[Gpg4win-users-en] gpg4win w/ Outlook 2010?

[Bernhard Reiter]

Hi Friends of Gpg4win,

Am Donnerstag, 9. Juni 2011 21:45:15 schrieb Reid:
> I have Outlook 2010 installed on my work PC (a corporate install) and am
> not sure if gpg4win will work with it.

current versions of Gpg4win - e.g. 2.1.0 - do not work with Outlook 2010!

There is a small hint on http://gpg4win.de/about.html
in the system requirements, which is too easy to miss. To be more precise: 
it is the Outlook "plugin" GpgOL that does not work with Outlook 2010.

From the technical side Outlook 2010 is significantly different from its 
predecessors, so GpgOL's way of hooking into the system - especially for the 
MIME handling - does not work satisfactory anymore. It it not yet known if a 
similiar approach or a new one or none will work with Outlook 2010.

So when will Outlook 2010 be supported by GpgOL then?

We cannot say if and when it will be supported.
In a first step research is needed if it is possible to support
proper MIME handling for OpenPGP and S/MIME with Outlook 2010
and which method is reliable and doable. 
If it turns out that it is possible and feasable, the new product component 
would need to be implemented.

Both steps require significant efforts which the Gpg4win developers would need 
to have funding for. This funding is not yet found.
Your help is highly appreciated, but keep in mind that a significant effort is 
needed. Small payments and small support volumes currently cannot provide 
funding for such an ambitions two step project.

How can I help?
Make Gpg4win more popular, is always good as it might help raise funds 
elsewhere or bring in helpers for other tasks.

If you know an organisation that would be able to and possibly willing to  
fund research in the magnitude of 50 days, let us know. 

At a number of occasions, the German Federal Office for Information Security 
(BSI) has provided funding for past of versions of Gpg4win.
This is very applaudable! All what is working now - which is a lot already - 
became possible because of this support.
As a public, tax-payer funded organisation in Germany, the BSI of course 
depends on the willingness of politics and the decision structure in public 
administrations to invest in a certain area. If you get a chance to thank the 
BSI for the good job on Gpg4win so far, while politely pointing out that 
there is demand for Outlook 2010 or more development, this can be helpful. 
Especially if you are a public administration that officially can talk to BSI 
or superious administrations and your input leads is positive.

https://www.bsi.bund.de/EN/Home/home_node.html

Are there alternatives on windows?
Yes, you could consider using a different email or groupware client for at 
least your crypto emails. E.g. using the IMAP access of your mailserver.
It is a lot easier to support crypto email if the product is Free Software and 
thus the source code is availabe to see how it works and how it need to be 
changed. 

There are cost effective, well spread email clients for windows, as Free 
Software (Open Source): Like the shipped Claws, Thunderbird+Enigmail or the 
upcoming Kontact on Windows. (Disclosure: Many Gpg4win developers are also 
involved with Kontact and the Kolab Groupware.)

http://www.thunderbird-mail.de/wiki/Enigmail_OpenPGP
http://wiki.kolab.org/Kontact_for_Windows_(Enterprise-5) in development

Best Regards,
Bernhard

-- 
Managing Director + Owner: www.Intevation.net <- A Free Software Company
Kolabsys.com: Board Member          FSFE.org: Founding GA Member
Intevation GmbH, Osnabrück, DE; Amtsgericht Osnabrück, HRB 18998
Geschäftsführer Frank Koormann, Bernhard Reiter, Dr. Jan-Oliver Wagner
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: smime.p7s
Type: application/pkcs7-signature
Size: 3696 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.wald.intevation.org/pipermail/gpg4win-users-en/attachments/20110816/e785a6ce/attachment.bin>