GnuPG
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| Original author(s) | Werner Koch | ||||||
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| Developer(s) | GNU Project | ||||||
| Initial release | 7 September 1999 | ||||||
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| Preview release(s) | |||||||
| "Modern": 2.1.1-beta35 (November 24, 2014) | |||||||
| Repository | git |
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| Written in | C | ||||||
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows, macOS, RISC OS, Android, Linux | ||||||
| Type | OpenPGP | ||||||
| License | GNU GPLv3 | ||||||
| Website | gnupg |
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| Stable | 2.0.30 / March 31, 2016 |
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| Modern | 2.1.18 / January 23, 2017 |
| Classic | 1.4.21 / August 17, 2016 |
GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG or GPG) is a free software replacement for Symantec's PGP cryptographic software suite. GnuPG is compliant with RFC 4880, which is the IETF standards track specification of OpenPGP. Modern versions of PGP and Veridis' Filecrypt are interoperable with GnuPG and other OpenPGP-compliant systems.
GnuPG is part of the GNU Project, and has received major funding from the German government.
GnuPG is a hybrid-encryption software program because it uses a combination of conventional symmetric-key cryptography for speed, and public-key cryptography for ease of secure key exchange, typically by using the recipient's public key to encrypt a session key which is only used once. This mode of operation is part of the OpenPGP standard and has been part of PGP from its first version.
The GnuPG 1.x series uses an integrated cryptographic library, while the GnuPG 2.x series replaces this with Libgcrypt.
GnuPG encrypts messages using asymmetric key pairs individually generated by GnuPG users. The resulting public keys may be exchanged with other users in a variety of ways, such as Internet key servers. They must always be exchanged carefully to prevent identity spoofing by corrupting public key ↔ "owner" identity correspondences. It is also possible to add a cryptographic digital signature to a message, so the message integrity and sender can be verified, if a particular correspondence relied upon has not been corrupted.
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