Installing PGP 8.0 Freeware

Introduction

PGP Corporation has released a "freeware" version of PGP 8.0 in addition to the Desktop and Personal versions. PGP 8.0 Freeware continues the tradition of PGP Freeware offerings, which extend back to the days of PGP 5.0.

The Problems Users Encounter...

While PGP 8.0 Freeware can be easily downloaded and installed, it often causes confusion and frustration on the part of potential new PGP users for several reasons:

  • the PGP 8.0 Freeware & PGP 8.0 Personal download packages 
    are the same (previously, there were separate download files
    for PGP Personal and PGP Freeware);
     
  • the PGP 8.0 Freeware/Personal setup routine allows users to install 
    PGPdisk and email plug-ins, even if they don't have a PGP 8.0 Personal 
    license (which is required to use those components);
     
  • the PGP 8.0 Freeware/Personal setup routine presents a PGP License 
    Authorization
    box at the end of installation, leading users to believe 
    that they must pay for a license or go through an Online License Authoriz-
    ation process in order to use PGP Freeware;
     
  • PGP 8.0 Freeware does not include email plug-ins for popular email 
    clients such as Outlook, Outlook Express, and Eudora, leading some 
    users to believe that they can no longer use PGP to encrypt and sign  
    email, and that PGP 8.0 Freeware is thus "broken" and "useless."

The Reality of PGP 8.0 Freeware...

In fact, PGP 8.0 Freeware is truly "free for personal use" * (just as previous PGP Freeware versions were) and does not require users to pay or go through the Online License Authorization process in order to use the software. Moreover, although PGP 8.0 Freeware does not include email plug-ins, it can still be used to encrypt and sign email, and the process for doing  so is trivially easy.

What's On This Page...

On this web page we'll walk through the PGP 8.0 installation process, pointing out the several places where you may encounter licensing issues and explaining how to avoid problems. We'll also explain the various components of PGP 8.0 Personal and how the PGP 8.0 Personal licensing scheme works, if you're interested in upgrading. This web page is divided into the following sections:

  • Installation - install PGP 8.0 Freeware w/ a minimum of fuss
  • Post-Installation - deal with the PGP License Authorization box at the end of setup
  • PGP Components - understand PGP 8.0 Personal components & the licensing scheme
  • Email Functions - encrypt & sign email without the email plug-ins
  • More Information - find links to more information about PGP 8.0 Freeware & Personal

It is hoped that this page can help new users of PGP 8.0 make sense of the new method for distributing PGP 8.0 Freeware and Personal, the new licensing scheme used for PGP 8.0 Personal and Desktop, and the process for encrypting and signing email with PGP 8.0 Freeware.

* Approved Uses for PGP 8.0 Freeware

   According to PGP Corporation's web site, PGP 8.0 Freeware is approved for use by:

  • By individuals at home for not-for-profit activities 
  • By students at educational institutions for not-for-profit use 
  • By charitable non-profit institutions or organizations 

   PGP 8.0 Freeware is not approved for use by anyone for commercial purposes. For commercial uses of
   PGP, you'll need to obtain a license for PGP 8.0 Personal, PGP 8.0 Desktop, or PGP 8.0 Enterprise.

   Nothing on this web page is designed or intended to replace or supersede information provided by PGP 
   Corporation. All licensing questions should be referred to PGP Corporation. See the More Information
   section for links to licensing information on PGP Corporation's web site.


Installation

PGP 8.0 Freeware is "free for personal use" and can be downloaded from PGP Corporation's home page. The package or file that you download contains all the components for both PGP 8.0 Freeware and PGP 8.0 Personal. What version of PGP is ultimately used on your PC is determined by how you handle the PGP License Authorization, which appears at the very end of installation. 

(Note: in all cases where I refer to PGP 8.0 Personal, the same applies to PGP 8.0 Desktop. PGP Desktop includes all the components of PGP Personal as well as some additional ones. Like PGP Personal, it requires a license purchased from PGP Corporation to enable those components.)

1. Download PGP 8.0 Freeware
   
  Download the latest version of PGP 8.0 Freeware from:
http://www.pgp.com/products/freeware.html

The latest version is PGP Freeware 8.02. The file you'll download is PGP802-PF-W.zip (8645 kb). Note that this file is that same file that PGP 8.0 Personal users download.

   
2. Unpack PGP802-PF-W.zip
   
  Once you've finished downloading PGP802-PF-W.zip, unpack (unzip) the files inside to a directory of your choice. 
PGP8.exe: this is the installer for PGP 8.0
 
PGP8.exe.sig: this is a detached signature file for PGP8.exe

If you haven't uninstalled any previous versions of PGP that might be on your system, you should do so now, taking care to back up your keyrings. Also, be sure to close all other programs that may be running and save any files you may be working on.

   
3. Run PGP8.exe
   
  Run PGP8.exe by double-clicking on it. This starts the PGP 8.0 setup routine.
   
4. Select PGP Components
   
  After some initial information, you'll be presented with a dialog box from which you can select PGP components to install. These include PGPdisk as well as email plug-ins for several popular email clients.
   
  PGP 8.0.2: Select Components
   
  If you're planning to use only PGP 8.0 Freeware, uncheck the boxes for all of these components. Even though PGP 8.0 will let you install these components, unless you have a PGP 8.0 Personal license, you won't be able to use PGPdisk or any of the email plug-ins, leading to potential confusion once PGP 8.0 Freeware is installed on your system.
   
  If you do decide to upgrade to PGP 8.0 Personal at a later point, you can always add components to your existing PGP 8.0 installation (there will be no need to completely uninstall and reinstall). We'll show you how to do so below.
   
  By contrast, if you are a licensed PGP 8.0 Personal user, then by all means select the appropriate boxes for the components you wish to install (you'll be prompted for your license information at the end of the installation process).

Note: the PGPmail for GroupWise component is available only for PGP 8.0 Desktop. Although PGP 8.0 will let you install it, you'll need a PGP 8.0 Desktop license in order to use it. 

   
5. Finish Installation & Reboot
   
  Once you've finished selecting components for PGP 8.0 to install and specifying some other information, the PGP 8.0 setup will install PGP 8.0 and prompt you to reboot, at which point you'll have to deal with a few post-installation issues, including the PGP License Authorization box, which we'll cover in the next section.
 

Post-Installation

When your PC finishes rebooting, you'll have a few more issues to deal with.

PGP License Authorization

After your computer has rebooted, you will be presented with a PGP License Authorization box, which prompts you for Licensee Information and a License Number for PGP 8.0 Personal (should you be a licensed PGP 8.0 Personal user and have such information). 

  PGP License Authorization

This box also allows you to Authorize your PGP 8.0 Personal installation online, giving you access to the additional components of PGP 8.0 Personal, including PGPdisk and the email plug-ins. (Until you Authorize, those components will not be available for use.)

If you're interested only in using PGP 8.0 Freeware, then simply hit the Later button. The PGP License Authorization box will close, and you'll be running PGP 8.0 Freeware. If you check the About PGP... box (from the PGPtray applet next to the clock), you'll be presented with the following information:

   About PGP... No License Number Found

In other words, you're running PGP 8.0 Freeware. (PGP Freeware users can now move to the next section.)

If you have a PGP 8.0 Personal license, then you can enter the license information that you received from PGP Corporation via email. Be sure to enter the information exactly as it specified in the email.

1. Fill in Your License Information
   
  First, enter the Name, Organization, and License Number from the email you received.
   
PGP License Authorization - fill in license info
 
Note: the license data shown above are bogus and cannot be used
to authorize an installation of PGP 8.0 Personal.
   
  After you enter your license information, you need to "authorize" your PGP installation. There are two ways to do it: automatically (online), or manually.
   
2. Authorize Automatically (Online)
   
  To authorize automatically, you'll need an Internet connection. Hit the Authorize button. PGP will connect to PGP Corporation and validate your license information. 

Once it finishes, your copy of PGP will be a licensed installation of PGP 8.0 Personal, and you'll be able to use PGPdisk as well as any email plug-ins that you installed. The About PGP... box (from PGPtray) will display your PGP 8.0 Personal license information.

   
3. Perform a Manual Authorization
   
  If you do not have an Internet connection, or if you run into problems trying to connect to the PGP servers with the "automatic" authorization process described above, then you can obtain a License Authorization from PGP Corporation that allows you to authorize your PGP installation manually. See the More Information section at the end of this document for links to information about obtaining a manual License Authorization from PGP Corporation.

Once you receive your License Authorization from PGP Corporation, hit the Manual button to expand the PGP License Authorization box. Then copy and paste your License Authorization into the space provided.

   
  PGP License Authorization - manual authorization
 
Note: the license data shown above are bogus and cannot be used
to authorize an installation of PGP 8.0 Personal.
   
  Be sure to include the lines...
-----BEGIN PGP LICENSE AUTHORIZATION----- 

     ...and... 

-----END PGP LICENSE AUTHORIZATION----- 

...which frame the actual authorization data. Then hit the Authorize button.

Your copy of PGP will now be a licensed installation of PGP 8.0 Personal, and you'll be able to use PGPdisk as well as any email plug-ins that you installed. The About PGP... box (from PGPtray) will display your PGP 8.0 license information.

Installing Additional PGP Components

If you did not install PGPdisk or any of the email plug-ins and subsequently obtain a license for PGP 8.0 Personal that allows you to use those components, you do not need to completely re-install PGP. Instead, you can simply re-run the PGP 8.0 Freeware/Personal installer and add components to your current installation. 

Unpack PGP8.exe from the PGP802-PF-W.zip file that you downloaded and run it. The PGP Installer will detect that PGP 8.0 is already installed on your system and will offer you the following choices:

  PGP Installer (Modify, Repair, Remove)

Select Modify to add components such as PGPdisk or email plug-ins to your current installation of PGP 8.0. PGP setup may prompt you to reboot in order to complete the installation of those components. If you added components that require a PGP 8.0 Personal license, then you'll have to enter your license information into the PGP License Authorization box after reboot and authorize automatically or manually (as discussed above) to enable those components.

You can also use this special PGP Installer to remove components that you no longer want installed (again, use the Modify option).


PGP Components

As we saw earlier, the PGP 8.0 setup routine will allow you to install PGP components such as PGPdisk and email plug-ins that are available only to licensed users of PGP 8.0 Personal, not to users of PGP 8.0 Freeware. If you installed those additional components but do not have a PGP 8.0 Personal license, those components will appear within PGP, but will not be available for use.

PGPdisk

PGPdisk is available only in PGP 8.0 Personal or Desktop.  

PGPdisk Installed

If you installed PGPdisk, then PGPtray will have a PGPdisk sub-menu.

PGPtray - PGPdisk (menu)

PGPdisk Not Installed 

If you didn't install PGPdisk, then PGPtray will not have a PGPdisk sub-menu.

PGPtray - no PGPdisk

If you don't have a PGP 8.0 Personal license and you attempt to use any of the options on the PGPdisk sub-menu, you'll receive a License Notification, as shown below.

Email Plug-ins

PGPmail email plug-ins are available only in PGP 8.0 Personal or Desktop. If you installed any of the email plug-ins, then you'll see several new items within your email program. (The examples shown below are from the Outlook Express email plug-in; the plug-ins for other email clients have similar features.)

    S/MIME          PGP 
Outlook Express plug-in buttons

You'll find a new set of buttons along the tool bar or menu bar of your email client (see above). In Outlook and Outlook Express, don't confuse the PGP buttons with the native email client buttons for S/MIME encryption with digital certificates.

You'll also find some additional menu options (see right). These buttons and menu options are functional only if you have a PGP Personal license.

Outlook Express "Tools" menu

If you didn't install any of the email plug-ins, then none of the PGP buttons and menu options shown above will appear in your email client.

Restricted Access to Components

If you installed PGPdisk or any of the email plug-ins but don't have a license for PGP 8.0 Personal, then you won't be able to use those components, even if they appear within PGP. When you attempt to access or use PGPdisk or the email plug-ins, you'll receive the following warning:

  PGP License Notification

You can hit the Upgrade button to purchase a PGP 8.0 Personal License (your browser will open to PGP's web site). To close the box and continue using PGP 8.0 Freeware, hit the Cancel button.

If you would like to remove components that are not functional in PGP 8.0 Freeware, you can use the PGP Installer to remove them -- select the Modify option, as shown above.


Email Functions

If you're using PGP 8.0 Freeware, then you can't use any of the email plug-ins, which require at minimum a license for PGP 8.0 Personal. You can, however, still encrypt and sign email as well as decrypt and verify email that you receive from others. To do so, you can use any of the following three methods:

Let's look at each of these methods for encrypting and signing email.

1. PGPtray ~ Current Window
   
  PGPtray includes two options that allow you to encrypt and sign (as well as decrypt and verify) email messages. The first is the Current Window option. ("Current window" means the window currently with focus on the Windows desktop.)
   
  PGPtray: Current Window
   
  When you finish typing an email that you wish to encrypt and/or sign, hit the PGPtray Current Window option and select the appropriate action. PGP will perform that action on the text in the window currently with focus on the Windows desktop. You can also use the Current Window option to decrypt and verify messages that you receive from others.

In all cases, PGP presents you with the same prompts that you would normally receive to type your passphrase or to specify the key to be used. Once you've finished encrypting and signing, hit the Send button in your email client.

   
2. PGPtray ~ Clipboard
   
  The second option that PGPtray gives you is the Clipboard option. This option is similar to the Current Window option, but it encrypts, signs, and decrypts/verifies whatever data has been copied to the Windows clipboard (instead of the data that is in the window currently with focus).

To use this option, first copy the text or data you want to encrypt and/or sign to the Windows clipboard (this is usually done by highlighting the text and selecting Edit >> Copy from within the program you're using).

Then hit the PGPtray Clipboard option and select the appropriate action.

   
  PGPtray: Clipboard
   
  PGP will perform that action on the text you copied to the Windows clipboard. You can also use the Clipboard option to decrypt and verify messages that you receive from others.

In all cases, PGP presents you with the same prompts that you would normally receive to type your passphrase or to specify the key to be used. Once you've finished encrypting and signing, paste the result (Edit >> Paste) back into your email message and hit the Send button in your email client.

   
3. HotKeys
   
  The final method that PGP gives you for encrypting and signing email messages is HotKeys, which are specified keyboard combinations that trigger certain actions by PGP. HotKeys are similar to the PGPtray Current Window option that we looked at above inasmuch as the actions you choose (encrypt, sign, decrypt/verify) are performed on the window currently in focus on the Windows desktop. HotKeys are much quicker and more convenient, however, because you don't need to take your hands off the keyboard to move the mouse to PGPtray.

To use HotKeys with PGP, you need to enable and configure them first. Open PGP's Options from PGPtray, then select the HotKeys tab.

   
  PGP Options: HotKeys
   
  Check the boxes for the HotKey actions you wish to enable. You can change the keyboard combinations associated with each action. Once you're finished hit OK to close PGP's Options.

Now that HotKeys are enabled, you can encrypt, sign, and decrypt/verify whatever text is in the window currently with focus by hitting the appropriate HotKey combination. In all cases, PGP presents you with the same prompts that you would normally receive to type your passphrase or to specify the key to be used. Once you've finished encrypting and signing, hit the Send button in your email client.

Many beginning PGP users assume that they must have the email plug-ins in order to use PGP to encrypt and sign email messages, but that's simply not the case. In fact, experienced PGP users know that the three options we looked at above are, in many respects, far easier and much more secure than the email plug-ins. Moreover, these three methods for encrypting and signing email can be used with any email client, not just the ones for which email plug-ins have traditionally been supplied. 

If you're used to email plug-ins from previous PGP Freeware versions, the options we discussed above may take a bit of getting used to. In time, however, I think you'll actually come to prefer one of these other methods to the email plug-ins, which have historically been prone to bugs and security problems.


More Information

PGP Corporation's web site contains a number of pages with information about PGP 8.0 and the License Authorization scheme used for PGP 8.0 Personal and Desktop. When in doubt, consult these pages for tips on resolving problems, answers to questions, and contact information for PGP Support:

And now that you've finished installing PGP, you may want information on other aspects of using PGP. Start with the generous and helpful documentation that comes with PGP 8.0:

  • An Introduction to Cryptography (IntroToCrypto.pdf)
     
  • PGP 8.0 for Windows User's Guide (PGPWinUsersGuide.pdf)

You can find both of these documents in your PGP installation directory or on your Start menu. PGP.com also has a handy document that can walk you through the most basic aspects of using PGP:

Although billed as a "reviewer's guide," it's really a step-by-step tutorial that demonstrates how to get PGP up and running on your PC -- very handy.

You might also want to look at the many helpful web pages that PGP users have made available online -- see HERE for a short list of them. Two web sites in particular are useful for getting nitty-gritty information about PGP:


 

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