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Change advice on self-signed certs

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Bob Mottram 2016-10-28 23:33:28 +01:00
parent 645959f0fa
commit a66c124fb3
2 changed files with 107 additions and 123 deletions
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7
doc/EN/faq.org
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@ -287,13 +287,8 @@ Select /Administrator controls/ then *Security settings* then *Create a new Let'
* Why use self-signed certificates?
Almost everywhere on the web you will read that self-signed certificates are worthless. They bring up /scary-scary looking/ browser warnings and gurus will advise you not to use them. Self-signed certificates are quite useful though. What the scary warnings mean - and it would be good if they explained this more clearly - is that you have an encrypted connection established but there is /no certainty about who that connection is with/.
The usual solution to this is to get a "real" SSL certificate from one of the certificate authorities, but it's far from clear that such authorities can actually be trusted. Yes, /Let's Encrypt/ is awesome and very convenient but it's really a small sticking plaster over a much bigger problem. If you don't believe me then do some independent research on the history of certificate authorities and the scandals associated with them, then consider how many of those within your browser (usually under advanced settings) are "trusted". Some of those "trusted" certs are for companies with /incredibly sketchy reputations/, or governments such as that of China. Consider whether you judge the Chinese government to always be truthful about which certificate belongs to which domain, and that it will never abuse such a capability for censorship or political/commercial advantage. Then you'll begin to get an idea of the ramshackle nature of what currently exists.
The current strategy on this system is to typically create self-signed certificates during the initial installation but also to have the ability to easily convert those to LetsEncrypt certificates via the security settings on the administrator control panel.
So although most internet users have been trained to look for the lock icon as an indication that the connection is secured that belief may not always be well founded.
Despite the hype, security of web sites on the internet is still a somewhat unsolved problem, and what we have now is a less than ideal but /good enough to fool most of the people most of the time/ kind of arrangement. Long term a better solution might be to have a number of certificate authorities in a number of different jurisdictions vote on whether a given certificate actually belongs to a given domain name. Experimental systems like this exist, but they're not widely used. Since the current certificate system has an enormous amount of inertia behind it change could be slow in arriving.
For now a self-signed certificate will probably in most cases protect your communications from "bulk" passive surveillance. Once you've got past the scary browser warning and accepted the certificate under most conditions (except when starting up the Tor browser) you should not repeatedly see that warning. If you do then someone may be trying to meddle with your connection to the server. You can also take a note of the fingerprint of the certificate and verify that if you are especially concerned. If the fingerprint remains the same then you're probably ok.
* Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge
[[https://cryptostorm.org/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=2954&sid=7de2d1e699cfde2f574e6a7f6ea5a173][That pledge]] 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 "/on our side/". Post-[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymwars][nymwars]] and post-[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_%28surveillance_program%29][PRISM]] 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.
* Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?

223
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>
<!-- 2016-10-18 Tue 22:26 -->
<!-- 2016-10-28 Fri 23:33 -->
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
<title></title>
@ -256,27 +256,27 @@ for the JavaScript code in this tag.
</colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgf8f050c">What applications are supported?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org4418e50">What applications are supported?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgdf88eb1">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orge233a5b">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org8fe3620">Why Freedombone and not FreedomBox?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgd26a3a0">Why Freedombone and not FreedomBox?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org75ec775">Why not support building images for Raspberry Pi?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org3cbe0f7">Why not support building images for Raspberry Pi?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgaaf7e33">Why use Github?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgc3981d9">Why use Github?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgd6067e6">Keys and emails should not be stored on servers. Why do you do that?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org695f094">Keys and emails should not be stored on servers. Why do you do that?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
@ -284,83 +284,83 @@ for the JavaScript code in this tag.
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgee4cbaa">Why can't I access my .onion site with a Tor browser?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgb0be5ea">Why can't I access my .onion site with a Tor browser?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org190df49">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org7939cde">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org5b712fc">Can I add more users to the system?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org01ed2e3">Can I add more users to the system?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgeab6f87">Why not use Signal for mobile chat?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org2e74da6">Why not use Signal for mobile chat?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgaef7e23">What is the most secure chat app to use on mobile?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgda1a008">What is the most secure chat app to use on mobile?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgf946ade">How do I remove a user from the system?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgbc62fba">How do I remove a user from the system?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgfa723c2">How do I reset the tripwire?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org0974eae">How do I reset the tripwire?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org268cec7">Is metadata protected?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org47fbe58">Is metadata protected?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgd1b7652">How do I create email processing rules?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org0d3329a">How do I create email processing rules?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org4989530">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org021d0da">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org38cb960">How do I change my encryption settings?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org19395fd">How do I change my encryption settings?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org8c78267">How do I get a domain name?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgee820dd">How do I get a domain name?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgc37e889">How do I get a "real" SSL/TLS/HTTPS certificate?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org7aac1a2">How do I get a "real" SSL/TLS/HTTPS certificate?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org57f3b1e">How do I renew a Let's Encrypt certificate?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgf613409">How do I renew a Let's Encrypt certificate?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org1bd7f7b">I tried to renew a Let's Encrypt certificate and it failed. What should I do?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org4353b1e">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="#orge3800ac">Why use self-signed certificates?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgad3cff5">Why use self-signed certificates?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org30dd97c">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org1408973">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org81b9b8b">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#org6e6ab5c">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgf8f050c" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgf8f050c">What applications are supported?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgf8f050c">
<div id="outline-container-org4418e50" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org4418e50">What applications are supported?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org4418e50">
<ul class="org-ul">
<li><b>Email</b> - Server and Mutt client configured for use with GPG and Emacs or Vim</li>
<li><b>DLNA</b> - Play music on your local network devices</li>
@ -385,9 +385,9 @@ for the JavaScript code in this tag.
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgdf88eb1" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgdf88eb1">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgdf88eb1">
<div id="outline-container-orge233a5b" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orge233a5b">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orge233a5b">
<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>
@ -397,17 +397,17 @@ The lack of a static IP address can be worked around by using a dynamic DNS serv
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org8fe3620" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org8fe3620">Why Freedombone and not FreedomBox?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org8fe3620">
<div id="outline-container-orgd26a3a0" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgd26a3a0">Why Freedombone and not FreedomBox?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgd26a3a0">
<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-orge151f64" class="outline-3">
<h3 id="orge151f64">Similarities</h3>
<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-orge151f64">
<div id="outline-container-org78d3058" class="outline-3">
<h3 id="org78d3058">Similarities</h3>
<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-org78d3058">
<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>
@ -421,9 +421,9 @@ When the project began in late 2013 the FreedomBox project seemed to be going no
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org5b5718a" class="outline-3">
<h3 id="org5b5718a">Differences</h3>
<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-org5b5718a">
<div id="outline-container-org66441b8" class="outline-3">
<h3 id="org66441b8">Differences</h3>
<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-org66441b8">
<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>
@ -438,9 +438,9 @@ When the project began in late 2013 the FreedomBox project seemed to be going no
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org75ec775" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org75ec775">Why not support building images for Raspberry Pi?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org75ec775">
<div id="outline-container-org3cbe0f7" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org3cbe0f7">Why not support building images for Raspberry Pi?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org3cbe0f7">
<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>
@ -450,9 +450,9 @@ So although the Raspberry Pi is cheap and hugely popular it's not supported by t
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgaaf7e33" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgaaf7e33">Why use Github?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgaaf7e33">
<div id="outline-container-orgc3981d9" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgc3981d9">Why use Github?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgc3981d9">
<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>
@ -470,9 +470,9 @@ Currently many of the repositories used for applications which are not yet packa
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgd6067e6" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgd6067e6">Keys and emails should not be stored on servers. Why do you do that?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgd6067e6">
<div id="outline-container-org695f094" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org695f094">Keys and emails should not be stored on servers. Why do you do that?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org695f094">
<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>
@ -530,17 +530,17 @@ In the home environment a box with a good firewall and no GUI components install
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgee4cbaa" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgee4cbaa">Why can't I access my .onion site with a Tor browser?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgee4cbaa">
<div id="outline-container-orgb0be5ea" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgb0be5ea">Why can't I access my .onion site with a Tor browser?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgb0be5ea">
<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>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org190df49" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org190df49">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org190df49">
<div id="outline-container-org7939cde" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org7939cde">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org7939cde">
<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>
@ -550,9 +550,9 @@ It was originally designed to run on the Beaglebone Black, but that should be re
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org5b712fc" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org5b712fc">Can I add more users to the system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org5b712fc">
<div id="outline-container-org01ed2e3" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org01ed2e3">Can I add more users to the system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org01ed2e3">
<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>
@ -575,9 +575,9 @@ Another point is that Freedombone installations are not intended to support many
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgeab6f87" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgeab6f87">Why not use Signal for mobile chat?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgeab6f87">
<div id="outline-container-org2e74da6" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org2e74da6">Why not use Signal for mobile chat?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org2e74da6">
<p>
Celebrities recommend Signal. It's Free Software so it must be good, right?
</p>
@ -598,9 +598,9 @@ 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-orgaef7e23" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgaef7e23">What is the most secure chat app to use on mobile?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgaef7e23">
<div id="outline-container-orgda1a008" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgda1a008">What is the most secure chat app to use on mobile?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgda1a008">
<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>
@ -610,13 +610,13 @@ The current safest way to chat is to use <a href="https://conversations.im">Conv
</p>
<p>
There are many <a href="#orgeab6f87">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="#org2e74da6">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-orgf946ade" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgf946ade">How do I remove a user from the system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgf946ade">
<div id="outline-container-orgbc62fba" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgbc62fba">How do I remove a user from the system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgbc62fba">
<p>
To remove a user:
</p>
@ -631,9 +631,9 @@ Select <i>Administrator controls</i> then <i>Manage Users</i> and then <i>Delete
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgfa723c2" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgfa723c2">How do I reset the tripwire?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgfa723c2">
<div id="outline-container-org0974eae" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org0974eae">How do I reset the tripwire?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org0974eae">
<p>
The tripwire will be automatically reset once per week. If you want to reset it earlier then do the following:
</p>
@ -648,9 +648,9 @@ Select <i>Administrator controls</i> then "reset tripwire" using cursors and spa
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org268cec7" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org268cec7">Is metadata protected?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org268cec7">
<div id="outline-container-org47fbe58" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org47fbe58">Is metadata protected?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org47fbe58">
<blockquote>
<p>
"<i>We kill people based on metadata</i>"
@ -666,9 +666,9 @@ Even when using Freedombone metadata analysis by third parties is still possible
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgd1b7652" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgd1b7652">How do I create email processing rules?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgd1b7652">
<div id="outline-container-org0d3329a" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org0d3329a">How do I create email processing rules?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org0d3329a">
<div class="org-src-container">
<pre class="src src-bash">ssh username@domainname -p 2222
</pre>
@ -724,9 +724,9 @@ Spamassassin is also available and within Mutt you can use the S (shift+s) key t
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org4989530" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org4989530">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org4989530">
<div id="outline-container-org021d0da" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org021d0da">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org021d0da">
<p>
If you run the command:
</p>
@ -749,9 +749,9 @@ https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/whats-my-ip/
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org38cb960" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org38cb960">How do I change my encryption settings?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org38cb960">
<div id="outline-container-org19395fd" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org19395fd">How do I change my encryption settings?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org19395fd">
<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>
@ -766,9 +766,9 @@ Select <i>Administrator controls</i> then select <i>Security Settings</i>. You w
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org8c78267" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org8c78267">How do I get a domain name?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org8c78267">
<div id="outline-container-orgee820dd" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgee820dd">How do I get a domain name?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgee820dd">
<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>
@ -832,9 +832,9 @@ You should now be able to send an email from <i>postmaster@mynewdomainname</i> a
</div>
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<div id="outline-container-orgc37e889" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgc37e889">How do I get a "real" SSL/TLS/HTTPS certificate?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgc37e889">
<div id="outline-container-org7aac1a2" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org7aac1a2">How do I get a "real" SSL/TLS/HTTPS certificate?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org7aac1a2">
<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>
@ -853,9 +853,9 @@ One thing to be aware of is that Let's Encrypt doesn't support many dynamic DNS
</p>
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<div id="outline-container-org57f3b1e" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org57f3b1e">How do I renew a Let's Encrypt certificate?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org57f3b1e">
<div id="outline-container-orgf613409" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgf613409">How do I renew a Let's Encrypt certificate?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgf613409">
<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>
@ -874,9 +874,9 @@ Select <i>Administrator controls</i> then <b>Security settings</b> then <b>Renew
</p>
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<div id="outline-container-org1bd7f7b" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org1bd7f7b">I tried to renew a Let's Encrypt certificate and it failed. What should I do?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org1bd7f7b">
<div id="outline-container-org4353b1e" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org4353b1e">I tried to renew a Let's Encrypt certificate and it failed. What should I do?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org4353b1e">
<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>
@ -891,41 +891,30 @@ Select <i>Administrator controls</i> then <b>Security settings</b> then <b>Creat
</p>
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<div id="outline-container-orge3800ac" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orge3800ac">Why use self-signed certificates?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orge3800ac">
<div id="outline-container-orgad3cff5" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgad3cff5">Why use self-signed certificates?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgad3cff5">
<p>
Almost everywhere on the web you will read that self-signed certificates are worthless. They bring up <i>scary-scary looking</i> browser warnings and gurus will advise you not to use them. Self-signed certificates are quite useful though. What the scary warnings mean - and it would be good if they explained this more clearly - is that you have an encrypted connection established but there is <i>no certainty about who that connection is with</i>.
</p>
<p>
The usual solution to this is to get a "real" SSL certificate from one of the certificate authorities, but it's far from clear that such authorities can actually be trusted. Yes, <i>Let's Encrypt</i> is awesome and very convenient but it's really a small sticking plaster over a much bigger problem. If you don't believe me then do some independent research on the history of certificate authorities and the scandals associated with them, then consider how many of those within your browser (usually under advanced settings) are "trusted". Some of those "trusted" certs are for companies with <i>incredibly sketchy reputations</i>, or governments such as that of China. Consider whether you judge the Chinese government to always be truthful about which certificate belongs to which domain, and that it will never abuse such a capability for censorship or political/commercial advantage. Then you'll begin to get an idea of the ramshackle nature of what currently exists.
</p>
<p>
So although most internet users have been trained to look for the lock icon as an indication that the connection is secured that belief may not always be well founded.
</p>
<p>
Despite the hype, security of web sites on the internet is still a somewhat unsolved problem, and what we have now is a less than ideal but <i>good enough to fool most of the people most of the time</i> kind of arrangement. Long term a better solution might be to have a number of certificate authorities in a number of different jurisdictions vote on whether a given certificate actually belongs to a given domain name. Experimental systems like this exist, but they're not widely used. Since the current certificate system has an enormous amount of inertia behind it change could be slow in arriving.
</p>
<p>
For now a self-signed certificate will probably in most cases protect your communications from "bulk" passive surveillance. Once you've got past the scary browser warning and accepted the certificate under most conditions (except when starting up the Tor browser) you should not repeatedly see that warning. If you do then someone may be trying to meddle with your connection to the server. You can also take a note of the fingerprint of the certificate and verify that if you are especially concerned. If the fingerprint remains the same then you're probably ok.
The current strategy on this system is to typically create self-signed certificates during the initial installation but also to have the ability to easily convert those to LetsEncrypt certificates via the security settings on the administrator control panel.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-org30dd97c" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org30dd97c">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org30dd97c">
<div id="outline-container-org1408973" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org1408973">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org1408973">
<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-org81b9b8b" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org81b9b8b">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org81b9b8b">
<div id="outline-container-org6e6ab5c" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="org6e6ab5c">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org6e6ab5c">
<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>