10 PGP Desktop Basics
PGP Desktop Terminology
PGP Virtual Disk volumes: PGP Virtual Disk volumes are a feature of PGP
Desktop that let you use part of your hard drive space as an encrypted
virtual disk. You can protect a PGP Virtual Disk volume with a key or a
passphrase. You can even create additional users for a volume, so that people
you authorize can also access the volume. The PGP Virtual Disk feature is
especially useful on laptops, because if your computer is lost or stolen, the
sensitive data stored on the PGP Virtual Disk is protected against
unauthorized access.
PGP Shred: A feature of PGP Desktop that lets you securely delete data from
your system. PGP Shred overwrites files so that even file recovery software
cannot recover them.
PGP Viewer: Use PGP Viewer decrypt, verify, and display messages outside
the mail stream
PGP Zip: A feature of PGP Desktop that lets you put any combination of files
and folders into a single encrypted, compressed package for convenient
transport or backup. You can encrypt a PGP Zip archive to a PGP key or to a
passphrase.
PGP Universal: A tool for enterprises to automatically and transparently secure
email messaging for their employees. If you are using PGP Desktop in a PGP
Universal Server-managed environment, your messaging policies and other
settings may be controlled by your organization’s PGP administrator.
PGP Global Directory: A free, public keyserver hosted by Symantec
Corporation. The PGP Global Directory provides quick and easy access to the
universe of PGP keys. It uses next-generation keyserver technology that
queries the email address on a key (to verify that the owner of the email
address wants their key posted) and lets users manage their own keys. Using
the PGP Global Directory significantly enhances your chances of finding a
valid public key of someone to whom you want to send secured messages.
PGP Desktop is designed to work closely with the PGP Global Directory.
Terms Used in PGP Desktop
Before you use PGP Desktop, you should be familiar with the following terms:
Decrypting: The process of taking encrypted (scrambled) data and making it
meaningful again. When you receive data that has been encrypted by someone
using your public key, you use your private key to decrypt the data.
Encrypting: The process of scrambling data so that if an unauthorized person gets
access to it, they cannot do anything with it. The data is so scrambled, it’s
meaningless.
Signing: The process of applying a digital signature to data using your private key.
Because data signed by your private key can be verified only by your public key,
the ability to verify signed data with your public key proves that your private key
signed the data and thus proves the data is from you.
Verifying: The process of proving that the private key was used to digitally sign
data by using that person’s public key. Because data signed by a private key can
only be verified by the corresponding public key, the fact that a particular public
key can verify signed data proves the signer was the holder of the private key.