RSA signing uses the private key to produce a signature for a specific message. What a signature guarantees (conceptually):
- Authenticity: the signer had the private key
- Integrity: the message has not changed since it was signed
- Non-repudiation (in many contexts): the signer cannot plausibly deny signing (especially in a certificate-based system)
- Paste a message (example: “I approve this transaction: $100”)
- Paste the private key
- Generate signature
- Save the message + signature pair