GnuPG (GPG)

GnuPG (also known by its command name, gpg) is a tool primarily for public key Encryption and cryptographic authentication.

Homepage: https://www.gnupg.org

There is a lot of material about GnuPG out there, so I won’t be duplicating it all here. But, I do have some more unique contributions for those familiar with GnuPG:


Signify is a toool to create and verify signatures on files.

Sequoia PGP is a Rust-based implementation of OpenPGP, aimed to be modern and secure. It is often thought of as an alternative to GnuPG (GPG).

Anything that uses encryption to keep content away from spying eyes.

Age is a public-key encryption system, similar in certain concepts to GnuPG (GPG), but simpler because it isn’t focused on building a web of trust.

Thanks to Filespooler’s support for decoders, data for filespooler can be Encrypted at rest and only decrypted when Filespooler needs to scan or process a queue.

Sometimes, one wants to verify the integrity and authenticity of a Filespooler job file before processing it.

“OK,” you’re probably thinking. “John, you talk a lot about things like Gopher and personal radios, and now you want to talk about building a reliable network out of… USB drives?”

I loaded up this title with buzzwords. The basic idea is that IM systems shouldn’t have to only use the Internet. Why not let them be carried across LoRa radios, USB sticks, local Wifi networks, and yes, the Internet? I’ll first discuss how, and then why.