I realize this forum is for TB questions, but I see so much on here
about PGP, I thought I might ask a few questions about PGP. Since
these questions are not really germane to the list, if you'd prefer to
answer off-list, that would be fine.
I've never used pgp, but the discussion on here has made me curious. I
checked the pgp.com website, but I still have only the vaguest idea of
how it works. As I understand it, its purpose is to prevent anyone
other than the intended recipient from looking at one's email and to
prevent that email from being altered along the way.
First question:
I assume that PGP prevents anyone from intercepting the email at some
point between a person's sending it and its arrival at the computer to
which it was intended. Does it also prevent anyone at that computer
from reading the email other than the intended recipient? In other
words, if I send an email to a husband, does PGP prevent the wife's
from reading it on her husband's computer?
Second question:
This is *not* a smart-ass or rhetorical question. I'm fairly naive,
but in five years of sending email, including my credit card numbers,
I've never had anything intercepted between my computer and the
recipient's computer. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone else has
ever had their own email intercepted.
Third question:
I see the value of encrypting an email with really important or
sensitive information, but I note that many people seem to encrypt
their email to this list as well, even when it contains nothing
valuable that would seem to warrant encryption. Is there an advantage
to encrypting personal or unimportant business email or do people just
encrypt everything they send out by default?
Last question:
I went to the pgp.com site but couldn't find anything that really
explains the nuts and bolts of how the system works. Their site seems
aimed at people who already understand what pgp is. Once one is signed
up, from what I've seen, one has to put some kind of PGP key or notice
at the bottom of their email. I've seen it call a public key. Is there
also a private key? Does the recipient of an email have to get one or
more keys to read the email or to reply to it? Does everyone on your
mailing list have to have some kind of key to send you an email? I
have no idea of how this key thing works and would be happy to get an
answer or to have someone point out to me where to go (please don't
take that too literally!).
Thanks for any help.
Mike
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