-\versionid $Id: pubkey.but,v 1.19 2002/11/01 21:50:35 jacob Exp $
+\versionid $Id: pubkey.but,v 1.20 2002/12/27 16:54:14 simon Exp $
\C{pubkey} Using public keys for SSH authentication
Currently 1024 bits should be sufficient for most purposes.
+Note that an RSA key is generated by finding two primes of half the
+length requested, and then multiplying them together. For example,
+if you ask PuTTYgen for a 1024-bit RSA key, it will create two
+512-bit primes and multiply them. The result of this multiplication
+might be 1024 bits long, or it might be only 1023; so you may not
+get the exact length of key you asked for. This is perfectly normal,
+and you do not need to worry. The lengths should only ever differ by
+one, and there is no perceptible drop in security as a result.
+
+DSA keys are not created by multiplying primes together, so they
+should always be exactly the length you asked for.
+
\S{puttygen-generate} The \q{Generate} button
\cfg{winhelp-topic}{puttygen.generate}