What's new in Gpg4win 4?

Crypto Backend (GnuPG 2.3)

Gpg4win 4 is a major update to the underlying crypto backend. The new GnuPG 2.3 is the future-proof foundation for the secure exchange of data and mails over the next years. The user interface stays mostly the same, while the backend provides more:

• Support for the upcoming refresh of the OpenPGP-Standards.
• ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) support for S/MIME. Including brainpool curves.
• New smartcard handling with better support for multiple smartcards.
• New support for:
• Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards.
• Telesec Signature Cards v2.0.
• ECC in S/MIME for Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity cards.
• Curve X448 (ed448, cv448).
• Extended, regular expression based, password rules.
• Full unicode support on the command line.
• A new storage for certificates (public keys). To enable it put "use-keyboxd" into gpg.conf and gpgsm.conf. Public keys are stored in an SQLite database, which makes lookups much faster.
• ECC with Curve25519 is the new default when creating fresh OpenPGP keys.

Crypto-Manager (Kleopatra)

• Groups enable you to regularly address the same communication partners. They can also be exported and imported, including both the S/MIME and OpenPGP certificates.
• Improved accessibility so that Kleopatra can be used for encryption while using a screenreaders
• UI for multiple smartcards.
• New configuration settings for administrators to restrict actions.
• Improved symmetric (password based) encryption, including generating passwords.

Outlook Plugin (GpgOL)

The Outlook add-in is mostly the same as in Version 3, but GpgOL profits from the new crypto backend and will get more features in the following Gpg4win 4 releases.

Note on compliance

The new version of the crypto backend is not yet approved for VS-NfD / RESTRICTED communication. Where an officially approved version is required, please use our product variant with support from the vendor: GnuPG VS-Desktop.