Broadening the use of Cryptography
Maybe I have just missed something in this whole discussion, so please hold back the flames, but has a SIMPLE desktop mailer that encrypts using PGP been writen and widely distributed on any platform ? The common person will only do something if you make it simple for them to access. The attitude of don't complain, write the code youself won't fly with average Joe who wants to help by spreading the use of PGP. Most people have barely just enough time to worry about reading the news and checking their mail, let alone downlaod, compile and implement an encryption scheme. The priority should be to get people encrypting first, then worry about whether they understand the protocol for double-blind remailers. It seems to me that Universities should be the highest priority for spreading the use of PGP. It is the students who are willing to adapt to new technology the quickest. Some sort of product should be developed that can be distributed on the PC and Mac, like Pegasus mail (for those that are familiar with it), that will support PGP. It all comes down to marketing. Why not make a nice free-ware game that can carry a Cypher bill-board with it ? How many people see the Maelstrom start up screen on a Mac ? X-tetris on Unix ? Minesweeper on Dos ? It seems to me that widespread advertising should be a higher priority if PGP is going to succede. Matthew Bernardini
Long ago when I started writing pgpmail, I felt one reason people weren't using PGP much was inconvineince. So, I wrote code to fix this. Now if you use GNU Emacs to read and author mail (as I do) you can use my pgpmail (FTP://ftp.markv.com/pub/pgpmail/*) to automatically encrypt, decrypt, sign, and check the signatures -- all with little or no effort. (C-c e to encrypt, everything else is 0 interaction, save entering your PGP passphrase.) Now admittedly, this only works on systems where GNU Emacs can read mail and run PGP. This translates to primairily multiuser unix machines. Sigh. Well, at least you can do as I do, maintain 1 key for low security multi user systems, and another (high hassel cost) key for high security. The next project I am working on is a 'packet privatizer'. Expect alpha release sometime this or next year. j' -- O I am Jay Prime Positive jpp@markv.com 1250 bit fingerprint B06229 = B8 95 E0 AF 9A A2 CD A5 89 C9 F0 FE B4 3A 2C 3F 524 bit fingerprint 2A915D = 8A 7C B9 F2 D5 46 4D ED 66 23 F1 71 DE FF 51 48 Public keys via `finger jpp@markv.com', or via email to pgp-public-keys@io.com Your feedback is welcome directly or via my symbol JPP on hex@sea.east.sun.com Resist the Clipper Chip, write "I oppose Clipper" to Clipper.petition@cpsr.org
participants (2)
-
jpp@markv.com -
Matthew Bernardini