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Signal in the faq

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Bob Mottram 2018-03-09 11:11:51 +00:00
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6
doc/EN/faq.org
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@ -162,11 +162,11 @@ Celebrities recommend Signal. It's Free Software so it must be good, right?
If you are currently using a proprietary chat app, something without any encryption or something /really bad/ such as Telegram, then Signal is definitely a step up in terms of security. But Signal has problems, which can be summarised as:
* *It uses phone numbers*. Phone numbers are used for Signal's initial verification, and they can of course be intercepted or faked. Plus it means that Open Whisper Systems keeps a list of phone numbers on its centralised server for its /"X has joined Signal"/ notification. Even if they're hashed, they're still unique identifiers and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_table][rainbow tables]] for the phone number system probably exist. Phone numbers are convenient for some users, but are also a non-trivial security risk. If you're using Signal then consider what it knows about who your contacts are, where that data is located and who else might have access to that.
* *It uses phone numbers*. Phone numbers are used for Signal's initial verification, and they can of course be intercepted or faked. Plus it means that Open Whisper Systems keeps a list of phone numbers on its centralised server for its /"X has joined Signal"/ notification. Even if they're hashed, they're still unique identifiers and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_table][rainbow tables]] for the phone number system probably exist. Phone numbers are convenient for some users, but are also a non-trivial security risk. If you're using Signal then consider what it knows about who your contacts are, where that data is located and who else might have access to that. Consider what might happen if an adversary gets to know your mobile number.
* *It's based on a single server* run by Open Whisper Systems. That's a single point of failure and ought to be a big red flag (of the sporting rather than the socialist variety) as a possible locus for concentrated nefariousness.
* *It requires the installation of Google Play*. If you already have Google Play installed on a stock Android OS then this doesn't increase your security problems, but for other more secure Android variants it's a massive increase in attack surface.
* *It requires the installation of Google Play*. If you already have Google Play installed on a stock Android OS then this doesn't increase your security problems, but for other more secure Android variants it's a massive increase in attack surface. There is a separate apk available for download, but it won't receive updates and the hash shown on the site often doesn't match.
* *It depends entirely upon the Google message pushing system*. That means that Google /at least knows who Signal messages are being sent to and may be able to infer the rest via your (insecure) Android phone contact list or via timing correlation of alternating deliveries/. Remember that for an adversary metadata in aggregate is much better than having the content of messages. At any time Google could decide that it doesn't want to support Signal, or in adverse circumstances they could be leaned upon by the usual agencies or government cronies.
* *Their privacy policy indicates that they will give whatever server data they have to third parties* under some conditions. Of course this is always claimed to be /for the very best of reasons/ - such as combating fraud - but once that sort of disclosure capability exists it may be abused without you ever knowing about it.
* *Their privacy policy indicates that they will give whatever server data they have to third parties* under some conditions. Of course this is always claimed to be /for the very best of reasons/ - such as combating fraud - but once that sort of disclosure capability exists it may be abused without you ever knowing about it. Consider how difficult, or not, it may be for a government to reverse engineer a database of hashed telephone numbers.
* *Forking isn't really an option*. A fork was tried, but Moxie got annoyed when it still used his server. At the same time the level of interest in federating the server is not detectable with our best intrumentation, and is suspected to be negative. That's a catch 22 which effectively means that independent implementations of Signal will always leave some users unable to communicate with each other.
To give credit where it's due Signal is good, but it could be a lot better. The real solution for private chat is to run your own XMPP server, as you can with Freedombone, or to have someone within your community do that. /There is no substitute for a decentralised solution which is within the control of your community/.

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website/EN/faq.html
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@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
<head>
<!-- 2018-02-04 Sun 21:11 -->
<!-- 2018-03-09 Fri 11:11 -->
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
<title>&lrm;</title>
@ -264,143 +264,143 @@ for the JavaScript code in this tag.
</colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org5e1690c">What applications are supported?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgd5d5ea8">What applications are supported?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orga48f0fb">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgf845f43">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgf4dd8a7">Why Freedombone and not FreedomBox?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org389376b">Why Freedombone and not FreedomBox?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org5ee52c6">Why not support building images for Raspberry Pi?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgff5ea2f">Why not support building images for Raspberry Pi?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org41c4de0">Why use Tor? I've heard it's used by bad people</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orge27ea82">Why use Tor? I've heard it's used by bad people</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org7b1c58e">How is Tor integrated with Freedombone?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgff42c53">How is Tor integrated with Freedombone?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org7938d6a">Can I add a clearnet domain to an onion build?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org043f13e">Can I add a clearnet domain to an onion build?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgdb25e75">Why use Github?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org16383fe">Why use Github?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orga2c951b">Should I upload my GPG keys to keybase.io?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org8efd49f">Should I upload my GPG keys to keybase.io?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org637eaf9">Keys and emails should not be stored on servers. Why do you do that?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org4e6be73">Keys and emails should not be stored on servers. Why do you do that?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orge446066">Why can't I access my .onion site with a Tor browser?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org415c41b">Why can't I access my .onion site with a Tor browser?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgee92e8d">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgc1ec572">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org69a37d0">Can I add more users to the system?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org1c08114">Can I add more users to the system?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org2cf9868">Why not use Signal for mobile chat?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org5740b8c">Why not use Signal for mobile chat?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgdcc1837">What is the most secure chat app to use on mobile?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org5dc46dd">What is the most secure chat app to use on mobile?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org663ac7a">How do I remove a user from the system?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orge052ac8">How do I remove a user from the system?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgb37d231">Why is logging for web sites turned off by default?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org0b5135f">Why is logging for web sites turned off by default?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org9d48040">How do I reset the tripwire?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org5725c65">How do I reset the tripwire?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgdbc9954">Is metadata protected?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orga7060eb">Is metadata protected?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org202318a">How do I create email processing rules?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org9f546cf">How do I create email processing rules?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org5aa3ee6">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org4bd61c8">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org7c9475d">How do I change my encryption settings?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org4cc674a">How do I change my encryption settings?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org6abf1fd">How do I get a domain name?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgab5e3c9">How do I get a domain name?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org7342a10">How do I get a "real" SSL/TLS/HTTPS certificate?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org591d315">How do I get a "real" SSL/TLS/HTTPS certificate?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgb7c163c">How do I renew a Let's Encrypt certificate?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org18bf098">How do I renew a Let's Encrypt certificate?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgb89b3f5">I tried to renew a Let's Encrypt certificate and it failed. What should I do?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org3f1245f">I tried to renew a Let's Encrypt certificate and it failed. What should I do?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org1983e96">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org188259e">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgd36fd8f">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgde3861a">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgda2be97">Tor is censored/blocked in my area. What can I do?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgf11c8bb">Tor is censored/blocked in my area. What can I do?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org11e6e2f">I want to block a particular domain from getting its content into my social network sites</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgf4e67f7">I want to block a particular domain from getting its content into my social network sites</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org6189535">The mesh system doesn't boot from USB drive</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org2629f66">The mesh system doesn't boot from USB drive</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org5e1690c" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org5e1690c">What applications are supported?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org5e1690c">
<div id="outline-container-orgd5d5ea8" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgd5d5ea8">What applications are supported?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgd5d5ea8">
<p>
<a href="./apps.html">See here</a> for the complete list of apps. In addition to those as part of the base install you get an email server.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orga48f0fb" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orga48f0fb">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orga48f0fb">
<div id="outline-container-orgf845f43" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgf845f43">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgf845f43">
<p>
Yes. The minimum requirements are to have some hardware that you can install Debian onto and also that you have administrator access to your internet router so that you can forward ports to the system which has Freedombone installed.
</p>
@ -410,17 +410,17 @@ The lack of a static IP address can be worked around by using a dynamic DNS serv
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgf4dd8a7" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgf4dd8a7">Why Freedombone and not FreedomBox?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgf4dd8a7">
<div id="outline-container-org389376b" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org389376b">Why Freedombone and not FreedomBox?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org389376b">
<p>
When the project began in late 2013 the FreedomBox project seemed to be going nowhere, and was only designed to work with the DreamPlug hardware. There was some new hardware out - the Beaglebone Black - which could run Debian and was also a free hardware design so seemed more appropriate. Hence the name "Freedombone", being like FreedomBox but on a Beaglebone. There are some similarities and differences between the two projects:
</p>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org0af1c5d" class="outline-3">
<h3 id="org0af1c5d">Similarities</h3>
<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-org0af1c5d">
<div id="outline-container-orgdf41ba8" class="outline-3">
<h3 id="orgdf41ba8">Similarities</h3>
<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-orgdf41ba8">
<ul class="org-ul">
<li>Uses freedom-maker and vmdebootstrap to build debian images</li>
<li>Supports the use of Tor onion addresses to access websites</li>
@ -434,9 +434,9 @@ When the project began in late 2013 the FreedomBox project seemed to be going no
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org791d2d7" class="outline-3">
<h3 id="org791d2d7">Differences</h3>
<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-org791d2d7">
<div id="outline-container-org1fc70e2" class="outline-3">
<h3 id="org1fc70e2">Differences</h3>
<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-org1fc70e2">
<ul class="org-ul">
<li>FreedomBox is a Debian pure blend. Freedombone is not</li>
<li>Freedombone only supports Free Software. FreedomBox includes some closed binary boot blobs for certain ARM boards</li>
@ -451,9 +451,9 @@ When the project began in late 2013 the FreedomBox project seemed to be going no
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org5ee52c6" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org5ee52c6">Why not support building images for Raspberry Pi?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org5ee52c6">
<div id="outline-container-orgff5ea2f" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgff5ea2f">Why not support building images for Raspberry Pi?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgff5ea2f">
<p>
The FreedomBox project supports Raspberry Pi builds, and the image build system for Freedombone is based on the same system. However, although the Raspberry Pi can run a version of Debian it requires a closed proprietary blob in order to boot the hardware. Who knows what that blob might contain or what exploits it could facilitate. From an adversarial point of view if you were trying to deliver "bulk equipment interference" then it doesn't get any better than piggybacking on something which has control of the boot process, and hence all subsequently run processes.
</p>
@ -463,9 +463,9 @@ So although the Raspberry Pi is cheap and hugely popular it's not supported by t
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org41c4de0" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org41c4de0">Why use Tor? I've heard it's used by bad people</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org41c4de0">
<div id="outline-container-orge27ea82" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orge27ea82">Why use Tor? I've heard it's used by bad people</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orge27ea82">
<p>
Years ago Tor was usually depicted in the mainstream media as something scary inhabited by cyberterrorists and other bad cybers, but today to a large extent Tor is accepted as just another way of routing data in a network. Depending upon where you live there may still be some amount of fearmongering about Tor, but it now seems clear that the trajectory is towards general acceptance.
</p>
@ -486,9 +486,9 @@ On the negative side it's a complex system which is not fully decentralized.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org7b1c58e" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org7b1c58e">How is Tor integrated with Freedombone?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org7b1c58e">
<div id="outline-container-orgff42c53" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgff42c53">How is Tor integrated with Freedombone?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgff42c53">
<p>
Within this project Tor is used more to provide <i>accessibility</i> than the <i>anonymity</i> factor for which Tor is better known. The onion address system provides a way of being able to access sites even if you don't own a conventional domain name or don't have administrator access to your local internet router to be able to do port forwarding.
</p>
@ -506,17 +506,17 @@ Even if you're running the "onion only" build, this only means that sites are ac
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org7938d6a" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org7938d6a">Can I add a clearnet domain to an onion build?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org7938d6a">
<div id="outline-container-org043f13e" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org043f13e">Can I add a clearnet domain to an onion build?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org043f13e">
<p>
You could if you manually edited the relevant nginx configuration files and installed some dynamic DNS system yourself. If you already have sysadmin knowledge then that's probably not too hard. But the builds created with the <b>onion-addresses-only</b> option aren't really intended to support access via clearnet domains.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgdb25e75" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgdb25e75">Why use Github?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgdb25e75">
<div id="outline-container-org16383fe" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org16383fe">Why use Github?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org16383fe">
<p>
Github is paradoxically a centralized, closed and proprietary system which happens to mostly host free and open source projects. Up until now it has been relatively benign, but at some point in the name of "growth" it will likely start becoming more evil, or just become like SourceForge - which was also once much loved by FOSS developers, but turned into a den of malvertizing.
</p>
@ -534,9 +534,9 @@ Currently many of the repositories used for applications which are not yet packa
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orga2c951b" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orga2c951b">Should I upload my GPG keys to keybase.io?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orga2c951b">
<div id="outline-container-org8efd49f" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org8efd49f">Should I upload my GPG keys to keybase.io?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org8efd49f">
<p>
It's not recommended unless there exists some compelling reason for you to be on there. That site asks users to upload the <b>private keys</b>, and even if the keys are client side encrypted with a passphrase there's always the chance that there will be a data leak in future and letter agencies will then have a full time opportunity to crack the passphrases.
</p>
@ -546,9 +546,9 @@ Saying something resembling <i>"only noobs will use crackable private key passph
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org637eaf9" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org637eaf9">Keys and emails should not be stored on servers. Why do you do that?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org637eaf9">
<div id="outline-container-org4e6be73" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org4e6be73">Keys and emails should not be stored on servers. Why do you do that?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org4e6be73">
<p>
Ordinarily this is good advice. However, the threat model for a device in your home is different from the one for a generic server in a massive warehouse. Compare and contrast:
</p>
@ -606,9 +606,9 @@ In the home environment a box with a good firewall and no GUI components install
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orge446066" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orge446066">Why can't I access my .onion site with a Tor browser?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orge446066">
<div id="outline-container-org415c41b" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org415c41b">Why can't I access my .onion site with a Tor browser?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org415c41b">
<p>
Probably you need to add the site to the NoScript whitelist. Typically click/press on the noscript icon (or select from the menu on mobile) then select <i>whitelist</i> and add the site URL. You may also need to disable HTTPS Everywhere when using onion addresses, which don't use https.
</p>
@ -618,9 +618,9 @@ Another factor to be aware of is that it can take a while for the onion address
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgee92e8d" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgee92e8d">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgee92e8d">
<div id="outline-container-orgc1ec572" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgc1ec572">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgc1ec572">
<p>
It was originally designed to run on the Beaglebone Black, but that should be regarded as the most minimal system, because it's single core and has by today's standards a small amount of memory. Obviously the more powerful the hardware is the faster things like web pages (blog, social networking, etc) will be served but the more electricity such a system will require if you're running it 24/7. A good compromise between performance and energy consumption is something like an old netbook. The battery of an old netbook or laptop even gives you <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supply">UPS capability</a> to keep the system going during brief power outages or cable re-arrangements, and that means using full disk encryption on the server also becomes more practical.
</p>
@ -630,9 +630,9 @@ It was originally designed to run on the Beaglebone Black, but that should be re
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org69a37d0" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org69a37d0">Can I add more users to the system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org69a37d0">
<div id="outline-container-org1c08114" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org1c08114">Can I add more users to the system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org1c08114">
<p>
Yes. Freedombone can support a small number of users, for a "<i>friends and family</i>" type of home installation. This gives them access to an email account, XMPP, SIP phone and the blog (depending on whether the variant which you installed includes those).
</p>
@ -655,9 +655,9 @@ Another point is that Freedombone installations are not intended to support many
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org2cf9868" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org2cf9868">Why not use Signal for mobile chat?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org2cf9868">
<div id="outline-container-org5740b8c" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org5740b8c">Why not use Signal for mobile chat?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org5740b8c">
<p>
Celebrities recommend Signal. It's Free Software so it must be good, right?
</p>
@ -667,11 +667,11 @@ If you are currently using a proprietary chat app, something without any encrypt
</p>
<ul class="org-ul">
<li><b>It uses phone numbers</b>. Phone numbers are used for Signal's initial verification, and they can of course be intercepted or faked. Plus it means that Open Whisper Systems keeps a list of phone numbers on its centralised server for its <i>"X has joined Signal"</i> notification. Even if they're hashed, they're still unique identifiers and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_table">rainbow tables</a> for the phone number system probably exist. Phone numbers are convenient for some users, but are also a non-trivial security risk. If you're using Signal then consider what it knows about who your contacts are, where that data is located and who else might have access to that.</li>
<li><b>It uses phone numbers</b>. Phone numbers are used for Signal's initial verification, and they can of course be intercepted or faked. Plus it means that Open Whisper Systems keeps a list of phone numbers on its centralised server for its <i>"X has joined Signal"</i> notification. Even if they're hashed, they're still unique identifiers and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_table">rainbow tables</a> for the phone number system probably exist. Phone numbers are convenient for some users, but are also a non-trivial security risk. If you're using Signal then consider what it knows about who your contacts are, where that data is located and who else might have access to that. Consider what might happen if an adversary gets to know your mobile number.</li>
<li><b>It's based on a single server</b> run by Open Whisper Systems. That's a single point of failure and ought to be a big red flag (of the sporting rather than the socialist variety) as a possible locus for concentrated nefariousness.</li>
<li><b>It requires the installation of Google Play</b>. If you already have Google Play installed on a stock Android OS then this doesn't increase your security problems, but for other more secure Android variants it's a massive increase in attack surface.</li>
<li><b>It requires the installation of Google Play</b>. If you already have Google Play installed on a stock Android OS then this doesn't increase your security problems, but for other more secure Android variants it's a massive increase in attack surface. There is a separate apk available for download, but it won't receive updates and the hash shown on the site often doesn't match.</li>
<li><b>It depends entirely upon the Google message pushing system</b>. That means that Google <i>at least knows who Signal messages are being sent to and may be able to infer the rest via your (insecure) Android phone contact list or via timing correlation of alternating deliveries</i>. Remember that for an adversary metadata in aggregate is much better than having the content of messages. At any time Google could decide that it doesn't want to support Signal, or in adverse circumstances they could be leaned upon by the usual agencies or government cronies.</li>
<li><b>Their privacy policy indicates that they will give whatever server data they have to third parties</b> under some conditions. Of course this is always claimed to be <i>for the very best of reasons</i> - such as combating fraud - but once that sort of disclosure capability exists it may be abused without you ever knowing about it.</li>
<li><b>Their privacy policy indicates that they will give whatever server data they have to third parties</b> under some conditions. Of course this is always claimed to be <i>for the very best of reasons</i> - such as combating fraud - but once that sort of disclosure capability exists it may be abused without you ever knowing about it. Consider how difficult, or not, it may be for a government to reverse engineer a database of hashed telephone numbers.</li>
<li><b>Forking isn't really an option</b>. A fork was tried, but Moxie got annoyed when it still used his server. At the same time the level of interest in federating the server is not detectable with our best intrumentation, and is suspected to be negative. That's a catch 22 which effectively means that independent implementations of Signal will always leave some users unable to communicate with each other.</li>
</ul>
@ -680,9 +680,9 @@ To give credit where it's due Signal is good, but it could be a lot better. The
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgdcc1837" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgdcc1837">What is the most secure chat app to use on mobile?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgdcc1837">
<div id="outline-container-org5dc46dd" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org5dc46dd">What is the most secure chat app to use on mobile?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org5dc46dd">
<p>
On mobile there are various options. The apps which are likely to be most secure are ones which have end-to-end encryption enabled by default and which can also be onion routed via Orbot. End-to-end encryption secures the content of the message and onion routing obscures the metadata, making it hard for a passive adversary to know who is communicating with who.
</p>
@ -692,13 +692,13 @@ The current safest way to chat is to use <a href="https://conversations.im">Conv
</p>
<p>
There are many <a href="#org2cf9868">other fashionable chat apps</a> with end-to-end security, but often they are closed source, have a single central server or can't be onion routed. It's also important to remember that closed source chat apps should be assumed to be untrustworthy, since their security cannot be independently verified.
There are many <a href="#org5740b8c">other fashionable chat apps</a> with end-to-end security, but often they are closed source, have a single central server or can't be onion routed. It's also important to remember that closed source chat apps should be assumed to be untrustworthy, since their security cannot be independently verified.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org663ac7a" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org663ac7a">How do I remove a user from the system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org663ac7a">
<div id="outline-container-orge052ac8" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orge052ac8">How do I remove a user from the system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orge052ac8">
<p>
To remove a user:
</p>
@ -713,9 +713,9 @@ Select <i>Administrator controls</i> then <i>Manage Users</i> and then <i>Delete
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgb37d231" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgb37d231">Why is logging for web sites turned off by default?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgb37d231">
<div id="outline-container-org0b5135f" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org0b5135f">Why is logging for web sites turned off by default?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org0b5135f">
<p>
If you're making profits out of the logs by running large server warehouses and then data mining what users click on - as is the business model of well known internet companies - then logging everything makes total sense. However, if you're running a home server then logging really only makes sense if you're trying to diagnose some specific problem with the system, and outside of that context logging everything becomes more of a liability than an asset.
</p>
@ -729,9 +729,9 @@ On the Freedombone system web logs containing IP addresses are turned off by def
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org9d48040" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org9d48040">How do I reset the tripwire?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org9d48040">
<div id="outline-container-org5725c65" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org5725c65">How do I reset the tripwire?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org5725c65">
<p>
The tripwire will be automatically reset once per week. If you want to reset it earlier then do the following:
</p>
@ -746,9 +746,9 @@ Select <i>Administrator controls</i> then "reset tripwire" using cursors and spa
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgdbc9954" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgdbc9954">Is metadata protected?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgdbc9954">
<div id="outline-container-orga7060eb" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orga7060eb">Is metadata protected?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orga7060eb">
<blockquote>
<p>
"<i>We kill people based on metadata</i>"
@ -764,9 +764,9 @@ Even when using Freedombone metadata analysis by third parties is still possible
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org202318a" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org202318a">How do I create email processing rules?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org202318a">
<div id="outline-container-org9f546cf" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org9f546cf">How do I create email processing rules?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org9f546cf">
<div class="org-src-container">
<pre class="src src-bash">ssh username@domainname -p 2222
</pre>
@ -822,9 +822,9 @@ Spamassassin is also available and within Mutt you can use the S (shift+s) key t
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org5aa3ee6" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org5aa3ee6">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org5aa3ee6">
<div id="outline-container-org4bd61c8" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org4bd61c8">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org4bd61c8">
<p>
If you run the command:
</p>
@ -847,9 +847,9 @@ https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/whats-my-ip/
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org7c9475d" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org7c9475d">How do I change my encryption settings?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org7c9475d">
<div id="outline-container-org4cc674a" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org4cc674a">How do I change my encryption settings?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org4cc674a">
<p>
Suppose that some new encryption vulnerability has been announced and that you need to change your encryption settings. Maybe an algorithm thought to be secure is now no longer so and you need to remove it. You can change your settings by doing the following:
</p>
@ -864,9 +864,9 @@ Select <i>Administrator controls</i> then select <i>Security Settings</i>. You w
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org6abf1fd" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org6abf1fd">How do I get a domain name?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org6abf1fd">
<div id="outline-container-orgab5e3c9" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgab5e3c9">How do I get a domain name?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgab5e3c9">
<p>
Suppose that you have bought a domain name (rather than using a free subdomain on freedns) and you want to use that instead.
</p>
@ -930,9 +930,9 @@ You should now be able to send an email from <i>postmaster@mynewdomainname</i> a
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org7342a10" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org7342a10">How do I get a "real" SSL/TLS/HTTPS certificate?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org7342a10">
<div id="outline-container-org591d315" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org591d315">How do I get a "real" SSL/TLS/HTTPS certificate?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org591d315">
<p>
If you did the full install or selected the social variant then the system will have tried to obtain a Let's Encrypt certificate automatically during the install process. If this failed for any reason, or if you have created a new site which you need a certificate for then do the following:
</p>
@ -951,9 +951,9 @@ One thing to be aware of is that Let's Encrypt doesn't support many dynamic DNS
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgb7c163c" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgb7c163c">How do I renew a Let's Encrypt certificate?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgb7c163c">
<div id="outline-container-org18bf098" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org18bf098">How do I renew a Let's Encrypt certificate?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org18bf098">
<p>
Normally certificates will be automatically renewed once per month, so you don't need to be concerned about it. If anything goes wrong with the automatic renewal then you should receive a warning email.
</p>
@ -972,9 +972,9 @@ Select <i>Administrator controls</i> then <b>Security settings</b> then <b>Renew
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgb89b3f5" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgb89b3f5">I tried to renew a Let's Encrypt certificate and it failed. What should I do?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgb89b3f5">
<div id="outline-container-org3f1245f" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org3f1245f">I tried to renew a Let's Encrypt certificate and it failed. What should I do?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org3f1245f">
<p>
Most likely it's because Let's Encrypt doesn't support your particular domain or subdomain. Currently free subdomains tend not to work. You'll need to buy a domain name, link it to your dynamic DNS account and then do:
</p>
@ -989,17 +989,17 @@ Select <i>Administrator controls</i> then <b>Security settings</b> then <b>Creat
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org1983e96" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org1983e96">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org1983e96">
<div id="outline-container-org188259e" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org188259e">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org188259e">
<p>
<a href="https://cryptostorm.org/viewtopic.php?f=63&amp;t=2954&amp;sid=7de2d1e699cfde2f574e6a7f6ea5a173">That pledge</a> is utterly worthless. Years ago people trusted Google in the same sort of way, because they promised not be be evil and because a lot of the engineers working for them seemed like honest types who were "<i>on our side</i>". Post-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymwars">nymwars</a> and post-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)">PRISM</a> we know exactly how much Google cared about the privacy and security of its users. But Google is only one particular example. In general don't trust pledges made by companies, even if the people running them seem really sincere.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgd36fd8f" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgd36fd8f">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgd36fd8f">
<div id="outline-container-orgde3861a" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgde3861a">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgde3861a">
<p>
Welcome to the world of email. Email is really the archetypal decentralized service, developed during the early days of the internet. In principle anyone can run an email server, and that's exactly what you're doing with Freedombone. Email is very useful, but it has a big problem, and that's that the protocols are totally insecure. That made it easy for spammers to do their thing, and in response highly elaborate spam filtering and blocking systems were developed. Chances are that your emails are being blocked in this way. Sometimes the blocking is so indisciminate that entire countries are excluded. What can you do about it? Unless you control the block list at the receiving end you may not be able to do much unless you can find an email proxy server which is trusted by the receiving server.
</p>
@ -1030,9 +1030,9 @@ So the situation with email presently is pretty bad, and there's a clear selecti
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgda2be97" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgda2be97">Tor is censored/blocked in my area. What can I do?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgda2be97">
<div id="outline-container-orgf11c8bb" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgf11c8bb">Tor is censored/blocked in my area. What can I do?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgf11c8bb">
<p>
If you can find some details for an obfs4 Tor bridge (its IP address, port number and key or nickname) then you can set up the system to use it to connect to the Tor network. Unlike relay nodes the IP addresses for bridges are not public information and so can't be easily known and added to block lists by authoritarian regimes or over-zealous ISPs.
</p>
@ -1059,9 +1059,9 @@ You can also set your system to act as a Tor bridge, although this is not recomm
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org11e6e2f" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org11e6e2f">I want to block a particular domain from getting its content into my social network sites</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org11e6e2f">
<div id="outline-container-orgf4e67f7" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgf4e67f7">I want to block a particular domain from getting its content into my social network sites</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgf4e67f7">
<p>
If you're being pestered by some domain which contains bad/illegal/harrassing content or irritating users you can block domains at the firewall level. Go to the administrator control panel and select <i>domain blocking</i>. You can then block, unblock and view the list of blocked domains.
</p>
@ -1076,9 +1076,9 @@ Select <i>Administrator controls</i> then <i>Domain blocking</i>.
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org6189535" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org6189535">The mesh system doesn't boot from USB drive</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org6189535">
<div id="outline-container-org2629f66" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org2629f66">The mesh system doesn't boot from USB drive</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org2629f66">
<p>
If the system doesn't boot and reports an error which includes <b>/dev/mapper/loop0p1</b> then reboot with <b>Ctrl-Alt-Del</b> and when you see the grub menu press <b>e</b> and manually change <b>/dev/mapper/loop0p1</b> to <b>/dev/sdb1</b>, then press <b>Ctrl-x</b>. If that doesn't work then reboot and try <b>/dev/sdc1</b> instead.
</p>