Joe Sixpack doesn't run Linux

[Peter Gutmann]

Meyer Wolfsheim <wolf at priori.net> writes:

>S/MIME support is in just about every popular email client out of the box.
>Why is PGP more widely used?
>
>[Good reasons snipped]

Those who care about security [0] use PGP, the rest use S/MIME.  To steal a
line from Hexed:

  "S/MIME: For people who could care less".

Actually it's not even that, it's closer to:

  "Plaintext: For people who could care less".

I have yet to exchange an encrypted S/MIME message of any significance with
anyone, ever.  Even if the other side is using an S/MIME-enabled mailer, we
usually end up using PGP even if it means having to try half a dozen different
versions to find one which will process the other side's messages.  While I'm
in a quoting mood, there's also Marshall Rose's comment about X.400 to steal:

  Two people meet at a conference and exchange email addresses.  They get back
  to their offices and want to communicate securely.  If both sides are using
  PGP x.y.z, they communicate securely.  If one side is using PGP x.y.z and the
  other isn't, they wait for a message and then keep trying different PGP
  versions until they find one which will process the message.  If they aren't
  using PGP, they communicate in plaintext and hope no-one's listening.

  (In case that's forwarded or quoted out of context, this is a comment on a
   social issue, not a software issue).

Peter.

[0] With the corollary: "and aren't government users", S/MIME is used a fair
    bit in certain areas, it just doesn't get much public exposure.