PGP Corp. this week released 8.0 versions of its PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption technology for Windows and Macintosh desktops, enterprise and personal use. In a throwback to its open source roots, the company also released PGP 8.0 source code for peer review.

Version 8.0 marks the first release of PGP since PGP Corp. was formed in August after acquiring the rights to the data and email encryption tools from Network Associates. Phil Zimmerman originally developed PGP in 1991 for non-commercial use. A commercial version was released in 1994 and Network Associates acquired PGP rights in late 1997.

PGP Desktop 8.0 for Windows includes an enhanced user interface, support for Windows XP and XP Office, as well as integration with Microsoft Active Directory, iPlanet Directory Server, Novell NDS, OpenLDAP Keyserver and Novell GroupWise 5.5 and 6.0 messaging client.

PGP Desktop 8.0 for Macintosh supports Mac OS X (10.2 and later), an enhanced user interface, a plug-in for Apple Mail that supports PGP/MIME (RFC 3156), PGP Disk format compatibility between Mac OS X and Windows, and support for the Advanced Encryption Standard in PGP Disk.

PGP Enterprise 8.0, in both Macintosh and Windows versions, is intended for implementations with 20 seats or more. It includes configuration, installation and key management tools, including automatic key setup and generation, certificate request, approval, retrieval and smart card integration. A silent pre-configured install feature aids in mass deployments.

PGP Personal 8.0 includes PGP Disk and PGP Mail for individual users who don't require enterprise features, such as integration with Exchange, Notes or GroupWise servers.

The release of PGP 8.0 source code for peer review is intended to enable third parties to verify PGP's cryptographic implementation and to demonstrate that the code and products based on it are not compromised, according to PGP Corp. The company says it believes releasing source code should be a standard industry practice.

The PGP 8.0 source code is available for download from www.pgp.com at no charge, but only for peer review. Reuse in whole or in part requires licensing from PGP Corp.