[SOLVED] Skype installed failed, requires "key" ??

Ake Torngren · 02-28-2009, 05:14 AM

I tried to install Skype under Fedora 10 x86_64.I went to "/www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/linux/choose/",
clicked on "Fedora 7" and downloaded
"skype-2.0.0.72-fc5.i586.rpm" to "/tmp". I entered
"yum install /tmp/ake/Download/Linux/skype-2.0.0.72fc5.i586.rpm"
which downloaded maybe 100 packages from a number of sites which took a long time. (I captured the whole screen output into a file, but it is 478 lines long.) It ended with:

Public key for skype-2.0.0.72-fc5.i586.rpm is not installed

Indeed, there is no file matching "/etc/pki/rpm-gpg/*skype*" What action do I need to take? Is there a "key" somewhere in Cyber space, and how to I get it?

The file "/var/lib/rpm/Pubkeys" appears to have been updated,
however it's a binary file so I can't see what's in it.
The FAQ etc. at "www.skype.com" does not give any help.

(Catch 22: to post this on "support.skype.com", one needs first to
dowload and install Skype, and then get a userid....)

BTW, I installed VLC (as per instruction on their web site) via "rpm" and "yum" including adding a menu item:
Applications->Sound and Video->VLC media player
which I copied to the top (GNOME) panel. :-) :-)

reddazz · 02-28-2009, 05:49 AM

You could try to install the skype package using "rpm" instead of yum.

rjlee · 02-28-2009, 06:58 AM

Yum uses a system of public and private key signing to make sure that RPM's haven't been tampered with when you install them.

There should be a .pubkey file on Skype that you should download and install that first, using <tt>yum --import</tt>

I've checked Skype's website, and as far as I can tell, they don't provide a link to any public keys, so you will not be able to use yum to install this skype RPM.

There are two other options:

1) Install Skype from a repository. You can find instructions for that here: http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=29679
- this is probably the best option because you'll get updates and security patches to Skype along with your system updates, and the update will be signed.

2) As Reddazz suggested, Install Skype using RPM, which is the low-level tool yum uses to install and remove packages:

Code:

rpm --install /tmp/ake/Download/Linux/skype-2.0.0.72fc5.i586.rpm

- this will not, however, install any dependencies that Skype will need (i.e. all those packages that yum downloaded), nor will it update Skype when new packages are updated. But it will prevent packages from being updated if they're needed by the version of Skype you have installed. And, as I said, you don't get the security of public key signing.

Hope that helps,

—Robert J Lee

x_terminat_or_3 · 02-28-2009, 10:33 AM

This has come up a few times before on this forum.

Please download the Skype RPM to a location on your hard disk.

Then cd to that hard disk (in a terminal)

Get root privileges by typing in su -

now type

Code:

yum --nogpg install name_of_skype_rpm

Let yum do its magic, and answer when it asks a question.

Now you're all set.

Ake Torngren · 03-03-2009, 12:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by x_terminat_or_3

This has come up a few times before on this forum.

Please download the Skype RPM to a location on your hard disk.

Then cd to that hard disk (in a terminal)

Get root privileges by typing in su -

now type

Code:

yum --nogpg install name_of_skype_rpm

Let yum do its magic, and answer when it asks a question.

Now you're all set.

That did it! Thank you ever so much!
"man yum" on Fedora 10 said "--nogpgcheck", so that
what I used. Also, I found out that earlier versions
of "yum" (e.g. on Fedora 5) may not support flag, but
one can edit "/etc/yum.conf" and set "gpgcheck=0".
So eventually I got Skype not only installed, but up and running!

Until a few days ago I did not about "gpg" or "[Open]PGP",
but thanks to Google and Wikipedia I have a fair grasp now.

Initially I searched for tags like "public" and "key". Maybe
those should be added to old(er) postings you referred to.