GnuPG / PGP - Pretty Good Privacy



In 1991, Phil Zimmermann published a data encryption program called Pretty Good Privacy or PGP. PGP quickly became one of the world’s most widely used cryptographic programs. However, some of the algorithms used in PGP were copyrighted and thus not suitable for free distribution. Because of the importance of PGP an Open PGP Standard was published in 1997 that allowed developers to create PGP compatible encryption without copyright restrictions. GnuPG is a free PGP compatible replacement for the PGP software suite that is currently owned by Symantec Corporation. GnuPG uses non-copyrighted algorithms allowing it to be freely distributed. GnuPG development received major funding from the German Government, and in 2014 also raised over 36,000 Euro through a crowd-funding campaign.

GnuPG allows users to exchange strongly encrypted messages and files with anyone using an Open PGP Standard program, such as PGP or Mailvelope. With GnuPG you can create a PGP public / private key pair, as well as create a personal X.509 key pair (digital certificate). In addition to encrypting messages and files you can digitally sign messages ensuring that they are not later altered. The Gpg4win (GnuPG for Windows) Compendium is located at
http://www.gpg4win.org/doc/en/gpg4win-compendium.html and provides detailed information on using the program.

You can download a copy of Gpg4Win at:  https://www.gpg4win.org  (Version 3 was released on September 20, 2017)

GnuPG is not difficult to use, but as with any new software, there may be a small learning curve while you get used to using the program. I believe that any associated learning curve is far outweighed by the advantages of having strong encryption available to safeguard your personal communications and files. As its says on the GnuPG web-site https://www.gnupg.org/ "Even if you have nothing to hide, using encryption helps protect the privacy of people you communicate with, and makes life difficult for bulk surveillance systems. If you do have something important to hide, you are in good company; GnuPG is one of the tools that Edward Snowden used to uncover his secrets about the NSA."

A similar program for conducting public key encryption in web-based e-mail programs is Mailvelope https://www.mailvelope.com/ which can be downloaded as either a Google Chrome Extension or a Firefox add-on. Install Mailvelope in your Chrome or Firefox browser. Once installed, open Mailvelope, choose options and generate a key pair. You can now exchange encrypted messages with other Mailvelope and Open PGP users. If you have a GnuPG key pair already, you can import it into Mailvelope.

Another useful tool for using Open PGP encryption is GPG4USB http://www.gpg4usb.org/.  GPG4USB combines a text editor and an Open PGP key manager into a small file.  You can generate key sets, import external keys (such as the keys you generated in GnuPG), and encrypt / decrypt messages in the text editor.

A copy of my GnuPG / PGP Public Key is below:

-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
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=OB6k
-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----