[Announce] A new Beta of GnuPG 2.1 is now available

Werner Koch wk at gnupg.org
Thu Jun 5 17:55:23 CEST 2014


Hello!
    
I just released the fourth *beta version* of GnuPG 2.1.  It has been
released to give you the opportunity to check out new features and
a new beta was due anyway after 30 months.

  If you need a stable and fully maintained version of GnuPG,
  you should use version 2.0.23 or 1.4.16.

This versions is marked as BETA and as such it should in general not be
used for real work.  However, the core functionality is solid enough for
a long time and I am using this code base for a couple of years now.


What's new in 2.1.0-beta442 since beta3
=======================================

 * gpg: Add experimental signature support using curve Ed25519 and
   with a patched Libgcrypt also encryption support with Curve25519.

 * gpg: Allow use of Brainpool curves.

 * gpg: Accepts a space separated fingerprint as user ID.  This
   allows to copy and paste the fingerprint from the key listing.

 * gpg: The hash algorithm is now printed for signature records in key
   listings.

 * gpg: Reject signatures made using the MD5 hash algorithm unless the
   new option --allow-weak-digest-algos or --pgp2 are given.

 * gpg: Print a warning if the Gnome-Keyring-Daemon intercepts the
   communication with the gpg-agent.

 * gpg: Changed the format of key listings.  To revert to the old
   format the option --legacy-list-mode is available.

 * gpg: New option --pinentry-mode.

 * gpg: Fixed decryption using an OpenPGP card.

 * gpg: Fixed bug with deeply nested compressed packets.

 * gpg: Only the major version number is by default included in the
   armored output.

 * gpg: Do not create a trustdb file if --trust-model=always is used.

 * gpg: Protect against rogue keyservers sending secret keys.

 * gpg: The format of the fallback key listing ("gpg KEYFILE") is now
   more aligned to the regular key listing ("gpg -k").

 * gpg: The option--show-session-key prints its output now before the
   decryption of the bulk message starts.

 * gpg: New %U expando for the photo viewer.

 * gpg,gpgsm: New option --with-secret.

 * gpgsm: By default the users are now asked via the Pinentry whether
   they trust an X.509 root key.  To prohibit interactive marking of
   such keys, the new option --no-allow-mark-trusted may be used.

 * gpgsm: New commands to export a secret RSA key in PKCS#1 or PKCS#8
   format.

 * gpgsm: Improved handling of re-issued CA certificates.

 * agent: The included ssh agent does now support ECDSA keys.

 * agent: New option --enable-putty-support to allow gpg-agent on
   Windows to act as a Pageant replacement with full smartcard support.

 * scdaemon: New option --enable-pinpad-varlen.

 * scdaemon: Various fixes for pinpad equipped card readers.

 * scdaemon: Rename option --disable-pinpad (was --disable-keypad).

 * scdaemon: Better support fo CCID readers.  Now, internal CCID
   driver supports readers with no auto configuration feature.

 * dirmngr: Removed support for the original HKP keyserver which is
   not anymore used by any site.

 * dirmngr: Improved support for keyserver pools.

 * tools: New option --dirmngr for gpg-connect-agent.

 * The GNU Pth library has been replaced by the new nPth library.

 * Support installation as portable application under Windows.

 * All kind of other improvements - see the git log.


Getting the Software
====================

GnuPG 2.1-beta442 is available at

 ftp://ftp.gnupg.org/gcrypt/gnupg/unstable/gnupg-2.1.0-beta442.tar.bz2
 ftp://ftp.gnupg.org/gcrypt/gnupg/unstable/gnupg-2.1.0-beta442.tar.bz2.sig

and soon on all mirrors <http://www.gnupg.org/mirrors.html>.

Please read the README file !


Checking the Integrity
======================

In order to check that the version of GnuPG which you are going to
install is an original and unmodified one, you can do it in one of
the following ways:

 * If you already have a trusted version of GnuPG installed, you
   can simply check the supplied signature.  For example to check the
   signature of the file gnupg-2.0.23.tar.bz2 you would use this command:

     gpg --verify gnupg-2.1.0-beta442.tar.bz2.sig

   This checks whether the signature file matches the source file.
   You should see a message indicating that the signature is good and
   made by that signing key.  Make sure that you have the right key,
   either by checking the fingerprint of that key with other sources
   or by checking that the key has been signed by a trustworthy other
   key.  Note, that you can retrieve the signing key using the command

     finger wk ,at' g10code.com

   or using a keyserver like

     gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --recv-key 4F25E3B6

   The distribution key 4F25E3B6 is signed by the well known key
   1E42B367.

   NEVER USE A GNUPG VERSION YOU JUST DOWNLOADED TO CHECK THE
   INTEGRITY OF THE SOURCE - USE AN EXISTING GNUPG INSTALLATION!

 * If you are not able to use an old version of GnuPG, you have to verify
   the SHA-1 checksum.  Assuming you downloaded the file
   gnupg-2.0.23.tar.bz2, you would run the sha1sum command like this:

     sha1sum gnupg-2.1.0-beta442.tar.bz2

   and check that the output matches this:

656fef6454972cb91741c37a0fd19cd9ade9db9c  gnupg-2.1.0-beta442.tar.bz2


Documentation
=============

The file gnupg.info has the complete user manual of the system.
Separate man pages are included as well; however they have not all the
details available in the manual.  It is also possible to read the
complete manual online in HTML format at

  https://www.gnupg.org/documentation/manuals/gnupg-devel/

The chapters on gpg-agent, gpg and gpgsm include information on how
to set up the whole thing.  You may also want search the GnuPG mailing
list archives or ask on the gnupg-users mailing lists for advise on
how to solve problems.  Many of the new features are around for
several years and thus enough public knowledge is already available.

Almost all mail clients support GnuPG-2.  Mutt users may want to use
the configure option "--enable-gpgme" during build time and put a "set
use_crypt_gpgme" in ~/.muttrc to enable S/MIME support along with the
reworked OpenPGP support.


Support
=======

Please consult the archive of the gnupg-users mailing list before
reporting a bug <https://gnupg.org/documentation/mailing-lists.html>.
We suggest to send bug reports for a new release to this list in favor
of filing a bug at <https://bugs.gnupg.org>.  We also have a dedicated
service directory at:

  https://www.gnupg.org/service.html

Maintaining and improving GnuPG is costly.  For more than a decade,
g10 Code GmbH, a German company owned and headed by GnuPG's principal
author Werner Koch, is bearing the majority of these costs.  To help
them carry on this work, they need your support.  See

  https://gnupg.org/donate/


Thanks
======

We have to thank all the people who helped with this release, be it
testing, coding, translating, suggesting, auditing, administering the
servers, spreading the word, and answering questions on the mailing
lists.  The commits since the last beta are by:

   329	Werner Koch
    68	NIIBE Yutaka 
    13	Ben Kibbey 
     8	David Shaw 
     8	Marcus Brinkmann 
     4	Jim Meyering 
     3	David Prévot
     2	Daniel Kahn Gillmor 
     2	Marcus Brinkmann 
     1	Christian Aistleitner
     1	Daiki Ueno
     1	Hans-Christoph Steiner
     1	Ian Abbott
     1	Jonas Borgström



Happy Hacking,

  The GnuPG Team


-- 
Die Gedanken sind frei.  Ausnahmen regelt ein Bundesgesetz.
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