alternate dos pgp client?

[Len Sassaman]

On Tue, 20 Aug 2002, Anonymous wrote:

> This got me thinking - has anyone tried hacking mixmaster to be a pgp
> client?  I have compiled it under DOS before, so I know that is possible.
> Does anyone know if mixmaster can use 'non-legacy' RSA keys?  Is there any
> pgp functionality that it lacks?  I am looking for a pgp implementation that
> will run on DOS, but will also be compatible with modern key types.

It is possible to build a simple PGP client with the source you have --
the file pgptest.c offers that, but it's really only for debugging
purposes. Run "make mpgp" in the Src directory to try it.

A better interface to the standalone PGP functions shouldn't be hard to
write. We can look into that if there is demand for it. Note that
Mixmaster has no concept of the web of trust, and doesn't do keychain
management. It assumes that if you are placing a key on your keyring,
you've determined it is valid.

That said, Mixmaster does offer all the basic OpenPGP messaging
capabilities, except for verification of clear-signed messages. (This
wasn't needed for any of the features Mixmaster provides, so it wasn't
added.) We'll be adding this capability soon, however. (The author of
the QuickSilver Windows remailer client app has requested it. QuickSilver
provides PGP capabilities through the Mixmaster .dll, sans clearsig
verification.)

Mixmaster does support RSA v4 keys, though it doesn't have Twofish support
since it links against OpenSSL for its crypto, and OpenSSL doesn't have
Twofish support. If you have OpenSSL 0.9.7, Mixmaster will support AES.

(Also, Mixmaster now supports use of the Modification Code Detection
packet in OpenPGP messages, which is used to prevent the attack Schneier,
et al. recently wrote about.)

As far as DOS goes -- I honestly haven't tried compiling for DOS. It
"should" work. Please let me know if you run into any problems.

(And, as always, we're in need of developers and testers. If you're
interested in working on this project, please join the development mailing
list. See mixmaster.sf.net for more info.)


--Len.