In computer security, a key server is a computer -- typically running special software -- which provides keys to users or other programs. The users / programs can be working in that or another networked computer. Computer security - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... A key is a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm. ...

The keys provided are nearly always provided as a part of a cryptographically protected identity certificate containing not only a key but also 'entity' information about the owner of that key. The certificate is usually in a standard format, for instance X.509 or PKCS. Further, the key is almost always a public key for use with an asymmetric key encryption algorithm. In cryptography, a public key certificate (or identity certificate) is a certificate which uses a digital signature to bind together a public key with an identity — information such as a the name of a person or an organisation, their address, and so forth. ... In cryptography, X.509 is an ITU-T standard for public key infrastructure (PKI). ... In cryptography, PKCS refers to a group of Public Key Cryptography Standards devised and published by RSA laboratories in California. ... PKC, see PKC (disambiguation) Public-key cryptography is a form of modern cryptography which allows users to communicate securely without previously agreeing on a shared secret key. ... In cryptography, an asymmetric key algorithm uses a pair of different, though related, cryptographic keys to encrypt and decrypt. ...

The most important universally accessible key servers are those computers, located around the world, which store and provide PGP (or GPG) keys over the Internet for users of that crypto system. In this instance, the computers can be, and are, mostly run by individuals as a pro bono service, facilitating the web of trust model PGP uses. There are also multiple proprietary PKI systems which maintain key servers for their users; only their users are likely to be aware of them at all. Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is a computer program which provides cryptographic privacy and authentication. ... The GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG or GPG) is a free software replacement for the PGP suite of cryptographic software, released under the GNU General Public License. ... A cryptosystem (or cryptographic system) is the package of all procedures, protocols, cryptographic algorithms and instructions used for encoding and decoding messages using cryptography. ... Pro bono, is a Latin phrase meaning for the good, it is sometimes stated as pro bono publico, for the good of the public. ... In cryptography, a web of trust is a concept used in PGP, GnuPG, and other OpenPGP-compatible systems to establish the authenticity of the binding between a public key and a user. ... In cryptography, a public key infrastructure (PKI) is an arrangement which provides for third-party vetting of, and vouching for, user identities. ...

I have personal experience with Key Servers because I work at a Media Center at my school and we check out laptops all the time to like faculty and sometimes they give a message of key server access denied my thoughts on that are that someone has stolen the original serial number to the programs or that for some reason the key was stolen and that is why it doesn't work