Although the documentation that comes with PGP 5.0 and above is very complete,
you might also want to read this document as well as some of those linked below.
These documents cover all the basic steps needed to install and use PGP, and
also give tips on how to use it more effectively.
PGP version 5.x and 6.x
PGP Installation and Use for Dummies
A step-by-step installation guide for the novice. Based on the 5.5.3i version but very usable for versions 5.x and 6.x
PGP version 2.x
Beginner's guide to PGP
Written for versions 2.6.2 or 2.6.3i.
Good Resources
The comp.security.pgp FAQ
Answers most, if not all, questions about PGP.
PGP DH vs. RSA
FAQ
Questions?
The PGP Help Team will answer all your questions about PGP from start to end.
Tom McCune's PGP Questions & Answers
PGP Security
An important aspect of PGP security is to make up good, hard-to-guess passwords. With the level of security that encryption can offer, the easiest way to 'crack' an encrypted file is usually by guessing the password. This will help you to pick a passph
rase in such a way that it will be very hard if not impossible to guess. If you are using a front-end, shell or utility with pgp please read the warning in that section.
Good Passphrase Hygiene Essential Reading
Why you should sign your own key
A very detailed analysis explaining why it is recommended that you sign all user
IDs on your own key with your own secret key.
Use Strong Crypto
Once you get PGP 5+ or 6+ installed on your machine - one of the first things
you should do is go into your settings/preferences area and disable the DES and
3DES encryption algorithms (which are weak and easily broken). The
preferred algorithms, which are much stronger, are IDEA, Blowfish, and CAST.
These are the only ones that should be used to ensure that
your messages and files are secure.
PGP Public Key Servers
The whole concept of public keys is that you can announce your public key in public, so that someone who wants to correspond with you securely can simply obtain your public key from somewhere and use it. Keyservers are the most popular locations for ob
taining public keys. If your browser supports forms, you can use a Web based interface to obtain keys. PGP versions 5+ have built-in keyserver support.
The WWW Based PGP 5.0 Key Server System
Disk Encryption
While a program such as PGP is good for encrypting e-mail or individual files, it is less
useful to protect the contents of your entire hard disk. Even if you never forget to
re-encrypt and securely wipe every file after use, editors and other
programs may leave temporary files behind. If you encrypt the whole hard disk at once
(similar to how Stacker or DriveSpace compress it), you don't have to worry about that
anymore. Disk encryption software.
