

It can greatly enhance anonymity when used together with software like Tor. The main uses are to keep the content of your data private and ensure the authenticity of all communication and files. Read more: How to back up your files and encrypt them How does PGP work? investigated Zimmermann for three years but dropped all accusations in 1996.

The rationale was that while munition was strictly controlled, the text was protected by the First Amendment. To contest these regulations Zimmermann printed the source code in books, then distributed them around the world. In the early ’90s, encryption software was still classified as military munition, and its export was strictly prohibited. Zimmerman created PGP and released the software free for everyone, and included the source code in every release. Zimmermann was a known anti-nuclear activist in the 1980s and ’90s who wanted a way to store files and information outside the government’s reach.

There is also an implementation of PGP, which has been available under a GPL license called GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) since 1999. It was created in 1991 by Phil Zimmermann and was released as an open standard called OpenPGP in 1997. It can be used to encrypt text, files, emails, or entire disks.
