How to Generate a Passphrase by Using the pktool setpin Command

You can generate a passphrase for an object in a keystore, and for the keystore itself. The passphrase is required to access the object or keystore. For an example of generating a passphrase for an object in a keystore, see Example 15–4.

1. Generate a passphrase for access to a keystore.

   % pktool setpin keystore=nss|pkcs11 dir=directory

2. Answer the prompts.

   If the keystore does not have a password already set, press the Return key to create the password.

   Enter current token passphrase:Press the Return key Create new passphrase:Type the passphrase that you want to use Re-enter new passphrase:Retype the passphrase Passphrase changed.

   The keystore is now protected by passphrase. If you lose the passphrase, you lose access to the objects in the keystore.

Example 15–5 Protecting a Keystore With a Passphrase

The following example shows how to set the passphrase for an NSS database. Because no passphrase has been created, the user presses the Return key at the first prompt.

% pktool setpin keystore=nss dir=/var/nss
Enter current token passphrase:Press the Return key
Create new passphrase:    has8n0NdaH
Re-enter new passphrase:  has8n0NdaH
Passphrase changed.