The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'Protect Your Privacy: The Pgp User's Guide':
Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
This is the first-released of at least three books on PGP (Pretty Good
Privacy), the encryption and authentication package by Phil Zimmerman. It
covers the concepts of encryption, public key encryption, authentication and
key management, as well as the installation and operation of PGP on MS-DOS and
Macintosh platforms. There is also some overview of front end shells for DOS
and Windows, plus helpful supplementary information on password/phrase choice
key servers, and where to get PGP. (The promise of coverage for Windows, UNIX,
OS/2 and Amiga in the promotional literature is overkill, but these interfaces
will be almost identical to those covered.)
Stallings' material is generally very clear and well written. Many times,
however, concepts are introduced early in the book but not explained until much
later. This is particularly true of key management. In most cases, I can
assure the reader not to worry--all will be made clear, eventually. (In some
few cases, the explanation may remain confusing until you actually run the
program.)
The book echoes the assertion by many that PGP has become the de facto standard
in Internet privacy and authentication. Certainly no commercial product has
anything like the same range of use. Full acceptance of PGP, though, has been
hampered by the version incompatibilities and the legal difficulties caused by
the US weapons (!) expert control laws. Given the touchy nature of this
subject, it is not terribly surprising that both Stallings, and Michael Johnson
in the access document, comment only briefly on the subject. These passages
are somewhat calming, but hardly calculated to inspire confidence.
Solid background on the technology, if sometimes disjointed. Terse, but
serviceable documentation on the program. Readable and informative.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994
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