a maximally simplified GUI for OpenPGP (no code)

[Bernhard Reiter]

Moin Hauke,

On Wednesday 11 December 2013 at 01:57:59, Hauke Laging wrote:
> some time ago I had a discussion about what a really simple crypto GUI
> should look like. This is the result:
> http://www.crypto-fuer-alle.de/wishlist/simple-crypto-gui/index.en.html

thanks for caring and sharing.

A few random thoughts:

* I'm not quite sure what the aim of your gui is. To create a nice and usable 
gui (which then automatically means it has to be understandable and as simple 
as possible) we need to know what it should do. In my point of view most of 
the "crypto" problem should be done in the application that needs the crypto 
operations. So End-to-End Email -> Email application. File 
Encryption/Decryption -> File manager. Managing "contacts", your PIM or Email 
application. So what tasks are still left?
 
* Gnupg can do CMS for S/MIME and OpenPGP for PGP/MIME,  there have been long 
discussions over the Gpg4win compendium that led to the suggestion to call
the "public key part" _certificate_. Thjs could improve your gui's wording.

* The hard part, IMO is to build, maintain and somehow display the trust path 
and its level to the communication partners. Your draft does not address this 
part. E.g. your gui is used to find a certificate for "Hauke Laging", now you 
can import it, but how does the user know its you?


Best,
Bernhard


-- 
www.intevation.de/~bernhard (CEO)    www.fsfe.org (Founding GA Member)
Intevation GmbH, Osnabrück, Germany; Amtsgericht Osnabrück, HRB 18998
Owned and run by Frank Koormann, Bernhard Reiter, Dr. Jan-Oliver Wagner
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 490 bytes
Desc: This is a digitally signed message part.
URL: </pipermail/attachments/20131212/335db8d1/attachment-0001.sig>