GPG compatibility to PGP 6.0 or above

[David Shaw]

On Wed, Oct 06, 2004 at 08:25:08PM -0500, chris gamble wrote:
> I work with a small company that needs to receive encrypted files from a 
> vendor. The vendor is specifying that the public key that we provide 
> them be compatible with PGP 6.0 and above which i assume means using the 
> IDEA algorithm.
> 
> Does PGP 6.0 or above mean it uses the proprietary IDEA algorithm, and 
> can pgp work with this (unfortunately in accordance with USA laws)? If 
> so, are there java or COM components we can use to help build a service 
> that decrypts these files?

No, you are in luck.  Generally, PGP 6 does not require IDEA.  In
fact, if you just generate a key with GnuPG, you should be able to
give that key to your vendor and it will "just plain work".

However, note the word "generally" in the above paragraph.  PGP 6 does
not follow the OpenPGP specification very closely, and so there is
sometimes strange non-standard behavior.

GnuPG can work with IDEA, though it does not ship with IDEA included
for the obvious reasons.  Before going down the
get-the-code-and-buy-a-licence route, try just generating a regular
key.  Chances are it will work just fine without IDEA.

David