PGP 5.x and GnuPG

[L. Sassaman]

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On Fri, 17 Mar 2000, Trevor Smith wrote:

> On Thu, 16 Mar 2000 17:50:50 -0800 (PST), L. Sassaman wrote:
> 
> >On Fri, 17 Mar 2000, Trevor Smith wrote:
> > 
> >> 2. Can PGP 5.x encrypt messages using a public key generated by
> >> GnuPG?
> >
> >If is is a v3 key.
> 
> OK, next question: what the heck is a v3 key? And a v4 key (referred
> to later in your reply)?
> 
> >From the context above, it appears a v3 key is something produced by
> GnuPG. But GnuPG is only at release level 1.0.1, correct?

"Version 3 Key". PGP 5 produced (and could only handle) v3 keys. PGP 6 and
up produces v4 keys, as well as GPG. GPG has the option to produce only v3
keys, for backwards compatability with PGP5.
 
> >The reason is mainly the v3 vs. v4 key types. Note that PGP5 is not
> >OpenPGP compliant.
> 
> Weird. Doesn't the OpenPGP RFC start by saying that OpenPGP is a
> proposed standard based on PGP 5.0? How did PGP5 manage not to comply
> with the RFC based on it?

Well, think about this. PGP5 came first. OpenPGP is based on PGP5, but
enhances and changes some things. Now PGP5 is not OpenPGP compliant.

PGP6 and GPG are both based on OpenPGP. Each doesn't totally conform to
the OpenPGP standard "to the T", but are, for the most part, OpenPGP
compliant. They came after the RFC. It would have been hard for the PGP5
devel team to make a product intended to conform with an RFC that hadn't
yet been written. :)


- --Len.


__

L. Sassaman

System Administrator                |  "All of the chaos
Technology Consultant               |   Makes perfect sense..."
icq.. 10735603                      |
pgp.. finger://ns.quickie.net/rabbi |              --Joe Diffie



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