Reply #4: A common misconception...

[ljm2002]

...is, that if it is open source, and therefore the spooks have had time to look at it, it is easier to crack.

In fact, the truth is just the opposite. If is not open source, then whoever has proprietary rights can put in a back door they can use anytime they want to. Furthermore, if it is not open source, then it has not been vetted by the vast army of good to great to brilliant minds out there who are into this stuff. And that means that flaws may go undiscovered, only to be found by hackers later.

These encryption algorithms depend on the properties of large prime numbers, and these properties are defined mathematically. Spooks have no more power than you or I over the laws of mathematics. A good open source encryption package is in fact one of the best options you have for protecting your email communications.