OpenVPN secret keys

To secure the OpenVPN connection, a secret key is needed. First, we will generate such a key. Then, it needs to be copied to the remote endpoint using a secure channel (example SCP:

$ openvpn --genkey --secret secret.key

Note that it is not necessary to run this command as root (hence the prompt $). The resulting secret key file has the following format:

#
# 2048 bit OpenVPN static key
#
-----BEGIN OpenVPN Static key V1-----
1393ae687606c1f7d465d70227bf63e8
8963e9d1401450002d073d6eab1bffde
b06d1a33cc5c45d4a667016339e921d3
3ac36b1a949eb52e9217e41e4b035a7b
987ddfa9d6766d3b5e4c952dc27f518d
12ccff6b2f0966284382ddc0f62b824a
f576f0982beec9d6a4728d0788499a75
0fd7055ef681404fd463d9862d3a40a9
31fca7d87997c70c07b8303a1b85f1ff
76aa7790e7c341353d2b4ea5049b11a2 ...

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