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              | Date: 1999-01-15 
 
 CNN covering q/depesche-.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.-
 
 q/depesche  99.1.15/2
 updating       99.1.4/1
 
 CNN covering q/depesche
 
 Während die ENFOPOL-Papiere immer noch im
 Wochenabstand Echos auf US/News/Sites produzieren,
 schaffte es eine andere q/depesche via IDG Net bis in die
 Technews von CNN.
 
 Wir danken aus diesem Anlass allen genannten &
 ungenannten Netzbewohner/innen, die uns mit 1a aktueller
 Information versorgen von Herzen. Ohne die massive
 Unterstützung der Community hätten wir nur einen Bruchtteil
 aller Knaller seit April 98 produziert.
 
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 German developer releases free 128-bit encryption software
 
 by Mary Lisbeth D'Amico
 ...
 The program, called GnuPG (GnuPrivacyGuard), runs on any
 Unix-based platform and features 128-bit encryption, the
 same strength encryption as PGP, according to Werner
 Koch, the Düsseldorf-based software developer who wrote the
 program. GnuPG is also compatible with PGP versions 5.0
 and 6.0, so it can send and receive PGP-encrypted
 messages.
 
 One advantage of GnuPG over PGP is that not only is it
 secure, but it is also clearly in the public domain, according
 to Erich Moechel, editor of the Internet newsletter
 Quintessenz, who has tested the software. That means there
 is no chance it will be subject to government restrictions on
 exporting encryption software, he said.
 
 In Vienna last month, 33 countries signed the Wassenaar
 Arrangement, agreeing to put export controls on some kinds
 of secure software. Although "mass market" software is
 considered exempt from these controls, the software that
 falls into this category is not very secure, according to
 Moechel. "That stuff can be cracked in a matter of
 milliseconds," he said.
 
 It is not clear whether PGP falls into the category of public
 domain software, Moechel said. PGP version 5.0 business
 edition is clearly a commercial program, according to GnuPG
 creator Koch. PGP is now owned by Network Associates
 Inc. and is sold commercially. Although a free version of PGP
 5.0 exists, Koch said, it is not being used for commercial
 purposes.
 ...
 Koch released early versions of GnuPG in December 1997,
 and has been improving it ever since. Now, he said, he feels
 he has a "good, stable program," which is ready for beta
 testing. In several months Koch plans to release version 1.0,
 after which the program will only require patches, Koch said.
 ....
 In its current form, GnuPG will mainly be of interest to
 software developers, according to Moechel. "It doesn't have a
 graphical user interface. It also lacks some of the extra
 features offered by PGP-based products that run on
 Windows, such as a key server, which allows a function that
 can search the names of people that hold a public key," he
 said. Koch says that feature will be included in Version 1.0,
 however.
 
 GnuPG could easily be adapted for Windows, Koch said, but
 "I'm not going to do that for free. I'm not that interested in
 Windows," he said.
 ...
 GnuPG is already in commercial use and has been
 translated into 10 languages, he said. It has been used, for
 example, to encrypt a mailing list with sensitive medical
 information, to create anonymous e-mails in cases where
 someone does not want their identity traced, and to check
 the identity of certain parties who control Internet news
 forums, Koch said.
 ...
 Although software released as "freeware" is public, the
 copyright to the GnuPG program does exist and is held by
 the Boston-based Free Software Foundation, Koch said.
 
 full story
 http://cnn.com/TECH/computing/9901/14/gercrypt.idg/
 
 
 relayed by
 Otmar Lendl <O.Lendl@Austria.EU.net>
 
 
 
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 edited by
 published on: 1999-01-15
 comments to office@quintessenz.at
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