PGP and WinXP

Discussion in 'other security issues & news' started by puff-m-d, Mar 25, 2002.

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  1. puff-m-d

    puff-m-d Registered Member

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    Hello all,

    I am test running the newest release of The Bat! and so far I really like it.  My question is this: I have tried PGP on my system before and found that it does not like WinXP.  Is there a WinXP compatible version of PGP out there so I ca play with the PGP in The Bat!?  I have tried to load and run the latest PGP from McAffe but it crashes my system.  I am new to this (Pgp and e-mail, PGP and anything really) and any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks,
    Kent
     
  2. luv2bsecure

    luv2bsecure Infrequent Poster

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    Hi Kent:

    This story is really sordid.

    PGP in its past or present incarnations will not work with XP. There was  hope when word was a Win2K version of 6.02 seemed to work, but even that has apparently turned out to not be fully compatible.

    Network Associates owns the current rights to develop and market PGP. With Zimmermann's original deal he allowed for continued use of a free PGP. NAI would release code when Zimmermann actually worked for NAI/McAfee. After a dust-up over releasing code, PZ left and PGP has been the step child ever since.

    Now the really sordid part (in my opinion). Network Asssociates has an XP version ready to go (along with a MAC OS X version) but have halted all PGP marketing efforts and has refused to ship the long-awaited versions.

    Zimmermann is looking for the OpenPGP standard to find an "angel" to fund a more robust PGP and bring back the good old days. So far, no takers on NAI's attempts at selling the PGP division or in PZ's hopes of finding an angel for a full-blown open source drive for a "new PGP" that is consumer friendly with the kind of interface that we would see with the NAI versions, or better.

    What a sad story for a storied piece of software.

    John  
     
  3. MickeyTheMan

    MickeyTheMan Security Expert

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    Give PGP6.5.8ckt Build06 from Imhad a trial run.  Nothing to loose. I've heard of people successfully running it on XP ! http://www.ipgpp.com/
     
  4. puff-m-d

    puff-m-d Registered Member

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    Thanks guys for the info.  I will give 6.5.8 a try,

    Kent
     
  5. luv2bsecure

    luv2bsecure Infrequent Poster

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    Puff:

    Keep us updated on what you find. I would be very interested to know what comes of your attempt. Be sure it's the correct build and all that Mickey mentioned, as I know the 6.5.8 I have doesn't work with XP.

    I just found the following story at http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/24336.html       and it's very interesting and adds a little to what I wrote in my earlier post.  It also mentions that NAI has an XP version and just won't ship it. Grrrr.

    keep us updated!

    John
     
  6. Detox

    Detox Retired Moderator

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    Hey I've got lotsa friends having trouble with XP also, but I heard somewhere that XP has an option to emulate win98 for certain programs which you could select. Don't hold me to the existance of the feature or the actual success using it may bring, I've never seen XP! lol... I just heard that and thought it worth mentioning.
     
  7. luv2bsecure

    luv2bsecure Infrequent Poster

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    Hey Detox! Where you been? Seems like you haven't been posting too often.

    XP does have that feature and it works pretty good most of the time. I don't have XP on my main computer, but I keep it on another and use the emulation option. I've had lots of luck with about 50% of the programs that had problems with XP but run fine when run in the Windows9x mode, but no such luck with PGP.

    John
     
  8. puff-m-d

    puff-m-d Registered Member

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    Hello all,

    I have gotten PGP to work with The Bat! and WinXP Home!!!

    Here is my findings after giving PGP 6.5.8 a try with The Bat! and the steps I used for it to work with WinXP Home.

    1) I DL'ed and installed PGP 6.5.8 from http://www.pgpi.org/products/pgp/versions/freeware/win32/6.5.8/ .  I chose 6.5.8 because The Bat! does not support higher than versions 6.5 and decided to try the WinNT version.

    2) After installation I used compatibility mode in windows and set the 6 executables in PGP to Windows NT service pack 5.  The default installation folder for these is C:\Program Files\Network Associates\PGPNT\.  The executables are Uninstal.exe, PGP.exe, PGPKeys.exe, PGPLog.exe, PGPTools.exe, and PGPTray.exe.

    3) Since I am using The Bat! and want to integrate PGP into it, I went to http://www.ritlabs.com/the_bat/download.html and DL'ed the plug-in drivers also.

    I then tried setting up my initial keyring and encrypting several different e-mails and sent them to myself.  I then tried decrypting them with no problem.

    So far I have had no problems with this setup and all is working fine.  If I start to have any trouble I will post it here to let everyone know.

    Thanks and hope this helps someone,
    Kent
     
  9. Detox

    Detox Retired Moderator

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    hey Luv I'm just not too knowledgeable on most of this stuff so I read it but keep my mouth shut usually hehe.. Otherwise I'd have lots of spammy gibberish posted all over hehehe

    Anyway this emulator option brings up another thing.. could someone still buy a new Compaq with Win98?? I mean legally getting a new licensed copy... and If yes would it be a good idea??
     
  10. luv2bsecure

    luv2bsecure Infrequent Poster

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    Hi Detox,

    I don't think you CAN get win9x on any new Compaq. Even the custom orders are all XP.  About the only way to get a NEW computer with win98se is through a "white box" local computer shop with OEM copies of 98se. Cheap too!

    There is also another option. One of my computers has XP and I've left it on to play with it. Then another new computer CAME with XP, but I did a complete format and clean install of 98se and it worked out fine because HP has a driver reinstall option on their recovery disk (or recovery partition as this turned out to be). All of the drivers worked for 98 except for one and it was easy enough to get off the HP website.

    Running both programs, I can tell you I like XP, but have a few security concerns, not happy with WPA and I still have quite a few programs that won't work with XP even in the emulation mode. With a lot of tweaking, my 98se is as stable as she goes. It still crashes, don't get me wrong, but it's probably only once a week or so. I can live with that.

    If you could swing it, I think the ideal is a new computer, a copy of Partition Magic, then a few partitions and then just dual boot with Boot Magic or System Commander. Have both XP and 98se!! I have been kicking that around for my main box, it's just a matter of being too lazy to tackle the big job.

    John
     
  11. luv2bsecure

    luv2bsecure Infrequent Poster

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    Puff: Definitely keep us up-to-date with your PGP 6.5.8 experience in emulation mode. A couple of questions:

    Are you running PGP on a FAT32 disk or partition?

    Have you used PGPNet or PGPDisk under XP??

    John
     
  12. puff-m-d

    puff-m-d Registered Member

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    Hello John,

    I will try to answer your questions although I am new to PGP and in learning mode.

    So far I have had no problems but have only used it to encrypt and decrypt e-mails.

    I am using a Fat32 system with no partitions.

    I know I am not using PGPNet but am unsure about PGPDisk as I don't really know what that is.  If you can clarify this a bit, I may be able to answer.

    Hope this helps,
    Kent
     
  13. MickeyTheMan

    MickeyTheMan Security Expert

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    PGP disk is the ability to encrypt files.
    In simple terms, you create a container (a file) of say 20megs for which you set a passphrase which then gets accessed like any other drive, with it's own drive number.  Then any file you put in that drive(file) cannot be accessed unless you mount that file in a drive.
    Useful to put any sensitive data files (all your girl friends data  :D )
     
  14. puff-m-d

    puff-m-d Registered Member

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    Thanks for the info Mickey the Man.

    So I guess I am not using PGPDisk either.  Just using PGP for emails.  Perhaps I will try PGPDisk over the next few weeks.  But as for PGPNet, I am not using a VPN so I do not think I wll have a use for it.

    Hope this answer your questions John.

    Kent
     
  15. puff-m-d

    puff-m-d Registered Member

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    Hello all,

    Upon further observation and checking, I do not believe the PGP software that I DL'ed included either PGPDisk or PGPNet, so as I really do not need either one I won't be trying them out.

    I have tried encrypting and decrypting files tho without any problem.

    So so far I would say with WinXP Home, if you follow what I did in an earlier post, you should be able to encrypt/sign/verify/decrypt both emails and any files on your system with no problems.

    I hope this helps the ones that would like to use PGP for this with WinXP home.  Also, I would hope it would work with WinXP Pro, but with Windows who knows?

    Regards,
    Kent
     
  16. Detox

    Detox Retired Moderator

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    Luv2bsecure- Yeah that's what one of my buddies did.. that "dual-boot" thing. I really like that idea. I've shopped around custom shops and other places to decide what puter I want and I think I settled on a hot-rod Compaq, but I'll buy the extra RAm seperate.  I am on a team that playes Delta Force 2 online in tournaments and stuff (hehe) and my friends have bad luck playing DF2 on XP, so I am trying to think ahead of time about how to set up my new puter, which I won't be able to buy for a little while yet.

    So after allll this I get to the point.. Could I do the double boot with a compaq? My HP i own now has disks with Win98 on it, but would that be illegal? If so would I need to buy an OEM 98se from a custom shop??
     
  17. Checkout

    Checkout Security Rhinoceros

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    Detox, be aware that Compaq, Dell and IBM inherently build their machines so that add-on parts will not fit unless they're from the manufacturer of the PC (Compaq, Dell, and IBM, etcetera) and that these add-on parts inherently cost a LOT more than generic parts.

    A warning, that's all.  No-name clones are, in many ways, more cost-effective and hardly less reliable.

    Check it out.
     
  18. Detox

    Detox Retired Moderator

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    Hmm is a no-name clone what you get when you go to a custom shop and pick out the parts you want?? I did that and they seemed about the same cost.. but then i had extra stuff I think also.. hmm
     
  19. luv2bsecure

    luv2bsecure Infrequent Poster

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    IMHO, Checkout is right. Compare them component for component and a white box should come out MUCH less expensive. Plus, you get the OS disk!  :)  
    One word of caution if you go the white box (or "clone") route: research the motherboard then research the motherboard and then research the motherboard. Or, have someone who knows a thing or two check them out for you. Your computer is only as good as the MOBO.

    John
     
  20. Detox

    Detox Retired Moderator

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    hmm I guess another big bonus is that a custom machine shouldn't have half the hard drive full with "special offers" and all those extra stupid programs like ISP's and other harassing things like that! I keep changing my mind back and forth!! The only treason I was thinking Compaq was for support.. although I wanted a custom.. so maybe I'll do custom after all!
     
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