Sometimes the current gets passed by the past… Last week something like that happened again.
At work we had our weekly team-meeting. We always tell what we are busy with so everyone has an idea what all is going on.
My colleague Anitha told she was working on an encryption matter that involved key servers. As I did work a lot in the past with PGP (Pretty Good Privacy)/GPG (Gnu Privacy Guard) I made a remark that I could maybe be helpful with some resources and information I have or can get on the matter.
Then our team leader said that it is an fully PGP/GPG project. Later I learned from Anitha it was about verifying messages between applications we use (which are highly confidential)
This made me really think back at the time I used PGP/GPG all the time… and I wondered why I ever stopped using it. Apart from the not so good times I have been through (a relation that went wrong and things like that.. luckily all past) I couldn’t think of anything. So I restored my old keyring from a backup to find out that it was expired….
So I created a new keyring….
While I was working on all this I was chatting with Marion on MSN. She was really interested. Even more, she was very enthusiastic about it and saw personally use for it. So I talked her through installing the software and explained how it worked. And finally she created her own keyring and we signed each other keys, which means we can verify and decrypt messages we exchange. Mostly it is a sign of trust and that is between the Marion and me of course something that is very clear.
Hmmm… maybe in some words what this PGP/GPG is about. Simply said it is a way to add more security to e-mail. You can sign messages, which means that text in the mail is still readable to everyone, but those you exchanged (“signed”) keys with can be sure that the message was send by you and that message was not altered.
Also you can encrypt messages so only the receiver (who should have a signed key as well) can decrypt the message and will be able to read it.
This weekend I will send request to sign my keyring to people who did so before and maybe I will invite some new people to PGP/GPG (if they are interested of course).
PGP/GPG is a way to help defending your privacy… and that is something that is highly needed these days!!!!
Show offs with your XS4ALL accounts!!!
Just kidding. I know that Marion is happy with her new Internet-account after all the problems she had we her old provider. At least I can talk now for more then 10 minutes on MSN without that she loses connection :P.
Anyway, do I understand it right that this way you can prevent from others reading your mail? I know you always say that mail is not secure and that it should not be trusted more as an postcard. Everyone can read it.
At times I do send things per mail no one else should read to people as Marion. Would this be an good solution for this?
Haha. Not everyone is that happy with XS4ALL. I know someone very well who isn’t :P.
But I am very happy with them. I like their service and the way they handle things. So I recomment them often. But maybe I (and Mar also) just have been lucky. Who knows.
Yes, PGP/GPG would be a very good solution for you. No one else will be able to read your encrypted mail… unless you leave it decrypted on your computer and someone gets access to your computer.
If you like I will help you with installing it all one of these days 🙂
Great. I will call you when I see you on MSN
Well… Who should that be? 😀
I think that everyone should use Encryption. For the mail, for the wireless, for webaccess.
Preferrably GNU products. These products have no NSA / Federal backdoors.
Most people are so unaware of the fact that everything they do on the internet can tracked, traced and intercepted so very easily.
Well Sanne, the messages we exchange are indeed one of the things I was thinking of for all this. The mails we exchange are at times not meant for everyone eyes.
Same can be said for my mail for Rob and his mail for me.
But even aside from that I think I can use it very good.
hmm my key should still be valid, i have to see if i can reactivate pgp.
Good to see you still remember this 😉
Cu,
Dave
Thank you, Rob.
Marion and I just tried it out and it works great. Never being afraid again that someone can read the things that Marion and I discus! This is great.
Darn… that includes me not be able to see what Marion and you write to each other!!!!
Just kidding, it is none of my business what you two talk about 🙂
LOL. You really would like to know what Sanne and I talk about, now don’t you?
Well, as you said! None of your business!
🙂
So cruel… So cruel…
Wanted to say something about SySadmins always beïng able to … backup copies of certificates….. And not being able to…..
but i’m not 😀
I know… I know…
But in this case I would need access to the computers of the Ladies, which would not be a problem (“He Marion, I need to update your firewall” :P).
But to access her PGP Keyring I will need her security phrase…. and keyloggers on the computer of your partner is going a bit far in my opinion 🙂 🙂
haha, i know….
There is nothing more important than Trust.