OT: PGP, commercial product vs opensource stuff - viability/usability

[John Esak]

thanks! (this is why I hate bottom and interspersed posting! :-) There is no
more to my response. Much appreciated.
John

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bill Akers [mailto:billa at mgmindustries.com]
> Sent: Monday, October 31, 2005 8:24 AM
> To: john at valar.com
> Cc: Fplist (E-mail)
> Subject: Re: OT: PGP, commercial product vs opensource stuff -
> viability/usability
>
>
> John Esak wrote:
>
> > We are about to *buy* PGP. Reasons... simple, we were told if
> we gather the
> > source and make our own version for either SCO or Windows... we
> will have
> > "limited to no success".  Exact words.  I am certainly capable
> of doing the
> > make. Okay, let's put a "we" there instead of "I"... These days, being a
> > decade after I last stop making every damn thing I needed in
> the world, I
> > would most probably rely on others when hit with snags...
> especially on O/S
> > 5.6 where they abound. We are not yet fully on O/S 6 for other
> reasons.  In
> > any case if hearing from the developer/owner of PGP that even
> once we get a
> > good compile there would be problems with making things work
> all the time...
> > and no support from them, I begin to wonder why I want to go
> the opensource
> > route yet again. Why? Well, one reason might be that the
> price/retail (and
> > it's not much better through dealers) is $3,150 for one partnership key,
> > send and receive. To add another partner is another $3,150. To buy an
> > unlimited version (both send and receive) is $7,500... and there is
> > absolutely NO upgrade path from one to the other. Should we by
> a 1 partner
> > version first, the full price would be expected to ever go to unlimited
> > partners. This is a pretty good hook and I wish I could do
> something like
> > this on products I sell, it almost mandates buying the higher
> priced item. I
> > guess I have to say kudos on good marketing technique.
> >
> > By the way, this all refers to command-line PGP... which for
> obvious reasons
> > is the only type we would want. (For those who don't know why I say
> > "obvious". The other flavors (seemingly every other version) all are GUI
> > type things that you must physically enter and select a manual
> > encryption/decryption of your file every time you want to use it. Our
> > procedures have to be automated, again for obvious reasons...
> this time no
> > explanation. :-)
> >
> > We will be doing encrypted FTP both send and receive along with some
> > encrypted email stuff in the bargain.
> John
> We use PGP and ftp from SCO O/S 5.0.6 to transmit payroll
> information to the bank every week and EOM bonuses at end of
> month. The only problems we have had appearerd to come from our
> telephone system computer thinking it was a gateway. Telephone
> system installer goof. We have PGP verson 1.2.1 and came
> precompiled for SCO  from the GnuPG website at
> http://gnupg.unixsecurity.com.br/sco.html.
> Of course, you might want to compile the latest version for more
> security since the version on the website appears to be a couple
> or three versions back.
>
>   >
> > I'm just questioning if what we are being told is right or even
> makes sense.
> > I don't mind paying the going price for any product (and expecting the
> > associated support), but jeez, this seems REALLY high for a
> (what I might
> > call) simple encryption algorithm. Perhaps, I'm wrong, both
> about the simple
> > and the high price... but this is just my HO. The meat of the
> question I'm
> > asking has two few aspects. First, can we know if they are
> being honest and
> > up front about us having problems even once we have
> successfully compiled
> > the opensource thing? Two, sort of the same, but slightly
> different... are
> > they inferring that people who BUY the commercial product (like
> *our* huge
> > trading partners) will have something slightly *different* in
> the way of the
> > process/methodology/algorithm, etc.?  Are they hinting that they know
> > something we don't know, and the entire excursion for us (which is
> > extremely, time sensitive - like hours away) would be a big
> waste of time?
> > (In this, I am reminded of how in the olden days, things like
> free zmodem
> > became all of a sudden incompatible with purchased zmodem...
> and so forth.)
> >
> > Hence, the real and only meaningful actual question I'm asking is: Does
> > anyone here actually use PGP currently to encrypt ftp files, send and
> > receive them with real data to real business partners...
> transacting real
> > business that would say replace the same which might normally
> be done with
> > straight EDI documents, VANS... i.e., external/unknowable
> > encryption/security?
> >
> > The particular partner we have chosen has specified PGP and ftp, so
> > unfortunately, should you rush to suggest some other scenario
> that works,
> > don't bother, we already have. It's this, or nothing.
> >
> > I know it is way off topic for the filePro forum, but I stand on all the
> > usual good reasons for asking here and not elsewhere. Besides, I don't
> > really want to broach this topic out in the real world :-). It
> may start a
> > huge thread here all by itself, can you imagine how much
> traffic there is
> > about such things on the appropriate forums?  Besides, to the
> uninitiated
> > reader, it might seem like I am untrusting of the PGP people,
> or completely
> > unhappy with their right to do business at the prices they think fair...
> > absolutely nothing further from the mark. I found the people at
www.pgp.com
> to be very helpful, nice and as you might expect technically superb. So,
I'm
> just asking for testimonials if you use the purchased command-line
product,
> or maybe you have compiled the thing on some platform and use it
> successfully without having had the need to buy it... one of the "reasons
> for being" for opensource in the first place. It's just too big a buy-in
to
> not ask these questions.
>
> Thanks,
>
> --
> John Esak
> (570) 384-2444
>
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--
William P. Akers          E-mail: billa at mgmindustries.com
                           Web Site: http://www.mgmindustries.com/