PGP Products Get Even Better

PGP introduced several new products on Tuesday, 16 weeks after it acquired the software portfolio based on the PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) security technology from Network Associates.

The Palo Alto, California, start-up released PGP 8.0 in Enterprise, Desktop, and Personal versions, as well as a new freeware version and the PGP 8.0 source code for peer review, the company said in a statement. PGP software's main function is to encrypt e-mail messages and files on a PC.

PGP Enterprise 8.0 and PGP Desktop 8.0 offer features meant for use in business environments, such as integration with multiple directory services and groupware products. Subscription pricing, available to U.S. and Canadian customers, for PGP Enterprise starts at $125 per seat and for PGP Desktop at $80 per seat, PGP said.

Getting Personal

PGP Personal excludes links to enterprise services, but does allow users to encrypt e-mail and files on their hard disk drives, PGP said. PGP Personal is priced at $39, a promotion for the holiday season, the company said.

PGP Freeware 8.0, for personal and noncommercial use only, allows only the encrypting of e-mail and does not include plug-ins for e-mail clients. The PGP 8.0 source code is available for download; the license allows review only, not reuse, PGP said.

PGP is a start-up backed by $14 million in venture capital from Doll Capital Management and Venrock Associates. The company bought the PGP assets in August, almost a year after Network Associates said it would offload the unit as part of a reorganization.

The people at PGP are no strangers to the technology. President and Chief Executive Officer Phil Dunkelberger headed PGP when it was sold to Network Associates in 1997. Phil Zimmerman, the cryptography pioneer who developed PGP and launched PGP in 1996, is on the Technical Advisory Board of PGP.