New MacGPG once again compatible with Apple's Mail.app

The MacGPG team has new momentum and a new website. Version 1.3.3 of the GPGMail plug-in remedies an old problem: since the Mac OS X 10.6.7 update and the changes it included to Apple's Mail.app email program, the software no longer worked with current GPG installations. MacGPG is an open source project that allows users of Apple Mail.app to sign and encrypt emails in the PGP standard.

On 23 March, new versions of GPG Keychain Access and GPGServices were made available for downloading at GPGTools.org. Users can also install the new functions via the auto update function, though the process only works smoothly before updating to Mac OS X 10.6.7; after the update, problems could occur.

The MacGPG team calls itself the GPGTools project, and the new website bundles subordinate projects and standardises support. Users without far-reaching system knowledge can download the complete installation package for all components; beginners can find help buried in the project's wiki.

The initial feasibility study for the GPGTools project to encrypt and decrypt emails on mobile devices includes a web app. Alexander Willner, one of the developers of the GPGTools project, is also working on cryptography for mobile devices, including the iPhone. Version 0.2 includes the initial feasibility study: a JavaScript web app that turns the text received in encrypted emails on the road into plain text and can also send encrypted answers. It is available from the project's web site. The GPGTools project is currently looking for additional developers to help them further their work and provide ongoing maintenance of the project.

Users that take advantage of the plug-in's functions should keep in mind that every system update and every new version of Apple Mail.app can once again make MacGPG incompatible. It would then not be possible to decrypt emails previously encrypted – not even in Mail.app. However, Apple could solve this problem by documenting the plug-in architecture for Mail.

(crve)