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ppk

PPK is a three-letter acronym that can refer to several different things, depending on the context. Two of the most common meanings are a German semi-automatic pistol and a computer file format used for cryptographic keys.

Walther PPK: The Walther PPK is a compact German semi-automatic pistol produced by Carl Walther GmbH. The

PuTTY Private Key: PPK is also the file extension used by the PuTTY private key file format.

Other uses: The acronym PPK can appear in other, less common contexts as an abbreviation for different

name
stands
for
Polizeipistole
Kriminalmodell,
meaning
police
pistol,
Kriminalmodell
(criminal
police
model).
Introduced
in
the
1930s
as
a
smaller
variant
of
the
PP
series,
the
PPK
is
chambered
for
small
cartridges
such
as
.32
ACP
(7.65×17
mm)
and,
in
later
versions,
.380
ACP.
It
gained
widespread
use
among
police
and
other
security
forces
in
the
mid-20th
century
and
remains
popular
among
collectors
and
enthusiasts.
The
pistol
is
known
for
its
slim
profile,
simple
controls,
and
historical
associations,
though
production
and
use
vary
by
country
and
model.
This
format
stores
private
keys
for
SSH
authentication
and
is
generated
by
PuTTYgen,
the
key-generation
utility
that
accompanies
PuTTY.
Files
with
the
.ppk
extension
are
used
with
PuTTY,
PSCP,
PSFTP,
and
WinSCP.
The
format
is
not
directly
compatible
with
OpenSSH
and
typically
requires
conversion
or
the
use
of
PuTTY-compatible
tools.
terms
or
organizations.
When
encountered,
the
intended
meaning
is
usually
clarified
by
the
surrounding
text.