More Information on PGP and Security

I don't endorse this as being the list of Web pages on PGP and data security, but these are the pages that I found most useful while researching this article.

• About Cryptography
• About PGP
• How to Use PGP
• About S/MIME and OpenPGP
• About Online Internet Security
• Other Stuff

Securing Data in the Box and on the Net

Slides of a presentation about data security, by Tony Mione of Rutgers University, who works with the the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) committee on OpenPGP. A complete outline of data security; it gives you a good idea of how the different data security schemes work.

Crypto-Gram Newsletter

"Cryptogram is a free monthly e-mail newsletter on computer security and cryptography from Bruce Schneier (author of Applied Cryptography, inventor of Blowfish and Twofish [encryption algorithms], CTO and founder of Counterpane Internet Security, Inc., general crypto pundit and occasional crypto curmudgeon)."

Why Cryptography is Harder than It Looks

Also by Bruce Schneier.

Index of Cryptography Papers Available Online

From Bruce Schneier's company, Counterpane Internet Security, Inc. As of March 28, the index contains 1339 papers.

How PGP Works

The intro to cryptography from PGP.

Tom's Privacy Pages

An introduction to data security, with emphasis on Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. (It's specifically about their export versions, but the general information is useful for anyone.)

Proof of WHO, WHAT, and WHEN in Electronic Commerce

By Charles R. Merrill, from the American Bar Association.

Why Is Certification Harder Than It Looks?

By Ed Gerck, the Meta-Certificate Group, "a non-profit, open international standards group that represents a technical development forum dedicated to a fresh exploration of the Internet security issues of today."

PGP-related FAQs

A list of PGP-related FAQs, from the International PGP Home Page.

PGP Documentation

The International PGP Home Page also has online copies of much of PGP's official documentation, including the User's Guide and Phil Zimmerman's "Why do you need PGP?". And, being an international site, they have a lot of it in a lot of different languages.

Why do you need PGP?

by Phil Zimmerman.

PGP Vulnerabilities

No data system is infallible. This list of the ways that PGP can be circumvented is interesting both in specific -- as it applies to PGP -- and in general, to see what lengths some people are willing to go to steal information.

PGP Web of Trust Statistics

by Neal McBurnett of Lucent Technologies and the IETF.

All About... PKI Cryptography

From Entrust Technologies.

PGP Timeline

The site this FAQ is on leaves a bit to be desired, but its PGP history and its list of PGP acronyms is interesting.

PGP/Eudora FAQ

From Qualcomm.

The best source is the PGP User's Guide, which comes in PDF form with PGP Freeware. (It's also available on the Web on the International PGP Home Page.)

There's also local documentation on how to use PGP: Using PGP Freeware.

S/MIME and OpenPGP

From the Internet Mail Consortium. A summary of and comparison between S/MIME and OpenPGP. Very readable.

An Open Specification for Pretty Good Privacy (OpenPGP)

This one I didn't read, but it is the home page for the IETF working group on OpenPGP. As such, it's the resource for OpenPGP.

S/MIME Working Group

And here is the home page for the IETF S/MIME working group.

If you have a PC at work or at home which has a static IP address (if you're on the UIC campus netowrk or you use DSL or a cable modem, then you do), you should look into these:

Online Security Services

by Bruce Stewart, ZDNet Help & How-To. (ZDNet is the PC Magazine folks.)

Head Off PC Hack Attacks

by Preston Gralla, ZDNet; also Web attacks: Are ISPs doing enough?

Internet Connection Security for Windows Users

by Steve Gibson, Gibson Research Corporation

 

HackerWhacker (TM)

A free security scan (from a hacker's point of view) of your personal computer as seen from the Internet. It also has lots of links on computer security.

ShieldsUP

Another free security scan; click the ShieldsUP icon under News and Events.

And these security scans scared you just a bit, check these out: BlackICE Defender and ZoneAlarm.

NAI's Press Release about PGP Encryption Software Granted Worldwide Export License

Network Associates's press release about the December, 1999, changes in US export rules concerning strong encryption software.

Password Safe

While we're on the subject of Bruce Schneier -- do you have too many passwords to remember? Then you might be interested in Password Save, "a free Windows 95[/98/NT] utility from Counterpane Labs, users can keep their passwords securely encrypted on their computers. A single Safe Combination -- just one thing to remember -- unlocks them all." I researched the software a bit; it seems that it really does exactly what it says it does and is easy to use as well. (It received 4 cows from Tucows software download and information site.)