Encryption

PGP Freeware

Microsoft offers "digital signature" capability for the Outlook Express email client, but it is not free-of-charge. For an alternative, see the MIT PGP Freeware page at http://web.mit.edu/network/pgp.html

PGP ("Pretty Good Privacy") is public-key encryption software that was originally free, but was taken private by the original developer, Philip Zimmerman. However a very good free version remains available and works with Outlook Express for Windows 95, 98, NT, and 2000. To download, right-click the indicated "Windows 95/98/NT/2000" link. At the time of this writing, the filename is PGPfreeware_6.5.2a.zip and, as always, should be scanned for viruses when download is complete. Since the file is a .zip file, it'll need to be unzipped using commonly available utilities (eventually, this site will survey the freeware offerings).

After unzipping the contents of the download file (I usually unzip into a temporary directory called, naturally enough, temp) find the installation file named setup, and double-click on it. You'll see dialog boxes associated with the installation process. Click on the Next> and Ok buttons, as appropriate; agree to the license as appropriate; select the installation directory, if you want it to be different from the default; and select the components - until I learn more, I selected only 1) PGP Key Management (required) and 2) PGP Microsoft Outlook Express Plugins.

After installation is nearly completed, the install program asks if you'd like to use an existing key ring. Public "keys" are what others wishing to use encryption publish, either by sending you email with the attachment, or by posting their public key to a web server. If you want to send encrypted email to someone, you're going to have to get a copy of their public key. At the moment, I have no pre-existing key ring, so I pressed the No button.

After installation is complete, a "Key Generation Wizard" appears which will help you generate your own public key to distribute to your friends and associates. Follow the directions (they're pretty straightforward) and, if you choose, allow your public key to be uploaded to the server http://certserver.pgp.com.

Your key is then added to your own personal key ring as shown:

The names other than your own are examples which you will probably want to delete to avoid clutter.