ViaCrypt PGP 4.0 for Windows shipping
I have not seen this here yet, so sorry if you have seen it... ViaCrypt is claiming that they are now shipping the Windows version of their PGP 4.0. (I tend to not believe marketing claims until I hear from people who actually have it.) Does anyone know if there are plans for this version to be interoperable with PGP 3.0? Furthermore, has anyone tried the new version? --- Alan Olsen -- alano@teleport.com -- Contract Web Design & Instruction `finger -l alano@teleport.com` for PGP 2.6.2 key http://www.teleport.com/~alano/ "We had to destroy the Internet in order to save it." - Sen. Exon
And I am new here, so doubly sorry for the same reason. But I was corresponding with Via Crypt on this same point and here is a copy of what they sent me.
From barnhart@viacrypt.comWed Mar 27 05:22:25 1996 Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 12:08:49 -0700 From: "Dave Barnhart, ViaCrypt Product Manager" <barnhart@viacrypt.com> To: moen@cyberspace.com
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Dear Sir: Eric Nesson here at ViaCrypt has shared your email inquiry with me, and I thought I should contact you to provide you with some clarification and more information. The post you read on alt.security.pgp is in reference to *new types of keys* that ViaCrypt PGP can create. This means that, in addition to the PGP keys that we have all been using for a long time now, ViaCrypt PGP can also create keys with some special attributes.It is these *new types of keys* that are not recognized by the existing freeware PGP. You can continue to use your existing keys with ViaCrypt PGP 4.0. And you can create new keys that are fully interoperable with all the older PGP's out there. It is only when you generate a new key and turn on one of these special attributes that it becomes unrecognizable by the existing freeware PGP. These special attributes I refer to are: 1. "This key can be used for encryption/decryption only. It cannot be used for digital signatures." 2. "This key can be used for digital signatures only. It cannot be used for encryption/decryption." We call keys with this special attributes 'single-function keys'. I hope this answers your questions. If not please do not hesitate to ask. Best Regards, David Barnhart ViaCrypt Product Manager -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 4.0 Business Edition iQEVAwUBMVg4u3hUuWjy7vyrAQEG9ggAnfOGI9tkYa8/W66UvTb+7TBmzHbiPPYw 1J8iBOp+Uj75hxUhr9gY45IUZtcqYHLHCECVpoqcLU2iJsVqMKhv5ohmiTYHEW4Z xYzbO5lpWqL3rkSMRZK/pXnlumfZTuS94jY9bKyn0dDCqeZ2p7UtAE7/HD7DoAIj 4tMnyNxZxvo0IoxPOCxOTKgdrSB3/KxJWZSAWUPvzNBU+XTpfXu4LvI0sZKOS9Nr 0jEUUwmmrawldei31w916Zc20hmHsP6rOfSaiC5n/03ZXgW976q1sBViDAdwuuPP ktsCrAB5A2MxuYve1XVVRXwPc7rLN4T4RHqUcKgw4nvnbiKmGYcliA== =OFTV -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- On Tue, 26 Mar 1996, Alan Olsen wrote:
I have not seen this here yet, so sorry if you have seen it...
ViaCrypt is claiming that they are now shipping the Windows version of their PGP 4.0. (I tend to not believe marketing claims until I hear from people who actually have it.)
Does anyone know if there are plans for this version to be interoperable with PGP 3.0?
Furthermore, has anyone tried the new version? --- Alan Olsen -- alano@teleport.com -- Contract Web Design & Instruction `finger -l alano@teleport.com` for PGP 2.6.2 key http://www.teleport.com/~alano/ "We had to destroy the Internet in order to save it." - Sen. Exon
On Tue, 26 Mar 1996, Alan Olsen wrote:
ViaCrypt is claiming that they are now shipping the Windows version of their PGP 4.0. (I tend to not believe marketing claims until I hear from people who actually have it.)
Note that ViaCrypt is now using its own version numbers. PGP 4.0 is really the same crypto engine as in 2.7.1, but with some new features.
Does anyone know if there are plans for this version to be interoperable with PGP 3.0?
I asked about that, but the answer was indefinite. I'd say "no."
Furthermore, has anyone tried the new version?
Yes. We were one of the beta sites for it. There are actually two new versions of ViaCrypt PGP 4.0: A business edition and a personal edition. Essentially, there's a bunch more key management features and some new windows features. In the business edition, you can configure it so that keys are essentially "escrowed" in that it will always add "the company" to the list of recipients. Thus, your company can read your traffic if they want to. This was at the request of many businesses who stated that they wanted to use PGP, but that they needed some means of escrowing the keys. What's really interesting is what ViaCrypt has planned for even later releases: support for DSS (and SHA), DES, triple DES, multiple key rings, PC Card token support, provision for large key certificate databases, integration with X.509 structures, and a high performance single pass mode of operation. ViaCrypt put up some marketing stuff on their web page. Try: http://www.viacrypt.com/
--- Alan Olsen -- alano@teleport.com -- Contract Web Design & Instruction `finger -l alano@teleport.com` for PGP 2.6.2 key http://www.teleport.com/~alano/ "We had to destroy the Internet in order to save it." - Sen. Exon
------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Liberty is truly dead |Mark Aldrich | | when the slaves are willing |GRCI INFOSEC Engineering | | to forge their own chains. |maldrich@grci.com | | STOP THE CDA NOW! |MAldrich@dockmaster.ncsc.mil | |_______________________________________________________________________| |The author is PGP Empowered. Public key at: finger maldrich@grci.com | | The opinions expressed herein are strictly those of the author | | and my employer gets no credit for them whatsoever. | -------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have not seen this here yet, so sorry if you have seen it...
ViaCrypt is claiming that they are now shipping the Windows version of their PGP 4.0. (I tend to not believe marketing claims until I hear from people who actually have it.)
Does anyone know if there are plans for this version to be interoperable with PGP 3.0?
Furthermore, has anyone tried the new version? --- Alan Olsen -- alano@teleport.com -- Contract Web Design & Instruction
I've got the Viacrypt Business Edition for Windows. It arrived late last week. I don't think the personal edition is shipping yet. The business edition adds features for corporate key escrow and limiting features available to users. I've just started playing with the software, but it looks like some of the user control features are implemented using security through obscurity. The windows implementation is ok, but does not include DDE or OLE. The floating toolbar looks useful. 4.0 will interoperate with current versions of PGP as long as a normal key is generated. 4.0 allows for generation of keys limited to signing or encryption. These keys will not interoperate with current versions of PGP. I'll know more as I use the software. If anyone has any specific question, feel free to ask. Ron McCoy Rmccoy@mercury.interpath.com
Alan Olsen <alano@teleport.com> wrote:
I have not seen this here yet, so sorry if you have seen it...
ViaCrypt is claiming that they are now shipping the Windows version of their PGP 4.0. (I tend to not believe marketing claims until I hear from people who actually have it.)
I have had my ViaCrypt PGP version 4.0 for windows for 1 week.
Does anyone know if there are plans for this version to be interoperable with PGP 3.0?
It is *supposed* to be interoperable with all PGP versions 2.6 and later.
Furthermore, has anyone tried the new version?
I have used it, but so far have not been able to communicate with anyone that is using PGP 2.6.2. I have communicated with ViaCrypt and they are researching the problem. Yes, I used the option that is supposed to make the key interoperable with PGP 2.6.2. I followed the instructions in the book and the security note. Even did it again (generated a new key) just to make sure I did it correctly, still no go! I will not blame ViaCrypt until I know if it is my fault or not! BTW, I'm using the Business Edition. jdcooley@ix.netcom.com ////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. Mark Twain ////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ PGP Public Key available upon request
participants (5)
-
Alan Olsen -
jdcooley＠ix.netcom.com -
Mark Aldrich -
moen＠cyberspace.com -
Ron McCoy