At 11:19 AM 6/16/96 -0700, Alan Olsen wrote:

I recieved this on another list.

Me too :)

The snake oil is starting to flow pretty heavy. I expect it to get worse...

Here's the reply I sent to that list. I cc'd the person who sent the original message... =========== At 01:00 PM 6/16/96 -0400, Joe Horn <6mysmesa@1eagle1.com> wrote: [snip]

At the following two sites, you may download the FREEWARE Pegasus Mail program version 2.3.3 16 bit for windows 3.x or a version for WIN95.

I like Pmail. Had I not been an experienced Eudora user before I tried it (and pretty stuck on the Eudora interface) I would have probably stuck with it. Kudos to the Pegasus team for releasing a freeware program with such excellent filtering capabilites. It is much more of a full-fledged program than Eudora Lite, IMHO.

The unique thing about it, besides its simplicity and that it's a great mail program better than Eudora, it has a built in encryption program that is as effective as PGP and lots simpler. All you do is agree on a password with your correspondent. That simple.

This would seem to eliminate the immense benefit of public key encryption -- that you can send encrypted email to someone you haven't met, without any prior communication. If you have security concerns, they will probably apply to whatever communication media that you would use to agree on the password. If I have a secure method to agree on a password with someone, what the heck do I need crypto for? ;) Also, I'm assuming that you can only send encrypted mail to other Pmail users. PGP is above those kinds of limitations -- it can be used on many platforms and with many different types of email packages.

The encryption program and the mail program were developed in New Zealand, and were legally imported, so the encryption program is better than PGP, which is regulated by Federal Cypher Laws.

This is misleading, IMHO. While the export of the US version is "regulated by Federal Cypher Laws," PGP is not like some products which export a weaker version to accomodate ITAR. The version of PGP for people outside of the US is developed outside of the US, and is just as strong as the domestic version, AFAIK. Some people's lives, business, etc. depend on what type of crypto they use. I don't think it's really appropriate to make misleading claims like the one above when the stakes are that high. Please drop this claim for your promotional efforts, or back it up with specific evidence showing how ITAR has weakened PGP.

Honest.Plus, it's free. The sites are: [snip]

For those people who want to use PGP with Pegasus, there's a nice little plug-in for Pegasus called PGP JN, by John Navas, which allows you to choose to encrypt with PGP (you need to have a copy) instead of the Pmail crypto. It has a few small drawbacks, IMHO, but I found it much easier to use than PGP shell interfaces that require cutting text to the clipboard first. John's program is available at: http://www.aimnet.com/~jnavas/winpmail.html I really think the Pegasus team would do better to mention that John's program is available, rather than try to steer people away from PGP. PGP JN makes using the basic email features of PGP more streamlined than most other mail packages I've used (except Private Idaho, which is not a full-fledged email package). I think it would be better to mention that both options exist, rather than seeking to convert the masses away from PGP, which is unlikely to succeed anyway, IMHO. PC users who use PGP should try Pegasus and PGP JN. Private Idaho is available from Joel McNamara's page, at: http://www.eskimo.com/~joelm/ Rich ______________________________________________________________________ Rich Burroughs richieb@teleport.com http://www.teleport.com/~richieb See my Blue Ribbon Page at http://www.teleport.com/~richieb/blueribbon U.S. State Censorship Page at - http://www.teleport.com/~richieb/state New EF zine "cause for alarm" - http://www.teleport.com/~richieb/cause