Re: Proposal: PGPmail Plugin for Netscape/Mosaic

There was a little discussion about this on the coderpunks list, but I
didn't get the impression that anyone was ready to run out and do it.
I'm not sure whether plugins could also be used for receiving mail in
addition to sending, but if so it does seem like a good way to add the
functionality.

Also, as I understand it, Netscape plugins have to be downloaded and
installed ahead of time by the user, so it is not quite true that this
gives one-click PGP access to everyone with a browser; it will only be
for Netscape users who have downloaded and installed the right plugin.
Also, plugins are architecture specific so he would have to be running
the kind of computer for which a plugin is available.

I have a Java applet which sends PGP mail similarly to the model you
describe.  This will work in principle for any browser which supports
Java, and does not require anything to be downloaded or installed ahead
of time (other than the Java-compliant browser).  It is still pretty
rough and is more of a proof of concept than a production program but I
think it is another potential approach.  Look at <URL:
http://www.portal.com/~hfinney/java/java.html > and follow the links to
the PGP compatible mail applet.

Hal

Mark M. wrote:
> 
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> 
> On Sat, 15 Jun 1996, Hal wrote:
> 
> > There was a little discussion about this on the coderpunks list, but I
> > didn't get the impression that anyone was ready to run out and do it.
> > I'm not sure whether plugins could also be used for receiving mail in
> > addition to sending, but if so it does seem like a good way to add the
> > functionality.
> 
> Netscape does have support for MIME.  So if PGP/MIME ever becomes more widely
> used, the Netscape mail program would decrypt and verify emails automatically.

I certainly don't want to stand in the way of such a plugin - it
certainly sounds like an interesting idea. However, the problem that
Netscape does not export mail through the plugin API sounds quite
difficult - it seems likely that, barring changes to the plugin API, an
entirely new and parallel mailer would need to be developed.

In the meantime, it is possible to integrate Unix Netscape with PGP
today, using premail. This includes fully seamless and transparent
support for PGP/MIME. In addition, you get support for the anonymous
remailers thrown in for free.

The main problem with the current release (0.43) is the lack of adequate
documentation. The near-mythical "next release" should fix that, when I
finally get it done.

Raph

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On Sat, 15 Jun 1996, Hal wrote:

> There was a little discussion about this on the coderpunks list, but I
> didn't get the impression that anyone was ready to run out and do it.
> I'm not sure whether plugins could also be used for receiving mail in
> addition to sending, but if so it does seem like a good way to add the
> functionality.

Netscape does have support for MIME.  So if PGP/MIME ever becomes more widely
used, the Netscape mail program would decrypt and verify emails automatically.

- -- Mark

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
markm@voicenet.com              | finger -l for PGP key 0xe3bf2169
http://www.voicenet.com/~markm/ | d61734f2800486ae6f79bfeb70f95348
"In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with
reality at any point."
                -- Friedrich Nietzsche


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