Cyphernomicon Index
Cyphernomicon 7.6

PGP -- Pretty Good Privacy:
PGP Versions


    7.6.1. PGP Versions and Implementations
           - 2.6ui is the version compatible with 2.3
           + What is the difference between versions 2.6 and 2.6ui?
             - "PGP 2.6 is distributed from MIT and is legally available
                to US and Canadian residents. It uses the RSAREF library.
                It has code that will prevent interoperation with earlier
                versions of PGP.
                "PGP 2.6ui is a modified version of PGP 2.3a which
                functions almost identically to MIT PGP 2.6, without the
                "cripple code" of MIT PGP 2.6. It is legally available
                outside the US and Canada only." [Rat
                <ratinox@ccs.neu.edu>, alt.security.pgp, 1994-07-03]
           + DOS
             - Versions
             + Pretty Good Shell
               - "When your Microsoft Mail supports an external Editor,
                  you might want to try PGS (Pretty Good Shell),
                  available as PGS099B.ZIP at several ftp sites. It
                  enables you to run PGP from a shell, with a easy way to
                  edit/encrypt files." [HHM LIMPENS, 1994-07-01]
           - Windows
           + Sun
             - "I guess that you should be able to use PGPsendmail,
                available at ftp.atnf.csiro.au:/pub/people/rgooch'
                [eric@terra.hacktic.nl (Eric Veldhuyzen), PGP support for
                Sun's Mailtool?, alt.security.pgp, 1994-06-29]
             + Mark Grant  <mark@unicorn.com> has been working on a tool
                to replace Sun's mailtool. "Privtool ("Privacy Tool") is
                intended to be a PGP-aware replacement for the standard
                Sun Workstation mailtool program, with a similar user
                interface and automagick support for PGP-signing and PGP-
                encryption." [MG, 1994-07-03]
               - "At the moment, the Beta release is available from
                  ftp.c2.org in /pub/privtool as privtool-0.80.tar.Z, and
                  I've attached the README.1ST file so that you can check
                  out the features and bugs before you download it. ....
                  Currently the program requires the Xview toolkit to
                  build, and has only been compiled on SunOS 4.1 and
                  Solaris 2.1."
           + MacPGP
             - 2.6ui: reports of problems, bombs (remove Preferencs set
                by previous versions from System folder)
             - "MacPGP 2.6ui is fully compatible with MIT's MacPGP 2.6,
                but offers several advantages, a chief one being that
                MacPGP 2.6ui is controllable via AppleScript.  This is a
                very powerful feature, and pre-written AppleScripts are
                already available.  A set of AppleScripts called the
                Interim Macintosh PGP Interface (IMPI) support
                encryption, decryption, and signing of files via drag-n-
                drop, finder selection, the clipboard, all accessible
                from a system-wide menu.  Eudora AppleScripts also exist
                to interface MacPGP with the mail program Eudora.
                
                "MacPGP 2.6ui v1.2 is available via anonymous ftp from:
                
                FTP SITE                 DIRECTORY
                CONTENTS
                --------                 ---------
                --------
                ftp.darmstadt.gmd.de     pub/crypto/macintosh/MacPGP
                MacPGP 2.6ui, source
                
                
                AppleScripts for 2.6ui are available for U.S. and
                Canadian citizens ONLY
                via anonymous ftp from:
                
                FTP SITE                 DIRECTORY
                CONTENTS
                --------                 ---------
                --------
                ftp.csn.net              mpj
                IMPI & Eudora scripts
                
                MacPGP 2.6ui, source
                [phinely@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Peter Hinely),
                alt.security.pgp, 1994-06-28]
           - Amiga
           + VMS
             - 2.6ui is said to compile and run under VMS.
           + German version
             - MaaPGP0,1T1,1
             - dtp8//dtp,dapmqtadt,gmd,de/ilaomilg/MaaP
             - Ahpiqtoph_Pagalies@hh2.maus.
             - (source:  andreas.elbert@gmd.de (A.Elbert). by way of
                qwerty@netcom.com (-=Xenon=-), 3-31-94
    7.6.2. What versions of PGP exist?
           - PGP 2.7 is ViaCrypt's commercial version of PGP 2.6
    7.6.3. PGP 2.6 issues
           - There has been much confusion, in the press and in
              discussion groups, about the issues surrounding 2.5, 2.6,
              2.6ui, and various versions of these. Motivations,
              conspiracies, etc., have all been discussed. I'm not
              involved as others on our list are, so I'm often confused
              too.
           + Here are some comments by Phil Zimmermann, in response to a
              misleading press report:
             - "PGP 2.6 will always be able to read messages,
                signatures, and keys from olderversions, even after
                September 1st.  The older versions will not be able to
                read messages, signatures and keys produced by PGP 2.6
                after September 1st.  This is an entirely different
                situation.  There is every reason for people to switch to
                PGP 2.6, because it will be able to handle both data
                formats, while the older versions will not.  Until
                September, the new PGP will continue to produce the old
                format that can be read by older versions, but will start
                producing the new format after that date.  This delay
                allows time for everyone to obtain the new version of
                PGP, so that they will not be affected by the change.
                Key servers will still be able to carry the keys made in
                the old format, because PGP 2.6 will still read them with
                no problems. "  [Phil Zimmermann, 1994-07-07, also posted
                to Usenet groups] [all dates here refer to 1994]
             - "I developed PGP 2.6 to be released by MIT, and I think
                this new
                arrangement is a breakthrough in the legal status of PGP,
                of benefit to
                all PGP users.  I urge all PGP users to switch to PGP
                2.6, and abandon
                earlier versions.  The widespread replacement of the old
                versions with
                this new version of PGP fits in with future plans for the
                creation of a
                PGP standard."  [Phil Zimmermann, 1994-07-07, also posted
                to Usenet groups]
    7.6.4. PGP version 2.6.1
           - "MIT will be releasing Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) version
              2.6.1 real soon now.  By tomorrow, I think.  The MSDOS
              release filename will be pgp261.zip, and the source code
              will be in pgp261s.zip.  The MIT FTP site is net-
              dist@mit.edu, in the pub/PGP directory." [corrected by
              Derek Atkins to be: net-dist.mit.edu, not net-
              dist@mit.edu.]
              
              "This new version has a lot of bug fixes over version 2.6.
              I hope this is the final release of this family of PGP
              source code.  We've been working on an entirely new version
              of PGP, rewritten from scratch, which is much cleaner and
              faster, and better suited for the future enhancements we
              have planned.  All PGP development efforts will be
              redirected toward this new code base, after this 2.6.1
              release." [Phil Zimmermann, Cypherpunks list, 1994-09-02]
  

Next Page: 7.7 Where to Get PGP?
Previous Page: 7.5 Importance of PGP

By Tim May, see README

HTML by Jonathan Rochkind