Re: Proposal: PGPmail Plugin for Netscape/Mosaic
There was a little discussion about this on the coderpunks list, but I didn't get the impression that anyone was ready to run out and do it. I'm not sure whether plugins could also be used for receiving mail in addition to sending, but if so it does seem like a good way to add the functionality. Also, as I understand it, Netscape plugins have to be downloaded and installed ahead of time by the user, so it is not quite true that this gives one-click PGP access to everyone with a browser; it will only be for Netscape users who have downloaded and installed the right plugin. Also, plugins are architecture specific so he would have to be running the kind of computer for which a plugin is available. I have a Java applet which sends PGP mail similarly to the model you describe. This will work in principle for any browser which supports Java, and does not require anything to be downloaded or installed ahead of time (other than the Java-compliant browser). It is still pretty rough and is more of a proof of concept than a production program but I think it is another potential approach. Look at <URL: http://www.portal.com/~hfinney/java/java.html > and follow the links to the PGP compatible mail applet. Hal
Mark M. wrote:
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
On Sat, 15 Jun 1996, Hal wrote:
There was a little discussion about this on the coderpunks list, but I didn't get the impression that anyone was ready to run out and do it. I'm not sure whether plugins could also be used for receiving mail in addition to sending, but if so it does seem like a good way to add the functionality.
Netscape does have support for MIME. So if PGP/MIME ever becomes more widely used, the Netscape mail program would decrypt and verify emails automatically.
I certainly don't want to stand in the way of such a plugin - it certainly sounds like an interesting idea. However, the problem that Netscape does not export mail through the plugin API sounds quite difficult - it seems likely that, barring changes to the plugin API, an entirely new and parallel mailer would need to be developed. In the meantime, it is possible to integrate Unix Netscape with PGP today, using premail. This includes fully seamless and transparent support for PGP/MIME. In addition, you get support for the anonymous remailers thrown in for free. The main problem with the current release (0.43) is the lack of adequate documentation. The near-mythical "next release" should fix that, when I finally get it done. Raph
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- On Sat, 15 Jun 1996, Hal wrote:
There was a little discussion about this on the coderpunks list, but I didn't get the impression that anyone was ready to run out and do it. I'm not sure whether plugins could also be used for receiving mail in addition to sending, but if so it does seem like a good way to add the functionality.
Netscape does have support for MIME. So if PGP/MIME ever becomes more widely used, the Netscape mail program would decrypt and verify emails automatically. - -- Mark =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= markm@voicenet.com | finger -l for PGP key 0xe3bf2169 http://www.voicenet.com/~markm/ | d61734f2800486ae6f79bfeb70f95348 "In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point." -- Friedrich Nietzsche -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3 Charset: noconv iQCVAwUBMcNWVLZc+sv5siulAQECuAP9EuKY4slviJ5W8FajzcO6B8LnT8BJo98W 8LOtXkKi+j8MZyX3jaX2Elpd3xrFzx1fSg4s7ZNQ/0RmfkPXK0TKeex+2Fh7zwME mMYbLo3MEJuDh38g8FD4LZpnEC+I++X3tns5rlF9zp0LGSwnWiqjfT1w2uJCzGX2 GHncIh40eic= =pEkp -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
participants (3)
-
Hal -
Mark M. -
Raph Levien