MacPGP Control - MPGPC

MacPGP Control (or MPGPC for short) is an AppleScript® application that offers an easy-to-use, more Macintosh® friendly user interface to MacPGP®.

MacPGP Control relies on your AppleScript-aware version of MacPGP to perform encryption and decryption. For information on how to obtain MacPGP in the USA or Canada, first refer to that site using your FTP client (Anarchie, Fetch, etc...) or a World Wide Web browser (Netscape, MacWeb, etc...). For non-USA citizens, information on how to obtain MacPGP is available at Ståle Schumacher's International PGP Home Page.

The main features of MPGPC are grouped into three categories:

• MacPGP related features
• Eudora and Claris Em@iler related features
• Macintosh related features

The current version of MacPGP Control is 1.0. You need, among other things, the Scriptable Finder to run MPGPC. If you don't have it or cannot obtain a legal copy, I cannot help you and you will be wasting your time and money downloading this software. All other components are available.

MacPGP Control is US$15 shareware.

MacPGP Control Features

MacPGP related features

• Supports all scriptable MIT and International versions of MacPGP, including the recently released MacPGP 2.6.3ia.
• Generation of public/secret key-pairs up to 2048-bit long.
• Update of PGP public key information of user keyring members through TCP/IP connection.
• Definition and use of nicknames for Users and Groups recipients.
• More user control for keyring related actions, through a true Macintosh Human Interface and -in some cases- direct manipulation of keyring file data, including: editing trust flag byte, enabling/disabling key(s), extracting, checking, certifying, fingerprinting, and forcing Warn-Only bits.
• More user control for PGP and conventionally encrypting text and binary files. When PGP encrypting file, users can designate more than one recipient.
• Secure clean clear-signed PGP ciphers, through the implementation of features such as: expanding tabs, transliterating non-USASCII characters, and word-wrapping lines before processing and handing over to email application.
• Viewing of PGP packets for educational and debugging purposes.
• Opaque signing (asciified clear-signed text).
• Transparent use of user's UserIDs found in his/her secret keyring file.
• Encryption to multiple recipients.
• Generates Key Revocation Certificates.

Eudora^TM and Claris Em@iler® related features

• Allows working with more than one message at a time.
• When replying, MPGPC quotes initial message paragraphs.
• When replying, MPGPC generates an attribution text.
• Supports Attachment(s) to message. Attachments are treated in the same way as the message; ie. PGP Encrypted, etc...
• Supports drag-and-drop Finder files to Attachments listbox.
• Supports latest Eudora versions (2.1.4, 1.5.4 and 3.0.x) and Emailer 1.1.x and 2.x.
• Supports Eudora versions (2.1.3/1.5.3) known to break certain scripts.
• User-configurable Auto Move PGP messages to designated mailbox (Eudora) or folder (Emailer 2.x).
• User-configurable Auto Decrypt source data before processing.

Macintosh related features

• Encryption of voice messages recorded by Mac sound input devices.
• Easy to use, point-and-click Macintosh User Interface.
• Extensive support of drag-and-drop.
• Documented handlers calls for use by other scripters.

New in version 1.0

• Support for Emailer 2.x.

Downloadable software

The full MacPGP Control (MPGPC) distribution package can be downloaded from this site. It is (or will soon be) also available from:

• The InfoMac archives in the /cmp directory,
• Ståle Schumacher's International PGP home page,
• The (University of Milan) Italian cryptography archives,
• The FirstLink Internet Services ftp site (Mac area).

Because I don't have full control on the final name of the distribution at these sites, you should always look for a file name that refers to MacPGP_Control, MacPGPControl or MPGPC.

MacPGP Control was developed in AppleScript English dialect, with FaceSpan® . It is packaged as an application and requires that you have the AppleScript extension in your Extensions folder.

Signature Certificate

I have prepared a detached signature certificate for the distribution file: MacPGP-Control-cert.asc. If you already have a copy of an older version of MPGPC, the easiest thing to verify the authenticity using this certificate is to do the following (based on an excellent tip from Chris Garrigues webmaster of this site):

1. Download the distribution file,
2. Set your copy of MPGPC as a MIME helper as per the MPGPC documentation in section Q4 of Tips & How To? chapter,
3. Select Decrypt-Verify behaviour in MPGPC -by clicking behind the button with the same name in MPGPC main window,
4. With your WWW browser click on the signature certificate referred to in this page,
5. When MacPGP asks you which file this signature applies to, point it to the distribution file you downloaded.

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Author: Raïf S. Naffah - Last Updated: 31st of March 1997