Mastering GnuPG: The Essential Tool For Email Encryption

Ten years after Phil Zimmermann released PGP v.1.0 (Pretty Good Privacy), PGP has evolved from an underground tool for paranoiacs to the gold standard, even an internet standard, for e-mail encryption. GnuPG, the GNU Privacy Guard, is a 100% free alternative . . . Ten years after Phil Zimmermann released PGP v.1.0 (Pretty Good Privacy), PGP has evolved from an underground tool for paranoiacs to the gold standard, even an internet standard, for e-mail encryption. GnuPG, the GNU Privacy Guard, is a 100% free alternative to commercial PGP and is included in most Linux distributions. And yet, not nearly as many people who need it (and already have it) use it.

Are you among the many GnuPG procrastinators of the world? Hopefully you won't be after this and next months' columns. After you've generated your personal keys, sent your first encrypted e-mail and finally verified the security signature of that cool software package you downloaded, you'll be glad you took the trouble to master the multifunctional marvel that is GnuPG.

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