-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- MIT is pleased to announce the release of PGP 2.6, a free public-key encryption program for non-commercial use. PGP 2.6 provides for digital signatures and confidentiality of files and messages. PGP 2.6 is distributed in source form for all platforms. For convenience, an MSDOS executable is also part of this release. Because source is available, anyone may examine it to verify the program's integrity. PGP 2.6 uses the RSAREF(TM) Cryptographic Toolkit, supplied by RSA Data Security, Inc. PGP 2.6 is being released by MIT with the cooperation of RSADSI. In order to fully protect RSADSI's intellectual property rights in public-key technology, PGP 2.6 is designed so that the messages it creates after September 1, 1994 will be unreadable by earlier versions of PGP that infringe patents licensed exclusively to Public Key Partners by MIT and Stanford University. PGP 2.6 will continue to be able to read messages generated by those earlier versions. Because earlier versions of PGP (including MIT's Beta test PGP 2.5 release) will not be able to read messages created by PGP 2.6 after September 1, 1994, MIT strongly urges all PGP users to upgrade to the new format. The intent of the format change is to discourage continued use of earlier infringing software in the U.S., and to give people adequate time to upgrade. As part of the release process, MIT commissioned an independent legal review of the intellectual property issues surrounding earlier releases of PGP and PGP keyservers. This review determined that use of PGP 2.3 within the United States infringes a patent licensed by MIT to RSADSI, and that keyservers that primarily accept 2.3 keys are mostly likely contributing to this infringement. For that reason, MIT encourages all non-commercial PGP users in the U.S. to upgrade to PGP 2.6, and all keyserver operators to no longer accept keys that are identified as being produced by PGP 2.3. How to get PGP 2.6 from MIT: PGP 2.6 is available from MIT only over the Internet. Use anonymous FTP to login to net-dist.mit.edu. Login as anonymous. Look in the directory /pub/PGP. In this directory, available to everyone, is a README file a copy of the RSAREF license and a copy of a software license from MIT. Please read the README file and these licenses carefully. Take particular note of the provisions about export control. THe README file contains more detailed instructions on how to get PGP 2.6. Also in /pub/PGP is a copy of the PGP Manual (files pgpdoc1.txt and pgpdoc2.txt) and the file pgformat.doc that describes the PGP message, signature and key formats, including the modifications for PGP 2.6. These are being made available without the distribution restrictions that pertain to the PGP source and executable code. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6 iQBVAgUBLeGAOlUFZvpNDE7hAQG4yQH+PbABiBvnFQU0u084Ed9whx988IaUNpIp Sl4Ab950SChJbewZNvcpQ/yEMjF2wi6PhUx4k3VySUvKmaC6W7rhNQ== =+qTj -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----