First, check whether your organization has guidelines for using GnuPG VS-Desktop. Your data protection officer, security officer, or another responsible person can provide information. There may already be an existing key management infrastructure that makes working with GnuPG VS-Desktop easier.

• Administrators and decision-makers can find relevant information here: First Steps for GnuPG (VS-)Desktop Administrators and Managers

As part of your security clearance briefing, you are required to comply with the Classified Information Directive (Verschlusssachenanweisung – VSA). This includes:

• Your formal commitment to the VSA. General Administrative Regulation on Physical Security (Classified Information Directive – VSA), in German, including annexes and templates.
• Receipt of the VS-NfD information sheet with confirmation of receipt. Information sheet on the BMI website, in German
• Please note that using GnuPG VS-Desktop alone is not sufficient for handling classified information. The IT systems used must also meet the necessary security requirements. Your security officer can provide further details.
• Documents related to the approval and certification of GnuPG VS-Desktop, as well as the certification manual, are linked in Kleopatra's Help menu.

Open GnuPG Desktop – Kleopatra and navigate to the Help menu. There, you'll find comprehensive guides on how to use GnuPG Desktop. If you run into any issues, check out our FAQ for GnuPG VS-Desktop Users.

If GnuPG Desktop is not yet installed on your computer and this is not managed by your central IT, follow these steps:

1. Download GnuPG Desktop using the provided download link.
2. If another GnuPG-based encryption tool is already installed, such as Gpg4win, uninstall it to prevent conflicts.
3. Install GnuPG Desktop using the installer. Administrative privileges are required. Ensure that the Windows Installer does not show any warnings or errors during verification and installation. Additional verification options for the download can be found here.