sMIME will always be hampered by Certificate Authority issues. PGP is large and complex. Version problems are bound to increase as some users will remain divided between PGPdesktop, PGPfreeware, and OpenPGP. Still others will want historic versions or ckt builds. Older versions are limited by key sizes and algorithm selections, while newer versions are prone to version problems.
Simple 3rd Party options are important and must always be available.. I am developing a free program and simple specification - http://www.opencrypto.com - that integrates public key crypto into a basic SMTP program. I agree with Tim that it is perhaps best to settle on a single assymetric algorithm (RSA/DH/EC) and a single symmetric algorithm (3DES/AES/2FISH). Perhaps as every 2 to 5 years the algorithms could be replaced or key lengths increased (if necessary), without adding a extensive feature or significant complexity. And James, although the best standard may win, a lack of viable alternatives is unhealthy. --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > On 31 Mar 2002 at 10:03, Tim May wrote: > > And so now PGP (or GPG) use is utterly balkanized, utterly > > useless. > > > > [...] > > > > Is there a solution? I would think that a "keep it simple, > > stupid" strategy is needed: Forget the hooks into popular > > mailers (Eudora, Outlook, Entourage), forget the "OS X > > versions of GPG," forget the Red Hat, Mandrake, SuSE, > > Windows XP, etc. versions. > > If PGP options have grown beyond human comprehension, perhaps > everyone could use my software, which is as simple as you can > get with a windows interface. > > http://www.echeque.com/Kong > > However, I predict that most people will wind up using > RFC2440 (OpenPGP) compliant code. > > An RFC and source code is far from "utter balkanization" and > utter uselessness. > > In due course, the best standard will win. > > --digsig > James A. Donald > 6YeGpsZR+nOTh/cGwvITnSR3TdzclVpR0+pr3YYQdkG > uR++DP8NV5KuKFCaDraZEp6VTZQcmTqZI5aotgTD > 4KXzf6dt2b3+U2MX665Iy8h+EFpHj6Vw0HKjMhvoy > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Greetings - send holiday greetings for Easter, Passover http://greetings.yahoo.com/
