With the new build system creating images should be relatively safe

This commit is contained in:
Bob Mottram 2015-12-03 14:09:48 +00:00
parent f56842f7c3
commit f71327a287
2 changed files with 67 additions and 72 deletions

View File

@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
#+BEGIN_CENTER
#+ATTR_HTML: :border -1
| [[file:index.html][Home]] |
| [[Why not supply a disk image download?]] |
| [[I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?]] |
| [[What is the best hardware to run this system on?]] |
| [[Can I add more users to the system?]] |

View File

@ -3,15 +3,15 @@
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
<head>
<title></title>
<!-- 2015-11-03 Tue 20:01 -->
<!-- 2015-12-03 Thu 14:09 -->
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
<title></title>
<meta name="generator" content="Org-mode" />
<meta name="author" content="Bob Mottram" />
<meta name="description" content="Turn the Beaglebone Black into a personal communications server"
/>
<meta name="keywords" content="freedombox, debian, beaglebone, hubzilla, email, web server, home server, internet, censorship, surveillance, social network, irc, jabber" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
<style type="text/css">
<!--/*--><![CDATA[/*><!--*/
.title { text-align: center;
@ -175,83 +175,79 @@ for the JavaScript code in this tag.
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline1">Why not supply a disk image download?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline1">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline2">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline2">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline3">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline3">Can I add more users to the system?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline4">Can I add more users to the system?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline4">How do I remove a user from the system?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline5">How do I remove a user from the system?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline5">How do I reset the tripwire?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline6">How do I reset the tripwire?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline6">Is metadata protected?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline7">Is metadata protected?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline7">How do I create email processing rules?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline8">How do I create email processing rules?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline8">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline9">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline9">How do I change my encryption settings?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline10">How do I change my encryption settings?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline10">How do I get a domain name?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline11">How do I get a domain name?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline11">How do I get a "real" SSL certificate?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline12">How do I get a "real" SSL certificate?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline12">How do I renew a StartSSL certificate?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline13">How do I renew a StartSSL certificate?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline13">Why use self-signed certificates?</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline14">Why use self-signed certificates?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline14">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline15">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline16">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</a></td>
<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgheadline15">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline1" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline1">Why not supply a disk image download?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline1">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline16" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline16">Why not supply a disk image download?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline16">
<p>
Shipping a Freedombone disk image ready to install on a flash disk would be easy, but disk images are relatively opaque. It would be quite easy to hide something nasty within a disk image and the user might never know. To guard against that possibility installing via the <b>freedombone</b> command is a lot more transparent, since it's really just a bash script. You can check the script code to see exactly what it's doing, and the packages are all downloaded from standard Debian repos (you can even choose which one you trust) or git repos. Doing it this way the system is fully auditable, whereas when shipping a disk image it's harder to be confident that no nefarious extras have been added.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline2" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline2">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline2">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline1" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline1">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline1">
<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>
@ -261,9 +257,9 @@ The lack of a static IP address can be worked around by using a dynamic DNS serv
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline3" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline3">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline3">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline2" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline2">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline2">
<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>
@ -273,9 +269,9 @@ It was originally designed to run on the Beaglebone Black, but that should be re
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline4" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline4">Can I add more users to the system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline4">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline3" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline3">Can I add more users to the system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline3">
<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>
@ -301,9 +297,9 @@ Another point is that Freedombone installations are not intended to support many
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline5" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline5">How do I remove a user from the system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline5">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline4" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline4">How do I remove a user from the system?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline4">
<p>
To remove a user:
</p>
@ -321,9 +317,9 @@ Select <i>Manage Users</i> and then <i>Delete a user</i>. Note that this will de
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline6" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline6">How do I reset the tripwire?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline6">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline5" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline5">How do I reset the tripwire?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline5">
<p>
The tripwire will be automatically reset once per week. If you want to reset it earlier then do the following:
</p>
@ -341,17 +337,17 @@ Select "reset tripwire" using cursors and space bar then enter.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline7" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline7">Is metadata protected?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline7">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline6" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline6">Is metadata protected?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline6">
<p>
Even when using Freedombone metadata analysis by third parties is still possible. They might have a much harder time knowing what the content is, but they can potentially construct extensive dossiers based upon who communicated with your server when. Metadata leakage is a general problem with most current web systems and it is hoped that more secure technology will become available in future. But for now if metadata protection is your main concern using Freedombone on its own won't help. You may be able to use Tor Messenger to protect the metadata of XMPP chat communications to some extent.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline8" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline8">How do I create email processing rules?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline8">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline7" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline7">How do I create email processing rules?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline7">
<div class="org-src-container">
<pre class="src src-bash">ssh username@domainname -p 2222
@ -410,9 +406,9 @@ Spamassassin is also available and within Mutt you can use the S (shift+s) key t
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline9" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline9">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline9">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline8" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline8">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline8">
<p>
If you run the command:
</p>
@ -480,9 +476,9 @@ http://httpbin.org/ip
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline10" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline10">How do I change my encryption settings?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline10">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline9" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline9">How do I change my encryption settings?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline9">
<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>
@ -500,9 +496,9 @@ Then select <i>Security Settings</i>. You will then be able to edit the crypto s
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline11" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline11">How do I get a domain name?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline11">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline10" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline10">How do I get a domain name?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline10">
<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>
@ -570,11 +566,11 @@ You should now be able to send an email from <i>postmaster@mynewdomainname</i> a
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline12" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline12">How do I get a "real" SSL certificate?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline12">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline11" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline11">How do I get a "real" SSL certificate?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline11">
<p>
You can obtain a free "official" (as in recognised by default by web browsers) SSL certificate from <a href="https://www.startssl.com/">StartSSL</a>. You will first need to have bought a domain name, since it's not possible to obtain one for a freedns subdomain, so see <a href="#orgheadline11">Using your own domain</a> for details of how to do that. You should also have tested that you can send email to the domain and receive it on the Freedombone (via Mutt or any other email client).
You can obtain a free "official" (as in recognised by default by web browsers) SSL certificate from <a href="https://www.startssl.com/">StartSSL</a>. You will first need to have bought a domain name, since it's not possible to obtain one for a freedns subdomain, so see <a href="#orgheadline10">Using your own domain</a> for details of how to do that. You should also have tested that you can send email to the domain and receive it on the Freedombone (via Mutt or any other email client).
</p>
<p>
@ -748,9 +744,9 @@ Now visit your web site at <a href="https://mydomainname.com/">https://mydomainn
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline13" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline13">How do I renew a StartSSL certificate?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline13">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline12" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline12">How do I renew a StartSSL certificate?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline12">
<p>
The StartSSL certificates last for a year. You can check the expiry date of your current certificate/s by going to your site and if you're using Firefox then click on the <b>lock icon</b>, select "<b>more information</b>" then "<b>view certificate</b>".
</p>
@ -820,9 +816,9 @@ The new certificate will then be installed.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline14" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline14">Why use self-signed certificates?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline14">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline13" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline13">Why use self-signed certificates?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline13">
<p>
Almost everywhere on the web you will read that self-signed certificates are worthless. They bring up 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 <i>no certainty about who that connection is with</i>. 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 be trusted. There have been various scandals involving such organisations, and it does not seem plausible to assume that they are somehow immune to the sort of treatment which <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavabit">Lavabit</a> received. 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>
@ -836,17 +832,17 @@ For now a self-signed certificate will probably in most cases protect your commu
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline15" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline15">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline15">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline14" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline14">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline14">
<p>
<a href="http://seppuku.cryptostorm.org/">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-orgheadline16" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline16">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline16">
<div id="outline-container-orgheadline15" class="outline-2">
<h2 id="orgheadline15">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</h2>
<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgheadline15">
<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 probably you can't do anything. There is zero accountability for such blocking, and you can't just contact someone and say "hey, I'm not a spammer". This system works well for the big internet companies because it effectively centralises email to a few well-known brand names and keeps any independent servers out.
</p>