PGP is a public key cryptographic program used to protect online privacy. It encrypts emails, data files, drives, and instant messengers. Public key cryptography creates a custom key pair consisting of a public key and a private key. The public key encrypts messages, while the private key decrypts them. PGP can also be used to encrypt sensitive data files stored on hard drives or removable media. The program was first offered to the public in 1991 and has several versions available. Some versions are free for personal use, while others are shareware or commercial.
PGP (Pretty good Privacy) is the most recognized public key cryptographic program in the world. It can be used to protect the privacy of emails, data files, drives and instant messengers.
Internet traffic is susceptible to espionage by third parties with a minimum of skill. Data packets can be captured and stored for years. Mail servers also often store messages indefinitely, which can be read now or in the future, sometimes long after the author has changed his view of her. Email, unlike a phone call or letter, is not legally protected as a private communication, and can therefore be read by third parties, legal or otherwise, without the author’s permission or knowledge. Many privacy watchdog groups argue that if you don’t use encryption, don’t include anything in an email that you wouldn’t want to see published. Ideally this also includes personal information, such as your name, address, phone number, password, and so on.
PGP encryption provides the privacy that is missing from online communication. Transform simple, readable text into a completely unreadable complex code of characters. The email or instant message travels to its destination or recipient in this encrypted form. The recipient uses PGP to decrypt the message into readable form. Whether you’re concerned about protecting your privacy rights, a corporate whistleblower, or a citizen who just wants to chat with friends without allowing people to “listen in,” PGP is the answer.
The simple yet ingenious method behind public key cryptography is based on creating a custom key pair. The key pair consists of a public key and a private key. The public key encrypts messages, while the private key decrypts them.
Using PGP, Mr. Wise would generate a key pair by entering a real name or nickname to associate with the keys and a password. The two keys are interlocking algorithms that appear as small snippets of text code. Mr. Wise can freely share the public key with anyone who wants to send him an encrypted message. For example, suppose Mr. Wise gives his public key to Ms. Geek. He can copy and paste it into an email and send it to her “in clear text”.
Ms. Geek receives the public key and copies it to her public PGP keychain. After you write an email to Mr. Wise, the email is encrypted using the associated public key, obtained from the keyring. The encrypted email is now sent. If someone catches the email en route, or even if it’s stored on a server, it will be unreadable.
When Mr. Wise receives the email, his private key decrypts the message. Thus the communication remains private, even if it travels on public channels. Encryption and decryption can be done automatically, as PGP interfaces seamlessly with most major email clients.
To send someone an encrypted email using PGP, you just need their public key. Each public key is unique and works with the associated private key as a key pair. If you encrypt a message with the public key of someone other than the recipient, the recipient won’t be able to decrypt the message.
When creating a key pair in PGP, there is the option to send the public key to a public key server. This allows strangers to send you encrypted mail just by looking for your public key. To avoid spam, you can choose to discreetly email your public key to handpicked friends instead. Others attach their public key as part of their signature on public postings on newsgroups and Web chat forums.
A PGP user can also use their private key to digitally sign outgoing mail so that the recipient knows that the mail originated from the named sender. A third party would not have access to the private key, so the digital signature authenticates the sender.
Even sensitive data files stored on your hard drive or removable media can be protected using PGP. You can use your public key to encrypt files and your private key to decrypt them. Some versions also allow the user to encrypt an entire disk. This is especially useful for laptop users in case their laptop is lost or stolen.
The first versions of PGP were written by Philip Zimmermann and first offered to the public in 1991. The program is open source and has several versions available with attitudes prevailing as to which one is better. Some versions are free for personal use, while the more recent “official” incarnations offered by PGP Corporation are shareware. Starting with PGP Personal Desktop v. 9.0, users are offered a free fully functional trial before the software rolls back to a lower feature version, minus a purchased license. The version with less features still allows email encryption, but some of the automation is crippled.
Commercial versions of PGP are also available for use in multi-user networked environments.
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