[gemigene]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

They look very old. I'd start with mine and see how far you can get... The binary gnupg installer should be a functional shortcut if you don't wish to compile gnupg yourself.

Right, I noticed that it was for version 1.4.1 but is the rest OK as far as creating keys? Do you use GPGTools, GPGMail and GPG preferences (or any other useful tools)?

Sorry to be a pain, I switched to Macs recently and there are still a lot I'm not familiar with (would have been a breeze for me to install on a Winbox, I'm quite familiar with DOS).

Thanks,
Gene

[besson3c]

I use GPGMail, Engimail when I use Thunderbird, and sign files via the "gpg" command line binary that is a part of the gnupg distribution.

[gemigene]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

I use GPGMail, Engimail when I use Thunderbird, and sign files via the "gpg" command line binary that is a part of the gnupg distribution.

Great, thanks! BTW, which do you prefer, Apple Mail or Thunderbird?

BTW, about GPGMail, just found this on the developer's site:

Dec 9, 2007 - GPGMail & 10.5 (Leopard)
GPGMail doesn't work yet on 10.5, and can't work as-is. I'm currently working on the port, and published a beta version. Please subscribe to gpgmail-users mailing list to get informed about issues. Final release will follow in a few weeks.

Thanks for all the info.
Gene

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by gemigene 

Great, thanks! BTW, which do you prefer, Apple Mail or Thunderbird?

I like both for different reasons, I wish I could combine the best of both worlds! PGP support under Thunderbird via the Enigmail extension is much better than GPGMail though.

BTW, about GPGMail, just found this on the developer's site:

Yeah, like I said before I've been running the beta Leopard compatible d51 build that is available on the site without a hitch...

[gemigene]

like both for different reasons, I wish I could combine the best of both worlds! PGP support under Thunderbird via the Enigmail extension is much better than GPGMail though.

LOL! How true (about the best of both worlds).

Just downloaded TBird and will give it a try, mind you didn't like it much on the Win platform, a little tedious to configure and crashed every so often, maybe the Mac version (probably Cocoa) is better.

Yeah, like I said before I've been running the beta Leopard compatible d51 build that is available on the site without a hitch...

Sounds like the Beta's OK...

Thanks again,
Gene

[gemigene]

But then again, Freenigma Encryption does this via a FF extension, I wonder if it can be trusted, the service does use GnuPG.

This won't stop me from installing GnuPG on my system tomorrow, only wondering...

Cheers,
Gene

[gemigene]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

The OP commented that GPG is "not a very popular program," and I explained that most people don't use any program of this type at all, so of course it's not going to be a popular program. I doubt another program would get a much bigger response.

In these troubled times when privacy should be an issue due to Identity theft, infringements on our rights to privacy, etc., I feel that for certain communications, encryption is a must, if not. there might be undesirable consequences.

Off-topic but I think you'll get my drift. I knew a guy who's big thrill was listening to his neighbor's private conversations using a scanner, he could pick up every conversation from people using a wireless house phone in a 400-500 feet radius. He knew way too much about the people he spied on...

In conclusion, the Net is the most open means of communication, most users don't realize that their email messages can be intercepted and read by all kinds of malicious people, "Big Brother" included. This is why I strongly believe that such encryption projects are important.

Cheers,
Gene

p.s. I also use the TOR network when dealing with "sensitive" surfing.

[Basharar]

Tonight I met this guy who works for an internet security company. they help governments/law agencies, what he told me is so depressing. apparently, big brother has the decryption keys for most internet algorithms, they basically can record the information and decrypt it in %95 of the cases... I am no security/privacy expert, but its shocking to know that. The guy did not want to speak much, but he said that mac is the most secure platform from all operating systems?..... does anyone know more about this?

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by Basharar 

Tonight I met this guy who works for an internet security company. they help governments/law agencies, what he told me is so depressing. apparently, big brother has the decryption keys for most internet algorithms, they basically can record the information and decrypt it in %95 of the cases... I am no security/privacy expert, but its shocking to know that. The guy did not want to speak much, but he said that mac is the most secure platform from all operating systems?..... does anyone know more about this?

Saying that one operating system is more secure than another as a blanket statement is always a slippery slope, a difficult argument to make without making misleading statements.

Most operating systems (save Windows XP) can be locked down to be as secure as you want them to be. The best way to make this argument is that a particular OS ships with the most secure configuration by default. However, this has to be put in context. Are these settings crippling? Does your average user change them anyway? Who are your average users?

OS X ships with some sane defaults, but not all defaults are sane. That's really all you can say, I think.

I exclude XP from the secure OS category, because I think that requiring a user to be an administrator to do certain things and allowing the administrator unfettered access to the system like the Unix root user is an insane security model.

[Basharar]

I remember reading something about MS placing a backdoor key for the government in windows, that could be true or a bunch of crap. But the guy told me beyond a doubt that big brother has a key for most encryption algorithms...

[gemigene]

Originally Posted by Basharar 

what he told me is so depressing. apparently, big brother has the decryption keys for most internet algorithms, they basically can record the information and decrypt it in %95 of the cases... I am no security/privacy expert, but its shocking to know that.

Let's just hope that this guy was only "blowing wind" and being a smarta**, mind you, after communicating with quite a few GnuPg and other encryption software writers, they still claim that if the programs are used properly, it would take years for super computers to break an encrypted message. I'll forward your message to these guys and keep you updated. In the meantime, I would suggest Googling on this matter (encryption security, vulnerabilities, etc.).

Here's a good article about PKI's: http://www.schneier.com/paper-pki-ft.txt

Originally Posted by Besson3c

OS X ships with some sane defaults, but not all defaults are sane. That's really all you can say, I think.

How true, I remember reading an article on certain OS-X unresolved issues (some negligible but some urgent to fix) and even though there are less that the Windows OS's, it was still mind boggling. Mind you, they still claimed that Unix (or Linux) based OS's were a heck of a lot safer.

BTW, Besson, I installed GnuPG and still studying it. Having problems with Enigmail and trying to figure it out. Wonder if there's a way to test this...

Originally Posted by Basharar

I remember reading something about MS placing a backdoor key for the government in windows, that could be true or a bunch of crap.

That, my friend, could be true. I remember reading about this on various sites and forums. Apparently, Gates has made a deal with the CIA and Homeland Security to leave a backdoor on IE for the security snoops. I also read that the NSA "helped" Microsoft in building Vista. I don't know if there's any truth to this but it sure is something to think about.

After everything that's been happening for a while (especially since 9-11), most intelligent people are aware that something "not kosher" is going on, no small wonder that some of us are getting a bit paranoid.

Cheers,
Gene

[gemigene]

Originally Posted by Basharar 

Tonight I met this guy who works for an internet security company. they help governments/law agencies, what he told me is so depressing. apparently, big brother has the decryption keys for most internet algorithms, they basically can record the information and decrypt it in %95 of the cases... I am no security/privacy expert, but its shocking to know that. The guy did not want to speak much, but he said that mac is the most secure platform from all operating systems?..... does anyone know more about this?

OK, so I posted this on "Nabble", GnuPG's User How To forum and here are the replies I got:
Click on this link to read the replies

BTW, I'd like to start (yet another) forum on Net Privacy and I sure would like some help, this forum was used for another purpose and I would like some input (title, forum sections, descriptions, etc.) at:
The Web Privacy Discussion Board

Cheers,
Gene