Are different PGP implementations compatible ?

bobgosling · 10-12-2011, 02:18 AM

I need to decrypt a file being sent to me by someone who will be encrypting it using AES256 via Symantec's ( very expensive ) PGP command line interface.

Do I *have to* have Symantec's PGP to decrypt or can I use gnuPG, which is already installed on my RHEL system ?

I won't be in a position to try out the real file for a few weeks but it would be useful to know if it can be done, otherwise may as well start saving the pennies for the Symantec license now :-(

Noway2 · 10-12-2011, 05:11 AM

See the following: http://www.gnupg.org/faq/GnuPG-FAQ.h...tible-with-pgp

Generally speaking, they should be compatible. However, being closed source, proprietary system, Symantec is free to commit all sorts of sins, including breaking compatibility with standards and charging for the feature. One thing to remember regarding public key encryption - the file must be encrypted with YOUR public key in order for YOU to be able to decrypt it.