both may be omitted.

Progress Event (PGPWriter Component)

Reports the progress of the decryption operation.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnProgressHandler OnProgress;

public delegate void OnProgressHandler(object sender, PgpwriterProgressEventArgs e);

public class PgpwriterProgressEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public long Current { get; }
  public long Total { get; }
  public bool Cancel { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnProgress As OnProgressHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnProgressHandler(sender As Object, e As PgpwriterProgressEventArgs)

Public Class PgpwriterProgressEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Current As Long
  Public ReadOnly Property Total As Long
  Public Property Cancel As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

The component fires this event repeatedly to report the progress of the file protection operation.

Current indicates the amount of processed data in bytes, and Total is the total number of bytes to be processed. Use Cancel to terminate the protection process.

ExternalCrypto Type

Specifies the parameters of external cryptographic calls.

Remarks

External cryptocalls are used in a Distributed Cryptography (DC) subsystem, which allows the delegation of security operations to the remote agent. For instance, it can be used to compute the signature value on the server, while retaining the client's private key locally.

Fields

Constructors

• C#
• VB.NET

public ExternalCrypto();

Public ExternalCrypto()

Creates a new ExternalCrypto object with default field values.

PGPKey Type

This container represents a PGP key.

Remarks

OpenPGP standard supports several types of keys. In our days, a typical OpenPGP keypair actually consists of two cryptographic keys: a primary key and a subkey. The primary key is normally used for signing, while the subkey is used for encryption.

While it is typical for PGP environments to use a primary key/subkey bundle, this is not a must. Sometimes you may come across standalone keys (mainly when dealing with older implementations), as well as whole key trees, each of those carrying a bunch of differently-purposed subkeys bound to the same primary key.

Algorithm-wise, OpenPGP keys also differ. Generally speaking, OpenPGP supports the following public key algorithms: RSA, Elgamal (often incorrectly referred to as DH), DSA, ECDH and ECDSA. When it comes to primary key/subkey bundles, DSA/Elgamal, RSA/RSA and ECDSA/ECDH pairs are typically used. Although there's no restriction on algorithm bundles, and, e.g. a ECDSA/Elgamal key bundle is perfectly possible, such combination is rarely used in practice.

A typical OpenPGP key is associated with some kind of user ID (Username). It is normally represented with a user's e-mail address, while in theory can be any piece of text. The secret part of the OpenPGP keypair is protected with a password (Passphrase).

Fields

Constructors

• C#
• VB.NET

public PGPKey();

Public PGPKey()

Creates an empty PGP key object.

• C#
• VB.NET

public PGPKey(string filename);

Public PGPKey(ByVal Filename As String)

Create a PGP key object from a key file.

Config Settings (PGPWriter Component)

PGPWriter Config Settings

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (PGPWriter Component)

PGPWriter Errors