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Secure Messaging with Retroshare

Secure Messaging with Retroshare

YOU'LL Need THIS RETROSHARE

Download this free, open- source software from world wide web.retroshare.internet.

A FRIEND

You need at least one similarly privacy or security witting friend.

THESE DAYS, our privacy and security are constantly under attack, non simply from foreign agencies or hackers, but even big business and government. If you're looking for a manner to go on your online communications individual, Retroshare is one of the most secure options out there.

Retroshare describes itself every bit "a secure decentralized communication platform." In layman'due south terms, this means there are no central servers where sensitive information is stored; instead, Retroshare employs a variant of P2P engineering it calls Friend-to-Friend (F2F). F2F enables you to build a private network of friends without anyone else-including your friends—knowing who's in it.

Whatever your messaging needs, Retroshare has your back covered. Within a single application, you'll find tools for instant messaging, private post, secure P2P file sharing, and public and individual chat channels. While the program isn't completely anonymous—your identity enables your friends to see both who you are and what your IP address is—there are tools and channels you can access completely anonymously.

Maybe Retroshare's biggest fault is in trying to cram so much functionality into a single tool, which creates a cluttered and fussy interface, with useful settings buried abroad. Simply if that'south been putting yous off, fret no more. We've dived in head commencement with the help of some friends to navigate its murky waters, and testify you lot how to get started with your ain private network. -nick peers

i SET UP PROFILE AND FIRST NODE

Head to www.retroshare.net and download the latest Qt4 version, because information technology's the same user interface institute in the Mac and Ubuntu versions. Once downloaded, double-click the setup file and follow the prompts—you take the option of installing it as a regular application, or as a portable app.

>> Launch Retroshare, and create a new username and password [Prototype A]—the stronger the amend. Go along moving your mouse randomly around the screen until the progress bar is at to the lowest degree twenty percent (but aim to reach 100 percent). In one case y'all're happy, click "Generate new profile and node."

ii Swap CERTIFICATES WITH A FRIEND

Close the welcome screen to view your Retroshare certificate—a lengthy cord of alphanumeric characters and symbols. Click the Retroshare icon in a higher place it to reveal five different means to brand friends [Image B]. Nosotros're assuming yous're post-obit this tutorial with a friend, and then choose 1 of the two ways to share your certificate: either via the clipboard (which yous paste into another document or application), or a file. If yous choose the "Save your Cert into a file" option, salve information technology with a *.rsc file extension, then transfer it securely to your friend—either physically (via USB flash drives, say, or even a printout), over a local network share, or perhaps via another secure messaging platform, such as PGP-encrypted email.

3 Brand Connection

Once you've received it, click "Add friends certificate." You lot can blazon information technology in painstakingly by hand, paste it from your clipboard, or click "Open certificate" to open up the certificate file they've shared with yous. Click "Next," and you'll encounter it'due south signed by the name of the person it purports to be from. If you're non 100 per centum convinced of the origin of the file, click "End." But if you're happy with its veracity, click "Show Avant-garde options," and cheque "Authenticate friend (Sign PGP Key)" [Prototype C]. This adds your proof to the primal that it's 18-carat, to help others decide whether it'south safe or not. If you've decided to authenticate the central, you need to enter the password you created in step one after clicking "Terminate."

4 COMPLETE CONNECTION

A Connection Assistant opens, which sets upward your network connexion. When it's online, it confirms you've reached your friend. Y'all may need to prod your friend via their "Log" button to accept. When washed, you'll see a "Congratulations, y'all are connected" message. Click "OK," then switch to the "Network" section, where they're listed under "Friend Nodes." Echo for any other friends.

>> Become to the "Network" section and switch to the "Network graph" tab. Yous'll see how you're continued to your friends, but that they're non (nevertheless) continued to each other. This serves equally a reminder of how Retroshare'south F2F network works: All connections are individual; you lot don't simply gain admission to another person's set of friends.

5 LINK FRIENDS TOGETHER

Friends tin—if they wish—connect directly, besides. This is done via the "Add" push from the "Home" section. This time, choose "Recommend my friends to each other." You need to bank check the boxes of those you wish to introduce in both "Recommend friends" and "To" [Image D]. Your friends then receive two messages in their Post box, ane directed to them, and the other where they've been CCed. They need to open the message directly addressed to them, where they'll see the other person's Retroshare certificate has been attached: Merely click this to add it in the usual way.

6 WORKING WITH NODES

To employ Retroshare on more than than one reckoner, you lot need to transfer your profile. First, export information technology from your PC: Select "Network > Keyring," right-click your profile entry, and choose "Export/create a new node," then "Consign selected cardinal." Save the .asc file and transfer information technology to your new estimator.

Open up Retroshare on the 2d device, and click "Option > Advanced options," then "Option > Utilise existing profile." Load in your .asc file. This pre-fills the profile proper name-requite your node a name to differentiate information technology from your main PC, then enter your password, motility the mouse near, and click "Become!"

By default, each node shares your name, PGP ID, and PGP fingerprint, only they're assigned unique location IDs. Each node is-by default-isolated from the others, so you lot tin cull who gets to contact you on each node. The quickest fashion to copy all your friends beyond is via the "Network" section. Right-click "Trusted nodes" (or a grouping proper name), and cull "Export friends list." Transfer the exported file beyond, then re-import information technology into your new node from the same dialog.

TIPS AND TRICKS

As if Retroshare'southward existing features weren't plenty, it'south possible to expand it further using plugins. Ii are included with the Windows version, only are disabled by default. Navigate to "Preferences > Plugins," and click "Enable" side by side to the VoIP.dll plugin to add voice and video chat to Retroshare'due south "Network" button; enable FeedReader to prepare upwardly an RSS feed for your own utilise or to share via a forum. Once enabled, configure both via their own sections in "Preferences" (in the case of the VoIP plugin, both you and your chat partner need information technology installed and running to use it).

Retroshare comes with a built-in web interface, giving you lot admission to a limited subset of its features through your spider web browser. Navigate to "Preferences > Webinterface" to enable it. By default, y'all're limited to access through the computer Retroshare is installed on; check "Permit admission from all IP addresses," and you tin can then admission information technology from other computers on your local network using their IP address, and the designated port—for instance, 192.168.0.three:9090.

REVIEW CONNECTIONS

Once your friends are connected to each other, switch to the "Keyring" tab under "Network" to review all the keys you've received-look at the Trust level. "Personal signature" refers to the fact you received the certificate straight from them, while "Untrusted peer" indicates yous connected through a third-party introduction.

>> If you're confident the person is who they announced to exist, correct-click their profile, and choose "Contour details." Y'all'll see a listing of people who have signed the key, plus a "Trust level" drib-down carte-click this to signal your confidence in this person. If you trust them implicitly, click "Sign this key" if y'all oasis't already done so-when y'all then introduce them to other people, they'll see that you lot've signed their certificate, too, indicating they're genuine.

7 Use RETROSHARE FOR CHAT AND MESSAGING

The "Network" tab doubles up as Retroshare'due south instant messaging customer. Double-click a person in the left- hand window to open a message window, and so use the tools to chat with them. Information technology works in a similar way to Skype and other IM tools: chat, add smileys, swap photos and files, and so on. You can search your chat history, plus salvage, clear, or delete it [Prototype E]. You can also send a message to everyone currently online in your nodes list using the "Broadcast" tab. Type a bulletin, and it appears in the "Broadcast" tab.

>> Right-click a person'due south name, and yous'll run into various options, including one for organizing them into groups. Several presets—co-workers, family, favorites, and so on—are provided, or you tin create your own. This option enables you to proper noun your group, plus rapidly file people into it. You'll and then see people filed accordingly in the list.

>> Switch to the "Postal service" section, and you'll come across that Retroshare can besides be used as a private e-mail service

between you and your contacts. It works in much the same style as regular email, with letters held until you lot're both online and logged into Retroshare, at which point they're delivered.

8 SHARE FILES SECURELY

Another utilise for Retroshare is as a P2P file-sharing tool. Switch to the "Files" department. Click "Configure shared directories" to edit the default directory (where files you lot download from others announced), and add more. Click "Add new" to select (or create) your new shared directory. Double-click "[Unset]" under "Visible name" to give it a proper noun that others will run across when browsing the "Friends files" tab of their "Files" section.

The default settings for file searching (no anonymous searches) and downloading (using anonymous tunnels) are all-time left alone. Note that content isn't visible to your contacts unless you double-click the green button. By default, all can now view it, then right-click "[All friend nodes]," and choose "Change group visibility" to make it visible only to a subset of your contacts using the groups from the previous step. You can ready multiple shared folders with different admission controls for each-click "Apply and shut" when done.

>> Now simply re-create files into this folder and other users tin can download them via the "Friends files" tab. Use the "My files" tab to review what you lot're sharing; aggrandize the shared directory name to view the contents of the directory. It can take a little while for new files to appear—click "Check files" to force a refresh of the view. You can also grouping files into "collections"—this is a simple file you can distribute to others. When they click on the collection, the files listed in it are automatically downloaded into the same binder structure you've gear up up inside the collection.

>> If you see sluggish Internet speeds considering too many people are grabbing your files, go to "Preferences > Network" to set a universal bandwidth limit for uploading files, or right- click a contact and choose "Profile details > Options tab" to set restrictions at an individual level. Keep an eye on the "Down" and "Up" levels in the bottom right-hand corner of the main Retroshare window to run across what'due south going on.

9 BUILD IDENTITIES

Switch to the "People" section, where y'all create profiles to identify yourself in other parts of Retroshare. Employ the "Person" tab to view your own identity as it's seen by others you're connected to. Right-click it and choose "Edit identity" to change it— change your nickname and set your avatar or photo.

>> You tin can also create new identities that sit aslope your existing ones—to do so, click the "+" button next to the "Search Persons" box, and choose "Create new Identity." By default, the identity is "owned" by you, and then while you provide a nickname and avatar, your profile details are also bachelor for others to see. You tin also create completely anonymous "pseudonyms"—provide a

nickname and an avatar, but relax in the knowledge there's nada to link them back to your ain profile.

ten ADD TO CIRCLES

By default, other people'south identities don't announced nether "People." You can rectify this by way of the Circles feature. Start, click "+" and choose "Create new circumvolve." Give your circumvolve a suitable proper name, and leave information technology fix to "Public"—this ensures your contacts (simply no one else) will exist able to run across y'all and your new circle in their "People" section. Select an identity linked to your profile in the right- hand pane, and click "<" to add together it to the list of invitees, then click "Create."

>> At present switch to the "Circles" tab, and aggrandize "Other circles." Expand your circle, right-click your name, and choose "Accept this invitation" to join the circumvolve. It at present moves to the "Circles I belong to" section, and both the circumvolve and your contacts volition now be able to run across your identity. They can now correct-click the circle and choose "Request subscription." If you accept their request via the "Circles "tab (when their proper name appears, right-click, and choose "Grant membership"), they'll show upwards in your "People" listing, too [Paradigm F].

xi AND In that location'S More

Set up individual conversation rooms via the "Chats" push button — click "+" to set 1 up. You tin can choose an identity to use, whether information technology'south public (all your friends) or private (invitation-only), and ban pseudonyms (check "Required PGP-signed identities"). Conversation rooms work much like the one-to-1 instant messaging tool, only for larger groups.

>> Retroshare as well offers Channels—a mechanism for spreading data effectually your network. The aqueduct'south creator is the only person who tin can post to the channel, but others can download your content, and y'all tin enable comments, too. Annotation that public channels go beyond your friend network—stick to circles or node groups to limit who has access.

>> Forums work in the aforementioned way every bit regular Cyberspace forums, except everything is, of course, encrypted and decentralized. Links are another variation on the aforementioned theme. In short, we've barely scratched the surface of what Retroshare tin do. It'due south incredibly flexible, with each section packed full of hidden tips and tricks—click "Preferences," and piece of work through the sections to discover even more tweaks and settings to utilize [Epitome G]. Head over to https://retroshare.readthedocs.io/en/latest/user- guide/interface and work your manner through the various sections, where y'all'll gain advanced insights into features we've covered, plus larn about the other sharing tools that we've simply touched upon.