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Change advice on self-signed certs

Bob Mottram 8 years ago
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645959f0fa
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 * Why use self-signed certificates?
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 * Why use self-signed certificates?
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 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/.
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 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/.
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-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.
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+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.
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-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.
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-
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-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.
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-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.
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 * Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge
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 * Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge
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 [[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.
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 [[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.
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 * Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?
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 * Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?

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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgf8f050c">What applications are supported?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org4418e50">What applications are supported?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgdf88eb1">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#orge233a5b">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#org8fe3620">Why Freedombone and not FreedomBox?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgd26a3a0">Why Freedombone and not FreedomBox?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#org75ec775">Why not support building images for Raspberry Pi?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org3cbe0f7">Why not support building images for Raspberry Pi?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgaaf7e33">Why use Github?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgc3981d9">Why use Github?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgd6067e6">Keys and emails should not be stored on servers. Why do you do that?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org695f094">Keys and emails should not be stored on servers. Why do you do that?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgee4cbaa">Why can't I access my .onion site with a Tor browser?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgb0be5ea">Why can't I access my .onion site with a Tor browser?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#org190df49">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org7939cde">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#org5b712fc">Can I add more users to the system?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org01ed2e3">Can I add more users to the system?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgeab6f87">Why not use Signal for mobile chat?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org2e74da6">Why not use Signal for mobile chat?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgaef7e23">What is the most secure chat app to use on mobile?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgda1a008">What is the most secure chat app to use on mobile?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgf946ade">How do I remove a user from the system?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgbc62fba">How do I remove a user from the system?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgfa723c2">How do I reset the tripwire?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org0974eae">How do I reset the tripwire?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#org268cec7">Is metadata protected?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org47fbe58">Is metadata protected?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgd1b7652">How do I create email processing rules?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org0d3329a">How do I create email processing rules?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#org4989530">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org021d0da">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#org38cb960">How do I change my encryption settings?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org19395fd">How do I change my encryption settings?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#org8c78267">How do I get a domain name?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgee820dd">How do I get a domain name?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgc37e889">How do I get a "real" SSL/TLS/HTTPS certificate?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org7aac1a2">How do I get a "real" SSL/TLS/HTTPS certificate?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#org57f3b1e">How do I renew a Let's Encrypt certificate?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgf613409">How do I renew a Let's Encrypt certificate?</a></td>
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-<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>
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+<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>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#orge3800ac">Why use self-signed certificates?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#orgad3cff5">Why use self-signed certificates?</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#org30dd97c">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org1408973">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</a></td>
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-<td class="org-left"><a href="#org81b9b8b">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</a></td>
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+<td class="org-left"><a href="#org6e6ab5c">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</a></td>
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-<div id="outline-container-orgf8f050c" class="outline-2">
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-<h2 id="orgf8f050c">What applications are supported?</h2>
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-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgf8f050c">
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+<div id="outline-container-org4418e50" class="outline-2">
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+<h2 id="org4418e50">What applications are supported?</h2>
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+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org4418e50">
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 <ul class="org-ul">
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 <li><b>Email</b> - Server and Mutt client configured for use with GPG and Emacs or Vim</li>
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 <li><b>Email</b> - Server and Mutt client configured for use with GPG and Emacs or Vim</li>
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 <li><b>DLNA</b> - Play music on your local network devices</li>
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 <li><b>DLNA</b> - Play music on your local network devices</li>
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-<h2 id="orgdf88eb1">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</h2>
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-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgdf88eb1">
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+<div id="outline-container-orge233a5b" class="outline-2">
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+<h2 id="orge233a5b">I don't have a static IP address. Can I still install this system?</h2>
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 <p>
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 <p>
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 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.
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 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.
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-<div id="outline-container-org8fe3620" class="outline-2">
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-<h2 id="org8fe3620">Why Freedombone and not FreedomBox?</h2>
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+<h2 id="orgd26a3a0">Why Freedombone and not FreedomBox?</h2>
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 <p>
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 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:
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 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:
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-<h3 id="orge151f64">Similarities</h3>
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+<div id="outline-container-org78d3058" class="outline-3">
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+<h3 id="org78d3058">Similarities</h3>
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 <li>Uses freedom-maker and vmdebootstrap to build debian images</li>
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 <li>Uses freedom-maker and vmdebootstrap to build debian images</li>
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 <li>Supports the use of Tor onion addresses to access websites</li>
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 <li>Supports the use of Tor onion addresses to access websites</li>
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-<h3 id="org5b5718a">Differences</h3>
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-<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-org5b5718a">
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+<div id="outline-container-org66441b8" class="outline-3">
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+<h3 id="org66441b8">Differences</h3>
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+<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-org66441b8">
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 <ul class="org-ul">
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 <li>FreedomBox is a Debian pure blend. Freedombone is not</li>
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 <li>FreedomBox is a Debian pure blend. Freedombone is not</li>
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 <li>Freedombone only supports Free Software. FreedomBox includes some closed binary boot blobs for certain ARM boards</li>
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 <li>Freedombone only supports Free Software. FreedomBox includes some closed binary boot blobs for certain ARM boards</li>
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-<div id="outline-container-org75ec775" class="outline-2">
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-<h2 id="org75ec775">Why not support building images for Raspberry Pi?</h2>
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-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org75ec775">
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+<div id="outline-container-org3cbe0f7" class="outline-2">
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+<h2 id="org3cbe0f7">Why not support building images for Raspberry Pi?</h2>
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+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org3cbe0f7">
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 <p>
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 <p>
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 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.
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 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.
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-<h2 id="orgaaf7e33">Why use Github?</h2>
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-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgaaf7e33">
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+<div id="outline-container-orgc3981d9" class="outline-2">
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+<h2 id="orgc3981d9">Why use Github?</h2>
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+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgc3981d9">
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 <p>
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 <p>
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 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.
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 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.
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-<div id="outline-container-orgd6067e6" class="outline-2">
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-<h2 id="orgd6067e6">Keys and emails should not be stored on servers. Why do you do that?</h2>
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-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgd6067e6">
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+<div id="outline-container-org695f094" class="outline-2">
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+<h2 id="org695f094">Keys and emails should not be stored on servers. Why do you do that?</h2>
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+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org695f094">
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 <p>
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 <p>
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 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:
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 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:
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-<h2 id="orgee4cbaa">Why can't I access my .onion site with a Tor browser?</h2>
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-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgee4cbaa">
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+<div id="outline-container-orgb0be5ea" class="outline-2">
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+<h2 id="orgb0be5ea">Why can't I access my .onion site with a Tor browser?</h2>
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+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgb0be5ea">
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 <p>
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 <p>
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 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.
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 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.
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-<div id="outline-container-org190df49" class="outline-2">
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-<h2 id="org190df49">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</h2>
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-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org190df49">
541 
+<div id="outline-container-org7939cde" class="outline-2">
542 
+<h2 id="org7939cde">What is the best hardware to run this system on?</h2>
543 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org7939cde">
544 
 <p>
 544 
 <p>
545 
 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.
 545 
 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.
546 
 </p>
 546 
 </p>
550 
 </p>
 550 
 </p>
551 
 </div>
 551 
 </div>
552 
 </div>
 552 
 </div>
553 
-<div id="outline-container-org5b712fc" class="outline-2">
554 
-<h2 id="org5b712fc">Can I add more users to the system?</h2>
555 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org5b712fc">
553 
+<div id="outline-container-org01ed2e3" class="outline-2">
554 
+<h2 id="org01ed2e3">Can I add more users to the system?</h2>
555 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org01ed2e3">
556 
 <p>
 556 
 <p>
557 
 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).
 557 
 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).
558 
 </p>
 558 
 </p>
575 
 </p>
 575 
 </p>
576 
 </div>
 576 
 </div>
577 
 </div>
 577 
 </div>
578 
-<div id="outline-container-orgeab6f87" class="outline-2">
579 
-<h2 id="orgeab6f87">Why not use Signal for mobile chat?</h2>
580 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgeab6f87">
578 
+<div id="outline-container-org2e74da6" class="outline-2">
579 
+<h2 id="org2e74da6">Why not use Signal for mobile chat?</h2>
580 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org2e74da6">
581 
 <p>
 581 
 <p>
582 
 Celebrities recommend Signal. It's Free Software so it must be good, right?
 582 
 Celebrities recommend Signal. It's Free Software so it must be good, right?
583 
 </p>
 583 
 </p>
598 
 </p>
 598 
 </p>
599 
 </div>
 599 
 </div>
600 
 </div>
 600 
 </div>
601 
-<div id="outline-container-orgaef7e23" class="outline-2">
602 
-<h2 id="orgaef7e23">What is the most secure chat app to use on mobile?</h2>
603 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgaef7e23">
601 
+<div id="outline-container-orgda1a008" class="outline-2">
602 
+<h2 id="orgda1a008">What is the most secure chat app to use on mobile?</h2>
603 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgda1a008">
604 
 <p>
 604 
 <p>
605 
 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.
 605 
 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.
606 
 </p>
 606 
 </p>
610 
 </p>
 610 
 </p>
611
611
612 
 <p>
 612 
 <p>
613 
-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.
613 
+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.
614 
 </p>
 614 
 </p>
615 
 </div>
 615 
 </div>
616 
 </div>
 616 
 </div>
617 
-<div id="outline-container-orgf946ade" class="outline-2">
618 
-<h2 id="orgf946ade">How do I remove a user from the system?</h2>
619 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgf946ade">
617 
+<div id="outline-container-orgbc62fba" class="outline-2">
618 
+<h2 id="orgbc62fba">How do I remove a user from the system?</h2>
619 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgbc62fba">
620 
 <p>
 620 
 <p>
621 
 To remove a user:
 621 
 To remove a user:
622 
 </p>
 622 
 </p>
631 
 </p>
 631 
 </p>
632 
 </div>
 632 
 </div>
633 
 </div>
 633 
 </div>
634 
-<div id="outline-container-orgfa723c2" class="outline-2">
635 
-<h2 id="orgfa723c2">How do I reset the tripwire?</h2>
636 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgfa723c2">
634 
+<div id="outline-container-org0974eae" class="outline-2">
635 
+<h2 id="org0974eae">How do I reset the tripwire?</h2>
636 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org0974eae">
637 
 <p>
 637 
 <p>
638 
 The tripwire will be automatically reset once per week. If you want to reset it earlier then do the following:
 638 
 The tripwire will be automatically reset once per week. If you want to reset it earlier then do the following:
639 
 </p>
 639 
 </p>
648 
 </p>
 648 
 </p>
649 
 </div>
 649 
 </div>
650 
 </div>
 650 
 </div>
651 
-<div id="outline-container-org268cec7" class="outline-2">
652 
-<h2 id="org268cec7">Is metadata protected?</h2>
653 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org268cec7">
651 
+<div id="outline-container-org47fbe58" class="outline-2">
652 
+<h2 id="org47fbe58">Is metadata protected?</h2>
653 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org47fbe58">
654 
 <blockquote>
 654 
 <blockquote>
655 
 <p>
 655 
 <p>
656 
 "<i>We kill people based on metadata</i>"
 656 
 "<i>We kill people based on metadata</i>"
666 
 </p>
 666 
 </p>
667 
 </div>
 667 
 </div>
668 
 </div>
 668 
 </div>
669 
-<div id="outline-container-orgd1b7652" class="outline-2">
670 
-<h2 id="orgd1b7652">How do I create email processing rules?</h2>
671 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgd1b7652">
669 
+<div id="outline-container-org0d3329a" class="outline-2">
670 
+<h2 id="org0d3329a">How do I create email processing rules?</h2>
671 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org0d3329a">
672 
 <div class="org-src-container">
 672 
 <div class="org-src-container">
673 
 <pre class="src src-bash">ssh username@domainname -p 2222
 673 
 <pre class="src src-bash">ssh username@domainname -p 2222
674 
 </pre>
 674 
 </pre>
724 
 </p>
 724 
 </p>
725 
 </div>
 725 
 </div>
726 
 </div>
 726 
 </div>
727 
-<div id="outline-container-org4989530" class="outline-2">
728 
-<h2 id="org4989530">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</h2>
729 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org4989530">
727 
+<div id="outline-container-org021d0da" class="outline-2">
728 
+<h2 id="org021d0da">Why isn't dynamic DNS working?</h2>
729 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org021d0da">
730 
 <p>
 730 
 <p>
731 
 If you run the command:
 731 
 If you run the command:
732 
 </p>
 732 
 </p>
749 
 </div>
 749 
 </div>
750 
 </div>
 750 
 </div>
751
751
752 
-<div id="outline-container-org38cb960" class="outline-2">
753 
-<h2 id="org38cb960">How do I change my encryption settings?</h2>
754 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org38cb960">
752 
+<div id="outline-container-org19395fd" class="outline-2">
753 
+<h2 id="org19395fd">How do I change my encryption settings?</h2>
754 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org19395fd">
755 
 <p>
 755 
 <p>
756 
 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:
 756 
 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:
757 
 </p>
 757 
 </p>
766 
 </p>
 766 
 </p>
767 
 </div>
 767 
 </div>
768 
 </div>
 768 
 </div>
769 
-<div id="outline-container-org8c78267" class="outline-2">
770 
-<h2 id="org8c78267">How do I get a domain name?</h2>
771 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org8c78267">
769 
+<div id="outline-container-orgee820dd" class="outline-2">
770 
+<h2 id="orgee820dd">How do I get a domain name?</h2>
771 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgee820dd">
772 
 <p>
 772 
 <p>
773 
 Suppose that you have bought a domain name (rather than using a free subdomain on freedns) and you want to use that instead.
 773 
 Suppose that you have bought a domain name (rather than using a free subdomain on freedns) and you want to use that instead.
774 
 </p>
 774 
 </p>
832 
 </div>
 832 
 </div>
833 
 </div>
 833 
 </div>
834
834
835 
-<div id="outline-container-orgc37e889" class="outline-2">
836 
-<h2 id="orgc37e889">How do I get a "real" SSL/TLS/HTTPS certificate?</h2>
837 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgc37e889">
835 
+<div id="outline-container-org7aac1a2" class="outline-2">
836 
+<h2 id="org7aac1a2">How do I get a "real" SSL/TLS/HTTPS certificate?</h2>
837 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org7aac1a2">
838 
 <p>
 838 
 <p>
839 
 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:
 839 
 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:
840 
 </p>
 840 
 </p>
853 
 </p>
 853 
 </p>
854 
 </div>
 854 
 </div>
855 
 </div>
 855 
 </div>
856 
-<div id="outline-container-org57f3b1e" class="outline-2">
857 
-<h2 id="org57f3b1e">How do I renew a Let's Encrypt certificate?</h2>
858 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org57f3b1e">
856 
+<div id="outline-container-orgf613409" class="outline-2">
857 
+<h2 id="orgf613409">How do I renew a Let's Encrypt certificate?</h2>
858 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgf613409">
859 
 <p>
 859 
 <p>
860 
 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.
 860 
 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.
861 
 </p>
 861 
 </p>
874 
 </p>
 874 
 </p>
875 
 </div>
 875 
 </div>
876 
 </div>
 876 
 </div>
877 
-<div id="outline-container-org1bd7f7b" class="outline-2">
878 
-<h2 id="org1bd7f7b">I tried to renew a Let's Encrypt certificate and it failed. What should I do?</h2>
879 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org1bd7f7b">
877 
+<div id="outline-container-org4353b1e" class="outline-2">
878 
+<h2 id="org4353b1e">I tried to renew a Let's Encrypt certificate and it failed. What should I do?</h2>
879 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org4353b1e">
880 
 <p>
 880 
 <p>
881 
 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:
 881 
 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:
882 
 </p>
 882 
 </p>
891 
 </p>
 891 
 </p>
892 
 </div>
 892 
 </div>
893 
 </div>
 893 
 </div>
894 
-<div id="outline-container-orge3800ac" class="outline-2">
895 
-<h2 id="orge3800ac">Why use self-signed certificates?</h2>
896 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orge3800ac">
894 
+<div id="outline-container-orgad3cff5" class="outline-2">
895 
+<h2 id="orgad3cff5">Why use self-signed certificates?</h2>
896 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-orgad3cff5">
897 
 <p>
 897 
 <p>
898 
 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>.
 898 
 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>.
899 
 </p>
 899 
 </p>
900
900
901 
 <p>
 901 
 <p>
902 
-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.
903 
-</p>
904 
-
905 
-<p>
906 
-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.
907 
-</p>
908 
-
909 
-<p>
910 
-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.
911 
-</p>
912 
-
913 
-<p>
914 
-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.
902 
+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.
915 
 </p>
 903 
 </p>
916 
 </div>
 904 
 </div>
917 
 </div>
 905 
 </div>
918 
-<div id="outline-container-org30dd97c" class="outline-2">
919 
-<h2 id="org30dd97c">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</h2>
920 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org30dd97c">
906 
+
907 
+<div id="outline-container-org1408973" class="outline-2">
908 
+<h2 id="org1408973">Why not use the services of $company instead? They took the Seppuku pledge</h2>
909 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org1408973">
921 
 <p>
 910 
 <p>
922 
 <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.
 911 
 <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.
923 
 </p>
 912 
 </p>
924 
 </div>
 913 
 </div>
925 
 </div>
 914 
 </div>
926 
-<div id="outline-container-org81b9b8b" class="outline-2">
927 
-<h2 id="org81b9b8b">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</h2>
928 
-<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org81b9b8b">
915 
+<div id="outline-container-org6e6ab5c" class="outline-2">
916 
+<h2 id="org6e6ab5c">Why does my email keep getting rejected as spam by Gmail/etc?</h2>
917 
+<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-org6e6ab5c">
929 
 <p>
 918 
 <p>
930 
 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.
 919 
 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.
931 
 </p>
 920 
 </p>