CNN on PGP and alternatives

[Brad Tilley]

> Gnu is only a command-line program and needs a graphical interface
> to be attractive to the vast majority of users. A few interfaces, including
> Windows Privacy Tray, have been developed but none are as versatile
> or simple as Network Associates' program.

GPA works well for my needs, but it is nowhere near that level of refinement 
that Network Associates had reached with their GUI. I am a Linux user, so I 
may be a bit more computer literate than the average MS user.

> The Gnu project "is the thing that comes close to what PGP from (Network
> Associates) was, and it's really not there yet," said David Del Torto,
> executive director of the CryptoRights Foundation, which promotes
> encryption for human rights workers.

I think gpg works well with email on Linux. I use it daily with KDE and 
Evolution, and the encryption it provides is almost transparent with either 
of these clients. I wish that there were more options for encrypting local 
files and directories through gpg, but I think one day there will be. 

> Zimmermann, who chairs the OpenPGP Alliance and works with som
> commercial distributors, thinks any viable alternative will also need
> extensive marketing. And if the PGP user base is to expand, he said,
> tools must be easier to use.

I think he should have said "Windows" tools must be easier to use, because 
that is the _big_ user base when it comes to PC systems and email clients. 
But if you think about it, no method of encryption is as transparent as they 
need to be (on any OS) in order for widespread public acceptance.