System: Kubuntu 10.04.1, KDE 4.4.2, Kgpg 2.3.0

I encrypted a couple of files earlier this morning and now can't decrypt them. (Lucky for me the original versions were still in Trash.) Right-clicking (in Dolphin) on the .asc file name and choosing "Open with Kgpg" opens the Key Management window with my default key highlighted. (Whether I select it (by clicking on it) or not seems to make no difference.) "Kgpg" runs for maybe 10 seconds then disappears, but Key Management stays open.

As an experiment I tried encrypting and immediately decrypting a different file. The encrypting worked fine... but the immediate decrypting gave the same results as above.

What am I likely missing here?

A wild guess is the private key. You encrypt with the public key and decrypt with the private.

mcNisse wrote:A wild guess is the private key. You encrypt with the public key and decrypt with the private.

Thanks for the clue. I'll see if I can get the correct private key.

BTW, I fired up an older OS (Kubuntu 8.04 with KDE3.5; I didn't check the Kgpg version) and it decrypted the files just fine.

EDIT: Well, actually, I'm stymied. I tried simply copying the .gnupg folder from the other installation (renaming, temporarily, the original one in this setup), but that didn't help. Any suggestions for (obviously) a Kgpg novice?

MORE INFORMATION: If I open Key Management and select the proper key, then "Open Editor," I can drag an encrypted .txt.asc file into the Editor window and it is decrypted: the plain English text appears in the Editor window. (That obviously doesn't work with .ods or .odt files, just plain text.)

I have also tried Exporting the Private (or Secret) keys from my properly working installation on the Hardy Heron system, then importing them here. No change in behavior.

Still working... comparisons of my other (Kubuntu 8.04) system with this new Kubuntu 10.04.1 setup:

ID: Old "Ox" [or "0x"] at start; otherwise, they're the same

Key ID: same on both systems

Creation dates; same on both systems

Algorithm: Old has "DSA" while new has "DSA/ElGamal"

Length: Old has "1024" while new has "1024/2048"

Fingerprint: same on both systems

I am able to use the old system to decrypt files that I've encrypted using the new system, but I can't decrypt those files using the new system.

Does this offer any clue to how I can get Kgpg working with my new OS?

Thanks to those who have read this thread, and to McNisse for pointing in what is probably the right direction (private keys)...but no success yet.

Shouldn't it be as simple as this? (1) copy the .gnupg folder (with its pubring and secring files) from the old successful system, then (2) install Kgpg. The program, it seems to me, should then be able to decrypt files that were encrypted using those same keys. No downloading from key servers, or exporting/importing private keys, should be necessary if I have access to the original .gnupg folder.

This problem is fatal to my use of Kubuntu 10.04.1. Traveling last summer with a laptop, I encrypted many files and cannot access them with my Lucid/KDE4.4.2 system. The cartridge with the Lucid hard disk is now resting quietly in a desk drawer, and I'm back to my Kubuntu-8.04-based, KDE 3.5, Klikit system.

I'll keep checking here to see if anything occurs to users who know more about Kgpg than I do, and that would be just about everybody. Thanks again to those who read and thought about the problem, even if they ultimately decided they didn't know how to help.

Have you tried decryption with the gpg command. Does it work on the newer version.

mcNisse wrote:Have you tried decryption with the gpg command. Does it work on the newer version.

Thanks again. Yes, I did try that. In this Lucid setup, the terminal command "~$ gpg -d abcdefg.csv.asc" (a small text file) produces a box for entering my passphrase, and when I do that the text file properly appears in the terminal window.

When I try a spreadsheet, like "-$ gpg -d hijklmno.ods.asc", I get screens of junk, preceded by some text that includes "mimetype/open-office/spreadsheet" etc.

BTW, possibly a different issue but maybe relevant... Kgpg does not retain my identification of the default key. I only have two key pairs, and each time I open Kgpg the default is the one I did not set as default in the previous session.

Another new experimental outcome:

Selecting either a simple .txt file or a spreadsheet .ods file, right-clicking and choosing Actions/Encrypt file brings up my Key Management window with my two key pairs. Choosing either of them and "OK" results in this:

Process halted: Not all files were encrypted. Details:

[GNUPG:] INV_RECP 0

with the proper key ID, name, and email shown.

Does this suggest anything to anyone?

Sorry for continuing on with this thread, but it's frustrating that this one problem is keeping me from using Lucid. When I swing back into my 8.04 system, using the same key pairs, encrypting and decrypting are fine.

EDIT: A Google search for that error message produced, among several other links, this:

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.p ... 111908.new

This could be a real problem, not just the usual screw-up on my end.

EDIT 2: Following the mention of Kleopatra in that post, I installed it and can now both encrypt and decrypt! I'm not going to mark the thread "solved" because I still think there's a problem with Kgpg.

Hi,

I'm digging out this thread as I have the same problem. It first occured on Kubuntu 10.10, then as I keep copying my ~ folder to new installations, the problem persists on Kubuntu 11.04 (with kde 4.6.2).

Here is the situation :
- From dolphin, I can encrypt by selecting Actions > Encrypt file : OK
- From dolphin, when using Actions > View file decrypted, the editor opens up, but without any text in it : FAIL
- From dolphin, if I use "open in Kgpg", kgpg asks for my passphrase, which I type, but then I get a "Échec du déchiffrement de ce fichier" which can be translated in "can't decrypt this file" : FAIL
- From the console, when using `gpg my_encrypted_file.asc` it asks my passphrase, and when typed, it works ! : OK

Any ideas to be able to use the GUI ?

If you want some logs, just ask ! :)

AcyD wrote:Hi,

I'm digging out this thread as I have the same problem. It first occured on Kubuntu 10.10, then as I keep copying my ~ folder to new installations, the problem persists on Kubuntu 11.04 (with kde 4.6.2).

[...]

Any ideas to be able to use the GUI ?

Seems there have been no answer for a while, so I step in. Does this still happen with recent versions of KGpg? Please try again, preferrably with the version from KDE SC 4.8.2 or newer. This very much looks like the bug reported in https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=248161 which has been fixed right in this version.

If that version still doesn't work please open a new bug report.

A fix for this long lasting bug sounds great !

Right now I'm on kde 4.8.1 and the bug is still annoyingly present.

I can't compile 4.8.2 from trunk so as soon as 4.8.2 gets packaged, I'll open a bug report and report back here is the problem hasn't been fixed.