computer science

Pretty Easy privacy

Pretty Easy privacy is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pretty Easy privacy rather than just read about it. In short: pretty Easy privacy (p≡p or pEp) was a pluggable data encryption and verification system that provided automatic cryptographic key management through a set of libraries for written digital communications. It existed as a plugin for Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird as well as a mobile app for Android and iOS. p≡p also worked under Microsoft Windows, Unix-like and Mac OS X operating systems.

Key takeaways

Pretty Easy privacy belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pretty Easy privacy to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pretty Easy privacy from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

pretty Easy privacy (p≡p or pEp) was a pluggable data encryption and verification system that provided automatic cryptographic key management through a set of libraries for written digital communications. It existed as a plugin for Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird as well as a mobile app for Android and iOS. p≡p also worked under Microsoft Windows, Unix-like and Mac OS X operating systems. Its cryptographic functionality was handled by an open-source p≡p engine relying on already existing cryptographic implementations in software like GnuPG, a modified version of netpgp (used only in iOS), and (as of p≡p v2.0) GNUnet. pretty Easy privacy was first released in 2016. It is a free and open-source software. p≡p was advertised as being easy to install, use, and understand. p≡p did not depend on any specific platform, message transport system (SMS, email, XMPP, etc.), or centrally provided client–server or "cloud" infrastructures; p≡p is fully peer-to-peer by design. Keys are exchanged opportunistically by transferring via email.

Enigmail support Enigmail announced its support for the new "pretty Easy privacy" (p≡p) encryption in a joint Thunderbird extension to be released in December 2015. Patrick Brunschwig, the head of Enigmail, announced that p≡p core functionality was implemented in Enigmail in October 2016, ready for the Mozilla Festival then taking place in London. In July 2020, Thunderbird 78 dropped support for the Enigmail Add-On. Thunderbird 78 includes OpenPGP functionality and no longer requires the installation of external software.

ISOC support The Internet Society Switzerland Chapter (ISOC-CH) and the Swiss p≡p foundation teamed up to implement privacy-enhancing standards at the basic level of internet protocols, and document them in the work of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Controversy and Closure In March 2021, reports surfaced that p≡p had paid for fake reviews for their apps. As of January 2024, the company overseeing p≡p is not operational. Its website no longer functions, and development of the system has ceased.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pretty Easy privacy

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pretty Easy privacy claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pretty Easy privacy before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pretty Easy privacy ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pretty Easy privacy

In research: Pretty Easy privacy appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pretty Easy privacy in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pretty Easy privacy is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cryptographic software, Security, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pretty Easy privacy outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pretty Easy privacy in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pretty Easy privacy means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pretty Easy privacy out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pretty Easy privacy in simple terms?

Why does Pretty Easy privacy matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pretty Easy privacy?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pretty Easy privacy.