PRIVACY ONLINE

I'm no expert on cryptography, but I can give you a brief idea on how the system works.  The exchange of secure text and files revolves around the "keypair".

The software creates a pair of complex encryption keys, one public and the other private.  They work together like this.

You already know the person you want to send a file to has PGP software because you have stored his Public Key on your Key Ring. Perhaps you found it on a website, like mine, or looked it up and downloaded it from a Public Key Server on the Internet.

• When you tell the software to encrypt a file, it displays the list of keys on your Public Key Ring and prompts you to choose one.  The software then encrypts the file (or text) using that Public Key.  Then you send it to the owner of that Public Key. 
• Nobody in the world (including you) can decrypt the file (or text) except the owner of that public key. That's because he has the other half of the "keypair", the corresponding Private Key. 
• Unless the owner of that Private Key has both allowed someone access to his private key and his pass phrase, the communication is totally secure.

By the same token, you can post and pass out your public key with total security.  Anybody can use it to encrypt something, but only you have the corresponding private key to decrypt it. Even if your computer is stolen, the thief must also know your top secret pass phrase.  You wouldn't be stupid enough to write that down, now, would you? <grin>

Top secretly yours,

Jack Winter --------PGP PAGE --- HOME PAGE ----MY PGP KEY   DOWNOAD PGP**

**PGP Desktop 9.0 Trial Software is an improved version of the legacy PGP Freeware (Desktop 8.x and below) product. With PGP Desktop 9.0 Trial Software, all product functionality is available for 30 days (except PGP Whole Disk Encryption). After 30 days, PGP Desktop 9.0 Trial Software reverts to the functionality available in what used to be called PGP Freeware. Or, when you go to download and install, there is an option to just download the unlicensed (free) version.  That seems easiest to me, rather than install a bunch of features you know you're not going to buy.