For the same reason, hopes of getting a non-RSA-approved "2.6a" (hacked to be backwards compatible with 2.3) widely available in the U.S. are not well founded. FTP sites which hold programs or even patch files to allow 2.6 to interoperate with 2.3 will be targetted by RSA as contributory infringers. In short, the legal advantages PGP 2.6 will have over unapproved versions will be strong enough that it will be widely used in the U.S.
I hadn't considered this. My question is answered.
However, this does not mean the loss of international encrypted communications. The solution is simple. PGP 2.3a will be patched to be compatible with PGP 2.6. I don't know what we'll call it, "PGP2.3e", perhaps, where "e" is for Europe. 2.3e will have the speed advantages of 2.3a, no copyright problems with RSAREF use, be perfectly legal outside the U.S., and will interoperate with 2.6. Converting from 2.3a to 2.3e will be no more difficult than converting from 2.2 to 2.3 was.
Frankly, I am really not interested in using PGP2.6 IN the U.S. I am reluctant to support the active restriction of capability in a software product by dignifying its underhanded tactics in using it. More serious efforts at a stealth PGP which makes identification of the creator of cyphertext near impossible is badly needed. I wonder if a Mac version will be available by September. I wonder if a Mac version of StealthPGP will ever be available. I wish I had the time/know-how to create one myself.
Hal
-uni- (Dark) -- 073BB885A786F666 nemo repente fuit turpissimus - potestas scientiae in usu est 6E6D4506F6EDBC17 quaere verum ad infinitum, loquitur sub rosa - wichtig!