Secret Keys

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A Secret Key entry contains a single symmetric cryptographic key. Key entries are represented in KeyStore Explorer by the following icon:     

Key entries are protected by a password. In KeyStore Explorer such entries are described as being locked and have a closed padlock displayed against them:     

To access the key the entry must be unlocked by supplying the correct password. If an entry is successfully unlocked then an open padlock is displayed against it:     

If a Key Pair entry is unlocked once during a KeyStore Explorer session it does not need to be unlocked again. A Key Pair entry may be unlocked explicitly or as part of an operation that requires the private key.

As key entries do not contain any certificates no value is shown for them in the Certificate Expiry column of the KeyStore table.

Generate a Secret Key

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To generate a Secret Key:

1. From the Tools menu, choose Generate Secret Key. Alternatively click on the Generate Secret Key tool bar button:     
2. The Generate Secret Key dialog will be displayed. Select an Algorithm and a Key Size and press the OK button.
3. The New Secret Key Entry Alias dialog will be displayed.
4. Enter the alias for the new Secret Key entry and press the OK button.
5. If required the New Secret Key Entry Password dialog will be displayed. Enter the password with which to protect the new Secret Key entry, confirm it and press the OK button.
6. The new Key entry will appear in the KeyStore Entries table.

Note: Not every KeyStore type supports every algorithm, and the available key sizes depend on the chosen algorithm. See Specifications for the full list of supported algorithms and their key size ranges.

Store a Passphrase

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To store an arbitrary password or passphrase in the active KeyStore, as a Secret Key entry:

1. From the Tools menu, choose Store Passphrase. Alternatively click on the Store Passphrase tool bar button:     
2. The Store Passphrase dialog will be displayed.
3. Select an Algorithm (one of the PBE* algorithms).
4. Press the Set button, enter the passphrase to store and confirm it.
5. Press the OK button.
6. The New Secret Key Entry Alias dialog will be displayed.
7. Enter the alias for the new entry and press the OK button.
8. If required the New Secret Key Entry Password dialog will be displayed. Enter the password with which to protect the new entry, confirm it and press the OK button.
9. The new Key entry will appear in the KeyStore Entries table.

Note: This is equivalent to the keytool -importpass command. The stored passphrase is a regular Secret Key entry — it can be viewed, renamed, deleted, or cut/copied and pasted like any other Key entry, as described below.

Unlock a Key

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To unlock a Key:

1. Right-click on the Key entry in the KeyStore Entries table. Select Unlock from the pop-up menu.
2. The Unlock Entry dialog will be displayed. Enter the Key Pair entry's password and press the OK button.
3. The Key entry's lock status will be changed to unlocked in the KeyStore Entries table.

View a Key's Details

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To view a Key's details:

1. Right-click on the Key entry in the KeyStore Entries table. Choose Key Details.
2. If required the Unlock Entry dialog will be displayed. Enter the Key entry's password and press the OK button.
3. The Key Details dialog will appear. After viewing the details close the dialog by pressing the OK button.

Set a Key's Password

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To set a Key entry's password:

1. Right-click on the Key entry in the KeyStore Entries table. Select Set Password from the pop-up menu.
2. The Set Key Entry Password dialog will appear.
3. Complete the dialog's fields with the old password, new password and new password confirmation. If the Key entry is unlocked then the old password field will already be completed.
4. Press the OK button to confirm the dialog.

Delete a Key

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To delete a Key:

1. Right-click on the Key entry in the KeyStore Entries table. Select Delete from the pop-up menu.
2. The Key entry will disappear from the KeyStore Entries table.

Rename a Key

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To rename a Key:

1. Right-click on the Key entry in the KeyStore Entries table. Select Rename from the pop-up menu.
2. If required the Unlock Entry dialog will be displayed. Enter the Key entry's password and press the OK button.
3. The New Entry Alias dialog will appear.
4. Enter the new alias into the dialog and acknowledge it by pressing the OK button.
5. The Key entry will be renamed in the KeyStore Entries table.

Cut and Paste a Key

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To cut and paste a Key:

1. Click on the Key entry to select it.
2. From the Edit menu, choose Cut. Alternatively click on the Cut tool bar button:     
3. If required the Unlock Entry dialog will be displayed. Enter the Key entry's password and press the OK button.
4. Select the target KeyStore by clicking on its tab.
5. From the Edit menu, choose Paste. Alternatively click on the Paste tool bar button:     
6. The Key entry will appear in the target KeyStore Entries table. The Key entry's password will remain unchanged.

Notes:

• KeyStore Explorer has an internal clipboard for cut, copy and paste operations called the buffer. Therefore KeyStore entries cannot be cut or copied from KeyStore Explorer to other applications and vice versa.

Copy and Paste a Key

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To copy and paste a Key:

1. Click on the Key entry to select it.
2. From the Edit menu, choose Copy. Alternatively click on the Copy tool bar button:     
3. If required the Unlock Entry dialog will be displayed. Enter the Key entry's password and press the OK button.
4. If copying to a different KeyStore select it by clicking on its tab.
5. From the Edit menu, choose Paste. Alternatively click on the Paste tool bar button:     
6. A copy of the Key entry will appear in the target KeyStore Entries table. The Key entry's password will be the same as the original's.

Notes:

• KeyStore Explorer has an internal clipboard for cut, copy and paste operations called the buffer. Therefore KeyStore entries cannot be cut or copied from KeyStore Explorer to other applications and vice versa.