History

For an updated version,
see the french page  

  – June 5, 1991
:  after several years of work, it
is from his town of Boulder, Colorado (USA), that Philip
R. Zimmermann (called on Internet  » PRZ « ), a computer engineer, published
the final release of PGP 1.0. Whereas a US bill threatens to prohibit free
cryptography, one of his friends of San Francisco, Kelly Goen, post in
urgency PGP 1.0 on several BBS networks (the future Internet) in all USA.
A few days after, RSA Data Security Inc summons Phil Zimmermann to stop
the diffusion of PGP 1.0 (which uses the patented algorithm RSA without
licence).

– January 19, 1992 : version 1.4

– February 12, 1992 : version 1.5

– February 24, 1992 : version 1.6

– March 29, 1992 : version 1.7

– May 23, 1992 : version 1.8

– September 2, 1992 :  PGP 2.0 is published outside the
USA. It is the first true version of PGP such as it is known today. Developed
around Phil Zimmermann by a team from Europe and New-Zealand and proposed
simultaneously in English, French and Spanish, PGP 2.0 is widely diffused.

– December 6, 1992 :  version 2.1

– February 17, 1993 : two agents of the US Customs visit Phil
Zimmermann, claiming to be interested only in the problem of licence with
RSA Inc.

– March 6, 1993 :  version 2.2

– June 13, 1993 :  version 2.3

– July 1, 1993 : PGP 2.3a
is published. This version becomes the first world crypto standard.

– August 1993 : Phil Zimmermann sells to the company ViaCrypt
(a company of Lemcom Systems which holds a licence for the RSA) the exclusive
rights for a commercial version of PGP.

– September 14, 1993 : based on a regulation considering the
crypto software as an non-exportable « weapon », the office of the US Customs
of San Jose, California (USA) delivers an assignment against the Viacypt
companies to Phoenix, Arizona, and Austin Code Works, in Austin, Texas.
The investigation aims « ViaCypt, PGP, Philip Zimmermann, and anyone gold
any entity acting one behalf of Philip Zimmermann for the time period June
1, 1991 to the present » and relates to a violation of the regulation on
the sales of weapons and the technological export of material.

– November 6, 1993 : ViaCrypt publishes ViaCrypt
PGP 2.4, a commercial version which respects the patents of
RSA Inc.

– May 5, 1994 : it’s in the USA, under the responsibility of
MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) of Boston and after an agreement
with RSA Inc.,  that is published the new freeware version PGP
2.5, whose source uses RSAREF, a legal freeware module of RSA
Inc (PGP 2.5 is locked to be partially incompatible with the preceeding
versions).  A commercial version ViaCrypt 2.7 for Mac is published. 
Many pirate versions making it possible to circumvent the incompatibility
between the preceeding version 2.5 and versions start to circulate.

– May 22, 1994 : version 2.6

– August 29, 1994 : version 2.61

– August 29, 1994 : version 2.61

– October 24, 1994 : MIT publishesPGP
2.62, freeware version (incompatible with the versions former
to the 2.5) which will be ultimate official DOS version.

– May 7, 1995 : Ståle Schumacher publishes in Norway PGP
2.62i, (« I » for « international »). Phil Zimmermann recognizes
this version as sure as the US version. Contrary to the MIT 2.62, this
2.62i is compatible with the versions former to PGP 2.5.

– May 17, 1995 : MIT publishes MacPGP 2.6.2, freeware version
for APPLE Macintosh.

– January 11, 1996 : an official statement of seven lines of
the US Customs announces that the procedure against Phil Zimmermann are
stopped. No explanation is provided.  The creator of PGP is not
threatened any more, but like all the crypto softwares, its program
remains prohibited of export of the USA.

– January 18, 1996 : Ståle Schumacher publishes in Norway
PGP 2.63i. For the first time, an unofficial, international and
cloned version, developed starting from the public code-source of the 2.62,
appears more powerful than the original official version.  PGP 2.63i
is compatible with the versions former to the 2.5 and can generate public
keys slightly longer. PGP 2.63i becomes
the new world standard.

– March 4, 1996 : PGP 2.63ia

– March 12, 1996 : ViaCrypt publishes ViaCrypt-PGP
4.0 for Windows 3.1 (the number of version 3.0 is reserved for
a future freeware version). This ViaCrypt-PGP version allow to crypt easyly
the clipboard via its floating bar « Enclyptor ».

– March 21, 1996 : the MIT publishes PGPfone 1.0 beta (Windows
95), a rudimentary tool allowing to telephone by Internet under the protection
of a 4096 bits public key.

– April 1996 : Phil Zimmermann created the company « PGP Inc. »
to sell the commercial versions of PGP.

– July 1, 1996 : PGP Inc repurchases Lemcom Systems ViaCrypt
company which had the commercial licences on PGP. PGP Inc sells consequently
DOS, Mac, Windows and Unix versions.

– November 1996 : PGP Inc publishes « PGP for Windows, Business
Edition », for Windows 3.1, 95 and NT.

– February 4, 1997 : PGP Inc publishes « PGPmail 4.5 » (Windows
95 and Mac), an updated version of PGP-ViaCrypt 4. A plug-in allowing a
transparent connection with the common e-mail softwares (like Netscape/Mail
3.0) is included.

– April 2, 1997 : Lutz Donnerhacke publishes a version PGP 2.63in,
based on the code-source of the 2.3a.

– April 28, 1997 : PGP Inc publishes « PGPmail 4.01 Businesses
Edition » (DOS), which remains the most advanced version for MS-DOS.

– June 16, 1997 : PGP Inc publishes PGP
5.0 (Windows 95, NT and Mac). This version 5.0 proposes a revolutionary
graphic user interface, a transparent connection with the e-mail softwares,
and overall a new type of public keys (a length twice higher than those
of the preceding versions) and the choice between 3 sorts of algorithms
for the session key.

– June 16, 1997 : the MIT publishes a freeware version of PGP
5.0 (there never was PGP 3.0) for Windows 95, NT and Mac. This
version is compatible with the version 2.6x. PGP 5.0 becomes the new world
standard after being exported illegally of the USA by unknown ones.

– Middle-1997 : One finds on Internet a multitude of different
versions of PGP 2.x freeware (official, unauthorized or pirate versions)
:

* 2.3a : Phil Zimmermann 

* 2.62 : Phil Zimmermann and MIT 

* 2.62g : anonymous, US guerilla, keys of 4096 bits, origin : code
of the 2.62 

* 2.63i : Ståle Schumacher, origin : code of the 2.62 

* 2.63 : Preston Wilson, US version in agreement with RSA Inc, origin: 
code 2.63 

* 2.63ui:  Stephen Crompton, « International Unofficial », origin
: code 2.3a 

* 2.63ig:  Noël Bell, international guerilla, keys of 4096
bits, origin : code 2.63i 

* 2.63-8192 : Frank Alexander Friedrichs, keys of 8192 bits, origin: 
code 2.63i

* 2.63in : Lutz Donnerhacke, origin : code 2.3a 

* 2.63uin : Georg Bauer, keys of 8192 bits, origin : code 2.3a 

* 2.63-sha1 : William H. Geiger III, signature SHA-1, origin : code
2.63i… without counting the special versions protected from the attacks
from virus, or other versions special and personalized.

– August 10, 1997 : Ståle Schumacher publishes in Norway
an international version freeware
5.0i
for Unix, based for the first time on a legal export of the USA of the
code-source (under the form of a printed book which is scanned, then OCRed).

– October 2, 1997 : PGP Inc publishes under the name of « PGP
5.5 for Business Security » a software intended for the companies and having
an option « Corporate Message Key Recovery ».  This option allows coding
by a second key (the key of the company) which will be held neither by
the sender nor by the recipient of the message; but an individual user
(not a company) can refuse the option.

– October 2, 1997 : MIT publishes a version freeware for Linux
of PGP 5.0.

– November 26, 1997 :  PGP Inc publishes PGP
5.5.3 freeware (Windows 95, NT and Mac). This version is no
more compatible with keys RSA of the versions 2.6x, but it is more advanced
than the preceding freeware. This version is illegally exported the USA
by unknown ones.

– December 1, 1997 : PGP Inc is repurchased by McAfee Associates
which becomes « Network Associates Inc. »

– December 1, 1997 : Ståle Schumacher and Teun Nijssen
publish in Norway an international version freeware PGP
5.0i for Windows 95 and NT. Based on the code-source legally
exported, the 5.0i is the certified copy of the US 5.0. The commercial
version 5.0ic corresponding is sold in Europe.  A version freeware
MS-DOS 5.0i developed starting from the code-source of the version Unix
5.0i, is published by Georg Bauer in Germany.

– January 8, 1998 : Ståle Schumacher and Teun Nijssen publish
in Norway the code-sources of the international version freeware PGP 5.5.3i
for Windows 95, NT and of the development tool PGPsdk (after legal export
from the USA).

– February 7, 1998 : Ståle Schumacher and Teun Nijssen
publish in Norway the code-sources of the international version freeware
PGP 5.5.3i for Mac.

– March 11, 1998 : Network Associates Inc (NAI) publishes « PGP
Total Network Security Suite », which includes PGPdisk 1.0 for Windows 95
and PGPdisk 1.01 for Mac. But NAI is blamed for its participation in the
KRA (Key Recovery Alliance), a consortium militant for the recovering of
keys (Phil Zimmermann will confirm its confidence
in NAI).

– March 18, 1998 :
PGP 5.5.5
freeware is illegally exported the USA by unknown ones.

– March 20, 1998 : NAI announces the sale of a version of PGP
outside the USA by the intermediary of a Swiss company and a Dutch subsidiary
company, in all legality after export of the code-source of PGP under the
form of printed documents.

– March 28, 1998 : Ståle Schumacher and Teun Nijssen publish
in Norway PGP 5.5.3i for Mac. This
version allows the use of keys RSA and is compatible with the versions
2.6x

– April 7, 1998 : Ståle Schumacher and Teun Nijssen publish
in Norway PGP 5.5.3i for Windows 95 and NT (compatible 2.6x) 

– April 14, 1998 : Appition of a version PGP 5.5.3i modified
and allowing public keys RSA of 8192 bits.

– May 1998 : Network Associates International BV (NAI-BV) starts
to sell on line PGP from the Netherlands. But the site web refuses the
downloads by the internautes identifying themself like french or russian,
pretexting the anti-cryptography laws of these two countries.

– June 22, 1998 : Imad R. Faiad publishes a version 5.5.3 modified
C-KT allowing DH keys of 8192 bits, RSA of 16384 bits and signatures DSS
of 2048 bits.  Phil Zimmermann condemns
this inflation length of the keys.

– September 1, 1998 : NAI publishes in the USA PGP
6.0 freeware for Windows 95/98/NT and Mac. It is the first new
version of PGP since the repurchase of the  Phil Zimmermann company
by Network Associates Inc (NAI). The version freeware brings new functions
to the public keys (share of key, photographic ID, etc), and the commercial
version includes moreover the PGPdisk tool (for Windows 95 and 98). The
versions freeware and commercial are illegally exported the USA by unknown
ones.

– November 12, 1998 : NAI publishes PGP 6.02 Personal Privacy,
and PGP 6.02 Desktop Security, versions which correct a bug safety detected
in the module PGPdisk (tool which becomes also usable with Windows NT).

– January 1999 : an Italian version PGP
5.5.3it and Japanese
PGP 5.53j
for Windows 95, 98 and NT are published in Italy and in Japan on the basis
of code-source international 5.5.3i.

– February 4, 1999 : Ståle Schumacher Ytteborg publishes
in Norway the code-sources of the international version freeware PGP
6.0.2i for Windows 95, 98, NT and for Mac (after legal export
of the USA) which includes PGPdisk.

– February 21, 1999 : Ståle Schumacher Ytteborg publishes
PGPfreeware 6.0.2i for Windows 95/98/NT.

– Mars 1999 : a French version PGP 5.5.3fr
is published in UK on the basis of code-source international 5.5.3i.

– May 12, 1999 : NAI publishes in the USA a version « command-line »
PGP
6.5 for Linux, Solaris, and Windows NT. This version is illegally
exported the USA by unknown ones.

– May 31, 1999 : Ståle Schumacher Ytteborg publishes PGPfreeware
6.0.2i for Mac.

– July 6, 1999 : the MIT, in collaboration with NAI and RSA Inc,
publishes
in USA PGP 6.5.1 freeware for Windows
95/98/NT, Mac, Linux, and Solaris. The Windows/Mac version is first « GUI »
version really compatible with PGP 2.6x (compatible command lines, and
generation/use of keys RSA). It is illegally exported the USA by unknown
ones.

– September 7, 1999 : after nine months of beta-test, a team
directed by Werner Koch publishes in Germany GnuPG
1.0 (GNU Privacy Guard) for Linux, a version under free licence
GNU GPL of PGP 5.x and 6.x in conformity with the OpenPGP standard.

 

 

(See scrcreenshots of all versions)

(See complete list :
PGP
Versions Interactions