How to use PGP 5..5.3i

PGP is available for several platforms such as MsDos, Windows95/NT, Macintosh, VAX/VMS and Unix. While I'm writing, the latest international version is 5.5.3i (but the 6.0 version is coming). For this reason I'm going to talk about this version. I think this version is very easy to use (more than previous version, because a graphic interface is available here) and furthermore you can use plugins for 2 widely used e-mail clients: Eudora and Outlook (I think you shouldn't use PGP plugins with Outlook 98, because...well, simply they don't work...but you can use plugins with Outlook Express anyway. To know more about this one and other bugs, I suggest you to visit the International PGP Home Page. Just follow the link concerning PGP's bugs).

You have 3 possibilities to encrypt/decrypt messages

By means of the clipboard
By means of Windows Explorer
By means of plugins

When you use the clipboard, you have to select the text of the file you want to encrypt (for example your e-mail) and copy it into the clipboard (for example by pressing the Ctrl-C keys), then you have to ask to PGP to encrypt the clipboard, finally you can paste (for example by pressing the Ctrl-V keys) the clipboard's content in your e-mail and you are done. If you want to use Explorer, just open it and browse directories until you find the file you want to encrypt, then click on the file (by pressing the right key of the mouse) and a popup menu will come out. That's all. Finally, if you are using plugins, you can encrypt/decrypt messages simply by pressing some clear buttons created by PGP inside of your favorite e-mail client.

After installing PGP 5.5.3i, you will be able to use PGPtray, PGPtools and PGPkeys. Besides you will be able to set PGP preferences. Let's go: