Yo! Jonathan:
Sunday August 18 1996 09:55, Jonathan Guy wrote to Bill Cheek:
 BC>> Far fetched here, maybe.  Especially since I know you.
 BC>> Forgery is a way of life on the Internet.  Digital sigs
 BC>> are looming as a way of life.  THAT is why the topic is
 BC>> open for discussion here.  The answers aren't all that
 BC>> black and white, as I see them.
 JG>    I hope this is still open for a question...what keeps me from copying
 JG> the PGP at the end of the message and using it to "act like" someone 
else?
 JG> I really don't understand these things yet...
Since it has stimulated some interest, the topic is open until further 
otice.
I'm in no hurry to close it.
See my message on this subject to Bill Funk where I went into detail on the 
very question you raised.  A digital sig is not only kind of like a password 
unique to the user, but it also "fingerprints" the document to which it is 
attached.  The password and fingerprint are mixed together such that no one 
could know which part is which.  In effect, the sig for two consecutive 
identical messages would be different.
Bill Cheek | Internet: bcheek@cts.com | Compu$erve: 74107,1176
Windows 95 Juggernaut Team | Microsoft MVP
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