I am wondering if going to 2048 bits is worth it or not. After a certain point, it doesn't matter whether it takes 200 quadrillion years or 200 decillion years to factor a key, it will be a long time before its factored ;-). Perhaps keep your 1024 bit key, unless you want to expire it and generate a new one. (I did that, expired two keys, replaced them with a 2048 bit key, but realize that a 2048 bit key takes somewhat more time and processing power to do the usual PGP hijinks with. I probably would be better off just using a 1500 bit key, but too late now...) Just remember (so your web of trust stays intact) to sign your new key and use your new key to sign your old one before revoking the old key. This confirms that it IS a new key, rather than someone trying to spoof you. Also, keep a backup of your public and secret keyrings before revoking the old key. This is just common sense. Make sure your backup is secure, though. (I PKZIP my PGP stuff, encrypt it several times with convential key encryption, wnstorm it, THEN lastly use Norton Diskreet with a password that is different from all the rest. If Diskreet is not secure, PGP and wnstorm are, so I don't really care if Diskreet has holes in it or not. Its just there to 'spice things up' for anyone trying to crack the backup, which is stored in a place any party I authorize or I can easily get at it. If anyone sees something weak about this, E-mail me... ;-) The main thing is not to go keysize crazy which I did, as you do pay a performance penalty for those huge keys, and make sure that your other avenues of attack are defended against. (As soon as I can, I am buying a portable 486 or Pentium, since my main weakness is a 'black bag' attack using a good keystroke monitor or a hardware bug, then a simple copy of the secring file when I mount my SecureDrive partion and the Stacker partition inside of that to access my PGP stuff.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help@anon.penet.fi. Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized, and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned. Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to admin@anon.penet.fi.