PGP automation

Right now, it is a complete pain in the ass for me to encrypt or sign
messages using PGP.  The reason is because I have my email account on
one of CSU's unix machines, so I have to do my posting there, while
my PGP stuff lives on my PC in my apartment.  Usually, I check my mail
and read news by calling CSUNet over my modem, but if I want to encrypt,
decrypt, sign or check the signature of a message, I have to zmodem the
message to my machine, log off, decrypt or check the message while
offline (or at least shelled into DOS), type up a reply, manually encrypt
it and finally get back into my term program and zmodem the reply back
up to CSUNet and mail it.  I don't really want to run PGP on CSUNet, since
I don't trust their machines like I trust mine, but I am thinking about
doing that and generating a key which I would be wiling to use for less
secure stuff.  Anyone here have any other suggestions on making encryption
less of a pain?

Doug

|  Doug Holland                       | Proud member of:
|  holland@beethoven.cs.colostate.edu | Mathematicians Against Drunk Deriving
|  Finger for PGP 2.2 key             |

According to douglas craig holland:
> 
> Right now, it is a complete pain in the ass for me to encrypt or sign
> messages using PGP.  The reason is because I have my email account on
> one of CSU's unix machines, so I have to do my posting there, while
> my PGP stuff lives on my PC in my apartment.  Usually, I check my mail
> and read news by calling CSUNet over my modem, but if I want to encrypt,
> decrypt, sign or check the signature of a message, I have to zmodem the
> message to my machine, log off, decrypt or check the message while
> offline (or at least shelled into DOS), type up a reply, manually encrypt
> it and finally get back into my term program and zmodem the reply back
> up to CSUNet and mail it.  I don't really want to run PGP on CSUNet, since
> I don't trust their machines like I trust mine, but I am thinking about
> doing that and generating a key which I would be wiling to use for less
> secure stuff.  Anyone here have any other suggestions on making encryption
> less of a pain?

If you happen to use 4dos and telix on your pc at home, I have some (imho) nice
tools which make it easy to encrypt...  For a taste of what I mean, try my 
menu.btm menu program for pgp under 4dos.  If you like it, you can look at my
(as yet unreleased) mail program.  Lagers.


J. Michael Diehl   ;^)  |*The 2nd Amendment is there in case the 
mdiehl@triton.unm.edu   | Government forgets about the 1st!  <RL>
Mike.Diehl@f29.n301.z1  |*God is a good Physicist, and an even 
    .fidonet.org        | better Mathematician.  <Me>
al945@cwns9.ins.cwru.edu|*I'm just looking for the opportunity to 
 (505) 299-2282 (voice) | be Politically Incorrect! <Me>
Can we impeach him yet? |*Protected by 18 USC 2511 and 18 USC 2703.

> 
> If you happen to use 4dos and telix on your pc at home, I have some (imho) nice
> tools which make it easy to encrypt...  For a taste of what I mean, try my 
> menu.btm menu program for pgp under 4dos.  If you like it, you can look at my
> (as yet unreleased) mail program.  Lagers.
> 
> J. Michael Diehl   ;^)  |*The 2nd Amendment is there in case the 
> mdiehl@triton.unm.edu   | Government forgets about the 1st!  <RL>
> Mike.Diehl@f29.n301.z1  |*God is a good Physicist, and an even 
>     .fidonet.org        | better Mathematician.  <Me>
> al945@cwns9.ins.cwru.edu|*I'm just looking for the opportunity to 
>  (505) 299-2282 (voice) | be Politically Incorrect! <Me>
> Can we impeach him yet? |*Protected by 18 USC 2511 and 18 USC 2703. 
> 
I wouldn't mind seeing some script files and the like.  You just gave me an
idea, that is if I could figure out the script languages for Emacs, Elm, as
well as Qmodem.  It would be nice if I could automate the encryption/decryp-
tion/signature process.

Doug

|  Doug Holland                       | Proud member of:
|  holland@beethoven.cs.colostate.edu | Mathematicians Against Drunk Deriving
|  Finger for PGP 2.2 key             |

> From: douglas craig holland <holland@CS.ColoState.EDU>
> [...]  I don't really want to run PGP on CSUNet, since I don't trust
> their machines like I trust mine, but I am thinking about doing that
> and generating a key which I would be wiling to use for less secure
> stuff.  Anyone here have any other suggestions on making encryption
> less of a pain?

  In short, I sugest doing what you are thinking about: use two keys,
a high security key, and a low security key signed by the high one.

  Use a low security key signed by a high security one.  Change the
low security key every so often.  Keep the low security key under a
pass phrase unrelated to the one you use for the high security key,
and don't ever even store the high security key on the multi-user
system.  Then use some package (like my pgpmail.el) which connects
your multi-user system's mail program to pgp.  Sign your posts and
casual mail with the low security key, and if/when it is compromised
you will be able to issue convincing key change notices using the high
security key.  Naturally you should get other folks to sign your high
security key, not the low one.

  That's what I do.

j'
--
                O I am Jay Prime Positive jpp@markv.com 
1250 bit key fingerprint =  B8 95 E0 AF 9A A2 CD A5  89 C9 F0 FE B4 3A 2C 3F
 524 bit key fingerprint =  8A 7C B9 F2 D5 46 4D ED  66 23 F1 71 DE FF 51 48
Public keys by `finger jpp@markv.com' or mail to pgp-public-keys@pgp.mit.edu
Your feedback is welcome, directly or via symbol JPP on hex@sea.east.sun.com

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

>   In short, I sugest doing what you are thinking about: use two keys,
> a high security key, and a low security key signed by the high one.

[ explaination of method deleted ]

>   That's what I do.
> 
> j'
> --
>                 O I am Jay Prime Positive jpp@markv.com 
> 1250 bit key fingerprint =  B8 95 E0 AF 9A A2 CD A5  89 C9 F0 FE B4 3A 2C 3F
>  524 bit key fingerprint =  8A 7C B9 F2 D5 46 4D ED  66 23 F1 71 DE FF 51 48
> Public keys by `finger jpp@markv.com' or mail to pgp-public-keys@pgp.mit.edu
> Your feedback is welcome, directly or via symbol JPP on hex@sea.east.sun.com


I like this method you mentioned of
using two keys, on one on the public machine, and one more secure at home
or whatever.

I meant to comment on this before...I'm not sure about the "detached"
signature, though.  What if someone created a detached signature, adds it
to their header, and the last thing that happens is that their mailer
appends their .signature to the end of the message.  The only way seems to
be to say, "Encorporate the detached signature mechanism into whatever
program you're using so that it's the last thing that happens.  This
includes things like mailx, elm, and inews."  Not everyone could probably
comply with this (especially some who work for corporations that add a
corporate signature to messages after it's left the user's hands).

- -pc

____________________________________________________________ Philip Kizer ___
Texas A&M CIS Operating Systems Group, Unix      fnord       pckizer@tamu.edu

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