Generate Snk File From Public Key

Apr 18, 2008  Hi Can anyone tell me what is the uses of.pfx and.snk files. How to create that for a project. Anandakumar.R, Based on your post, you can sign the assembly with Personal Information Exchange (pfx file). Except the pfx signing with the password, you can also use snk to sign the strong name assemblies. To sign an assembly with a strong name, you. From this key pair you can extract the Public Key and then calculate the Public Key Token. For this step you need sn.exe again – sn.exe filename.snk filenamepublickey.snk. This generates another snk file that only holds the Public Key. This second file can now be used to calculate the Public Key Token, again by using sn.exe – sn.exe –tp. The.pub file is your public key, and the other file is your private key. If you don’t have these files (or you don’t even have a.ssh directory), you can create them by running a program called ssh-keygen, which is provided with the SSH package on Linux/Mac systems and comes with the MSysGit package on Windows. Crt and key files represent both parts of a certificate, key being the private key to the certificate and crt being the signed certificate. It's only one of the ways to generate certs, another way would be having both inside a pem file or another in a p12 container. Apr 17, 2012  Create a directory somewhere on your filesystem Copy your.snk file to the created directory Create a “GetPublicKey.cmd” file in the same directory Search your filesystem for “sn.exe” and copy the path of one of your hits (I am on a “Windows 7 x64” and got 8 hits.

Save the text file in the same folder where you saved the private key, using the.pub extension to indicate that the file contains a public key. If you or others are going to use an SSH client that requires the OpenSSH format for private keys (such as the ssh utility on Linux), export the private key: On the Conversions menu, choose Export. Rhino 5 licence key generator.

Several tools exist to generate SSH public/private key pairs. The following sections show how to generate an SSH key pair on UNIX, UNIX-like and Windows platforms.

Generating an SSH Key Pair on UNIX and UNIX-Like Platforms Using the ssh-keygen Utility

UNIX and UNIX-like platforms (including Solaris and Linux) include the ssh-keygen utility to generate SSH key pairs.

To generate an SSH key pair on UNIX and UNIX-like platforms using the ssh-keygen utility:
  1. Navigate to your home directory:
  2. Run the ssh-keygen utility, providing as filename your choice of file name for the private key:

    The ssh-keygen utility prompts you for a passphrase for the private key.

  3. Enter a passphrase for the private key, or press Enter to create a private key without a passphrase:

    Note:

    While a passphrase is not required, you should specify one as a security measure to protect the private key from unauthorized use. When you specify a passphrase, a user must enter the passphrase every time the private key is used.

    The ssh-keygen utility prompts you to enter the passphrase again.

  4. Enter the passphrase again, or press Enter again to continue creating a private key without a passphrase:
  5. The ssh-keygen utility displays a message indicating that the private key has been saved as filename and the public key has been saved as filename.pub. It also displays information about the key fingerprint and randomart image.

Generating an SSH Key Pair on Windows Using the PuTTYgen Program

The PuTTYgen program is part of PuTTY, an open source networking client for the Windows platform.

To generate an SSH key pair on Windows using the PuTTYgen program:
  1. Download and install PuTTY or PuTTYgen.

    To download PuTTY or PuTTYgen, go to http://www.putty.org/ and click the You can download PuTTY here link.

  2. Run the PuTTYgen program.
  3. Set the Type of key to generate option to SSH-2 RSA.
  4. In the Number of bits in a generated key box, enter 2048.
  5. Click Generate to generate a public/private key pair.

    As the key is being generated, move the mouse around the blank area as directed.

  6. (Optional) Enter a passphrase for the private key in the Key passphrase box and reenter it in the Confirm passphrase box.

    Note:

    While a passphrase is not required, you should specify one as a security measure to protect the private key from unauthorized use. When you specify a passphrase, a user must enter the passphrase every time the private key is used.

  7. Click Save private key to save the private key to a file. To adhere to file-naming conventions, you should give the private key file an extension of .ppk (PuTTY private key).

    Note: Age of wonders 3 product key generator.

    The .ppk file extension indicates that the private key is in PuTTY's proprietary format. You must use a key of this format when using PuTTY as your SSH client. It cannot be used with other SSH client tools. Refer to the PuTTY documentation to convert a private key in this format to a different format.
  8. Select all of the characters in the Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file box.

    Make sure you select all the characters, not just the ones you can see in the narrow window. If a scroll bar is next to the characters, you aren't seeing all the characters.

  9. Right-click somewhere in the selected text and select Copy from the menu.
  10. Open a text editor and paste the characters, just as you copied them. Start at the first character in the text editor, and do not insert any line breaks.
  11. Save the text file in the same folder where you saved the private key, using the .pub extension to indicate that the file contains a public key.
  12. If you or others are going to use an SSH client that requires the OpenSSH format for private keys (such as the ssh utility on Linux), export the private key:
    1. On the Conversions menu, choose Export OpenSSH key.
    2. Save the private key in OpenSSH format in the same folder where you saved the private key in .ppk format, using an extension such as .openssh to indicate the file's content.
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The Strong Name tool (Sn.exe) helps sign assemblies with strong names. Sn.exe provides options for key management, signature generation, and signature verification.

Warning

Do not rely on strong names for security. They provide a unique identity only.

For more information on strong naming and strong-named assemblies, see Strong-Named Assemblies and How to: Sign an Assembly with a Strong Name.

The Strong Name tool is automatically installed with Visual Studio. To start the tool, use the Developer Command Prompt (or the Visual Studio Command Prompt in Windows 7). For more information, see Command Prompts.

Note

On 64-bit computers, run the 32-bit version of Sn.exe by using the Developer Command Prompt for Visual Studio and the 64-bit version by using the Visual Studio x64 Win64 Command Prompt.

At the command prompt, type the following:

Syntax

Parameters

Generate Snk File From Public Key West

OptionDescription
-a identityKeyPairFile signaturePublicKeyFileGenerates AssemblySignatureKeyAttribute data to migrate the identity key to the signature key from a file.
-ac identityPublicKeyFile identityKeyPairContainer signaturePublicKeyFileGenerates AssemblySignatureKeyAttribute data to migrate the identity key to the signature key from a key container.
-c [csp]Sets the default cryptographic service provider (CSP) to use for strong name signing. This setting applies to the entire computer. If you do not specify a CSP name, Sn.exe clears the current setting.
-d containerDeletes the specified key container from the strong name CSP.
-D assembly1 assembly2Verifies that two assemblies differ only by signature. This is often used as a check after an assembly has been re-signed with a different key pair.
-e assembly outfileExtracts the public key from assembly and stores it in outfile.
-hDisplays command syntax and options for the tool.
-i infile containerInstalls the key pair from infile in the specified key container. The key container resides in the strong name CSP.
-k [keysize] outfileGenerates a new RSACryptoServiceProvider key of the specified size and writes it to the specified file. Both a public and private key are written to the file.
If you do not specify a key size, a 1,024-bit key is generated by default if you have the Microsoft enhanced cryptographic provider installed; otherwise, a 512-bit key is generated.
The keysize parameter supports key lengths from 384 bits to 16,384 bits in increments of 8 bits if you have the Microsoft enhanced cryptographic provider installed. It supports key lengths from 384 bits to 512 bits in increments of 8 bits if you have the Microsoft base cryptographic provider installed.
-m [y n]Specifies whether key containers are computer-specific, or user-specific. If you specify y, key containers are computer-specific. If you specify n, key containers are user-specific.
If neither y nor n is specified, this option displays the current setting.
-o infile [outfile]Extracts the public key from the infile and stores it in a .csv file. A comma separates each byte of the public key. This format is useful for hard-coding references to keys as initialized arrays in source code. If you do not specify an outfile, this option places the output on the Clipboard. Note: This option does not verify that the input is only a public key. If the infile contains a key pair with a private key, the private key is also extracted.
-p infile outfile [hashalg]Extracts the public key from the key pair in infile and stores it in outfile, optionally using the RSA algorithm specified by hashalg. This public key can be used to delay-sign an assembly using the /delaysign+ and /keyfile options of the Assembly Linker (Al.exe). When an assembly is delay-signed, only the public key is set at compile time and space is reserved in the file for the signature to be added later, when the private key is known.
-pc container outfile [hashalg]Extracts the public key from the key pair in container and stores it in outfile. If you use the hashalg option, the RSA algorithm is used to extract the public key.
-Pb [y n]Specifies whether the strong-name bypass policy is enforced. If you specify y, strong names for full-trust assemblies are not validated when loaded into a full-trust AppDomain. If you specify n, strong names are validated for correctness, but not for a specific strong name. The StrongNameIdentityPermission has no effect on full-trust assemblies. You must perform your own check for a strong name match.
If neither y nor n is specified, this option displays the current setting. The default is y. Note: On 64-bit computers, you must set this parameter in both the 32-bit and the 64-bit instances of Sn.exe.
-q[uiet]Specifies quiet mode; suppresses the display of success messages.
-R[a] assembly infileRe-signs a previously signed or delay-signed assembly with the key pair in infile.
If -Ra is used, hashes are recomputed for all files in the assembly.
-Rc[a] assembly containerRe-signs a previously signed or delay-signed assembly with the key pair in container.
If -Rca is used, hashes are recomputed for all files in the assembly.
-Rh assemblyRecomputes hashes for all files in the assembly.
-t[p] infileDisplays the token for the public key stored in infile. The contents of infile must be a public key previously generated from a key pair file using -p. Do not use the -t[p] option to extract the token directly from a key pair file.
Sn.exe computes the token by using a hash function from the public key. To save space, the common language runtime stores public key tokens in the manifest as part of a reference to another assembly when it records a dependency to an assembly that has a strong name. The -tp option displays the public key in addition to the token. If the AssemblySignatureKeyAttribute attribute has been applied to the assembly, the token is for the identity key, and the name of the hash algorithm and the identity key is displayed.
Note that this option does not verify the assembly signature and should not be used to make trust decisions. This option only displays the raw public key token data.
-T[p] assemblyDisplays the public key token for assembly. The assembly must be the name of a file that contains an assembly manifest.
Sn.exe computes the token by using a hash function from the public key. To save space, the runtime stores public key tokens in the manifest as part of a reference to another assembly when it records a dependency to an assembly that has a strong name. The -Tp option displays the public key in addition to the token. If the AssemblySignatureKeyAttribute attribute has been applied to the assembly, the token is for the identity key, and the name of the hash algorithm and the identity key is displayed.
Note that this option does not verify the assembly signature and should not be used to make trust decisions. This option only displays the raw public key token data.
-TS assembly infileTest-signs the signed or partially signed assembly with the key pair in infile.
-TSc assembly containerTest-signs the signed or partially signed assembly with the key pair in the key container container.
-v assemblyVerifies the strong name in assembly, where assembly is the name of a file that contains an assembly manifest.
-vf assemblyVerifies the strong name in assembly. Unlike the -v option, -vf forces verification even if it is disabled using the -Vr option.
-Vk regfile.reg assembly [userlist] [infile]Creates a registration entries (.reg) file you can use to register the specified assembly for verification skipping. The rules for assembly naming that apply to the -Vr option apply to –Vk as well. For information about the userlist and infile options, see the –Vr option.
-VlLists current settings for strong-name verification on this computer.
-Vr assembly [userlist] [infile]Registers assembly for verification skipping. Optionally, you can specify a comma-separated list of user names the skip verification should apply to. If you specify infile, verification remains enabled, but the public key in infile is used in verification operations. You can specify assembly in the form *, strongname to register all assemblies with the specified strong name. For strongname, specify the string of hexadecimal digits representing the tokenized form of the public key. See the -t and -T options to display the public key token. Caution: Use this option only during development. Adding an assembly to the skip verification list creates a security vulnerability. A malicious assembly could use the fully specified assembly name (assembly name, version, culture, and public key token) of the assembly added to the skip verification list to fake its identity. This would allow the malicious assembly to also skip verification.
-Vu assemblyUnregisters assembly for verification skipping. The same rules for assembly naming that apply to -Vr apply to -Vu.
-VxRemoves all verification-skipping entries.
-?Displays command syntax and options for the tool.

Note

All Sn.exe options are case-sensitive and must be typed exactly as shown to be recognized by the tool.

Remarks

The -R and –Rc options are useful with assemblies that have been delay-signed. In this scenario, only the public key has been set at compile time and signing is performed later, when the private key is known.

Note

For parameters (for example, –Vr) that write to protected resources such as the registry, run SN.exe as an administrator.

The Strong Name tool assumes that public/private key pairs are generated with the AT_SIGNATURE algorithm identifier. Public/private key pairs generated with the AT_KEYEXCHANGE algorithm generate an error.

Examples

The following command creates a new, random key pair and stores it in keyPair.snk.

The following command stores the key in keyPair.snk in the container MyContainer in the strong name CSP.

The following command extracts the public key from keyPair.snk and stores it in publicKey.snk.

The following command displays the public key and the token for the public key contained in publicKey.snk.

The following command verifies the assembly MyAsm.dll.

Generate Snk File From Public Key Certificate

The following command deletes MyContainer from the default CSP.

Create Snk File

See also