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5<title>Email Self-Defense - a guide to fighting surveillance with GnuPG
6encryption</title>
7<meta name="keywords" content="GnuPG, GPG, openpgp, surveillance, privacy,
77aea16c 8email, security, GnuPG2, encryption" />
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9<meta name="description" content="Email surveillance violates our fundamental
10rights and makes free speech risky. This guide will teach you email
11self-defense in 40 minutes with GnuPG." />
12<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
14c5f099 13<link rel="stylesheet" href="../static/css/main.css" />
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e59c77da 18<!--<div style="text-align: center; padding: 2.5px; background-color: #a94442; color:#fcf8e3;"><p>Due to Enigmail's PGP functionality being migrated into Icedove and Thunderbird, steps 2 and 3 of the guide are currently out of date.</p><p> Thank you for your patience while we're working on a new round of updates.</p></div>-->
0e203e6f 19
f12cd56f 20<!-- PLACE FUNDRAISER MODAL WINDOW HERE -->
aa082aba 21
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22<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ GnuPG Header and introduction text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
23<header class="row" id="header"><div>
116f80c3 24
e59c77da 25
19bce4d7 26<h1>Email Self-Defense</h1>
116f80c3 27
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28<!-- Language list for browsers that do not have JS enabled -->
29<ul id="languages" class="os">
de17dfbe 30<li><a class="current" href="/en">English - v5.0</a></li>
7c252a78 31<li><a href="/es">español - v5.0</a></li>
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32<li><a href="/fr">français - v5.0</a></li>
33<li><a href="/tr">Türkçe - v5.0</a></li>
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46<li><strong><a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Translation_Guide">
47Translate!</a></strong></li>
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48</ul>
49
50<ul id="menu" class="os">
37d0bc33 51<li class="spacer"><a href="index.html" class="current">Set up guide</a></li>
52<!--<li><a href="mac.html">Mac OS</a></li>-->
53<!--<li><a href="windows.html">Windows</a></li>-->
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54<li class="spacer"><a href="workshops.html">Teach your friends</a></li>
55<li class="spacer"><a
770452f9 56href="https://fsf.org/share?u=https://u.fsf.org/zb&amp;t=Email%20encryption%20for%20everyone%20via%20%40fsf">
f211d856 57Share&nbsp;
14c5f099 58<img src="../static/img/gnu-social.png" class="share-logo"
19bce4d7 59alt="[GNU Social]" />&nbsp;
14c5f099 60<img src="../static/img/mastodon.png" class="share-logo"
d06ce723 61alt="[Mastodon]" />&nbsp;
14c5f099 62<img src="../static/img/reddit-alien.png" class="share-logo"
19bce4d7 63alt="[Reddit]" />&nbsp;
14c5f099 64<img src="../static/img/hacker-news.png" class="share-logo"
f211d856 65alt="[Hacker News]" /></a></li>
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66</ul>
67
68<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ FSF Introduction ~~~~~~~~~ -->
69<div id="fsf-intro">
70
6003a573 71<h3><a href="https://u.fsf.org/ys"><img
19bce4d7 72alt="Free Software Foundation"
14c5f099 73src="../static/img/fsf-logo.png" />
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74</a></h3>
75
76<div class="fsf-emphasis">
77
78<p>We fight for computer users' rights, and promote the development of free (as
79in freedom) software. Resisting bulk surveillance is very important to us.</p>
80
81<p><strong>Please donate to support Email Self-Defense. We need to keep
82improving it, and making more materials, for the benefit of people around
83the world taking the first step towards protecting their privacy.</strong></p>
84
85</div>
86
4f31cd4f 87<center><p><a href="https://crm.fsf.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&amp;id=14&amp;mtm_campaign=email_self_defense&amp;mtm_kwd=guide_donate"><img alt="Donate" src="../static/img/en/donate.png" style="img align: center;"/></a></p></center>
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64a48f78 89
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90</div><!-- End #fsf-intro -->
91
92<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Guide Introduction ~~~~~~~~~ -->
93<div class="intro">
94
95<p><a id="infographic" href="infographic.html"><img
14c5f099 96src="../static/img/en/infographic-button.png"
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97alt="View &amp; share our infographic &rarr;" /></a>
98Bulk surveillance violates our fundamental rights and makes free speech
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99risky. This guide will teach you a basic surveillance self-defense skill: email
100encryption. Once you've finished, you'll be able to send and receive emails
101that are scrambled to make sure a surveillance agent or thief intercepting
102your email can't read them. All you need is a computer with an Internet
103connection, an email account, and about forty minutes.</p>
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104
105<p>Even if you have nothing to hide, using encryption helps protect the privacy
106of people you communicate with, and makes life difficult for bulk surveillance
107systems. If you do have something important to hide, you're in good company;
108these are the same tools that whistleblowers use to protect their identities
80b64e11 109while shining light on human rights abuses, corruption, and other crimes.</p>
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110
111<p>In addition to using encryption, standing up
112to surveillance requires fighting politically for a <a
e59c77da 113href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">reduction
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114in the amount of data collected on us</a>, but the essential first step is
115to protect yourself and make surveillance of your communication as difficult
116as possible. This guide helps you do that. It is designed for beginners, but
117if you already know the basics of GnuPG or are an experienced free software
118user, you'll enjoy the advanced tips and the <a href="workshops.html">guide
119to teaching your friends</a>.</p>
120
121</div><!-- End .intro -->
122</div></header><!-- End #header -->
123
124<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 1: Get the pieces ~~~~~~~~~ -->
125<section class="row" id="section1"><div>
126
127<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
128<div class="section-intro">
129
130<h2><em>#1</em> Get the pieces</h2>
131
132<p class="notes">This guide relies on software which is <a
133href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">freely licensed</a>;
134it's completely transparent and anyone can copy it or make their
135own version. This makes it safer from surveillance than proprietary
80b64e11 136software (like Windows or macOS). Learn more about free software at <a
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137href="https://u.fsf.org/ys">fsf.org</a>.</p>
138
c174e65c 139<p>Most GNU/Linux operating systems come with GnuPG installed on them, so if you're running one of these systems, you don't have to download it. If you're running macOS or Windows, steps to download GnuPG are below. Before configuring your encryption setup with this guide, though, you'll need a desktop email program installed on your computer. Many GNU/Linux distributions have one installed already, such as Icedove, which may be under the alternate name "Thunderbird." Programs like these are another way to access the same email accounts you can access in a browser (like Gmail), but provide extra features.</p>
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141</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
142
143<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
144<div id="step-1a" class="step">
145<div class="sidebar">
146
69e314de 147<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 148src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step1a-install-wizard.png"
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149alt="Step 1.A: Install Wizard" /></p>
150
151</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
152<div class="main">
153
154<h3><em>Step 1.a</em> Set up your email program with your email account</h3>
155
156<p>Open your email program and follow the wizard (step-by-step walkthrough)
37d0bc33 157that sets it up with your email account. This usually starts from "Account Settings" &rarr; "Add Mail Account". You should get the email server settings from your systems administrator or the help section of your email account.</p>
77aea16c 158
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159
160<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
161<div class="troubleshooting">
162
163<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
164
165<dl>
166<dt>The wizard doesn't launch</dt>
167<dd>You can launch the wizard yourself, but the menu option for doing so is
168named differently in each email program. The button to launch it will be in
169the program's main menu, under "New" or something similar, titled something
170like "Add account" or "New/Existing email account."</dd>
171
172<dt>The wizard can't find my account or isn't downloading my mail</dt>
173<dd>Before searching the Web, we recommend you start by asking other people
174who use your email system, to figure out the correct settings.</dd>
175
b7f7b4a2 176<dt>I can't find the menu</dt>
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177<dd>In many new email programs, the main menu is represented by an image of
178three stacked horizontal bars.</dd>
179
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180<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
181<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
182href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
183page</a>.</dd>
184</dl>
185
186</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
187</div><!-- End .main -->
188</div><!-- End #step1-a .step -->
189
190<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
191<div id="step-1b" class="step">
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192<div class="main">
193
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194<h3><em>Step 1.b</em> Install GnuPG</h3>
195
196<p>If you are using a GNU/Linux machine, you should already have GnuPG installed, and you can skip to <a href="#section2">Section 2</a>.</p>
19bce4d7 197
63fe86d5 198<p>If you are using a macOS or Windows machine, however, you need to first install the GnuPG program. Select your operating system below and follow the instructions. For the rest of this guide, the steps are the same for all operating systems. </p>
19bce4d7 199
37d0bc33 200<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ MACOS ~~~~~~~~~ -->
201<div class="troubleshooting">
19bce4d7 202
77aea16c 203<h4>macOS</h4>
64af8734 204
37d0bc33 205<dl>
206<dt>Use a third-party package manager to install GnuPG</dt>
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207<dd>
208<p>The default macOS package manager makes it difficult to install GnuPG and other pieces of free software (like Emacs, GIMP, or Inkscape). To make things easier, we recommend setting up the third-party package manager "Homebrew" to install GnuPG. For this, we will use a program called "Terminal," which is pre-installed on macOS.</p>
209
210<p># Copy the first command on the home page of <a href="https://brew.sh/">Homebrew</a> by clicking on the clipboard icon, and paste it in Terminal. Click "Enter" and wait for the installation to finalize.</p>
211<p># Then install GnuPG by entering the following code in Terminal:<br/>
212<code>brew install gnupg gnupg2</code></p>
213</dd>
37d0bc33 214</dl>
215
216</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
217
218<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ WINDOWS ~~~~~~~~~ -->
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219<div class="troubleshooting">
220
37d0bc33 221<h4>Windows</h4>
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222
223<dl>
37d0bc33 224<dt>Get GnuPG by downloading GPG4Win</dt>
b4a6695d 225<dd><p><a href="https://www.gpg4win.org/">GPG4Win</a> is an email and file encryption software package that includes GnuPG. Download and install the latest version, choosing default options whenever asked. After it's installed, you can close any windows that it creates.</p>
37d0bc33 226</dd>
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227</dl>
228
229</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
230</div><!-- End .main -->
37d0bc33 231</div><!-- End #step1-b .step -->
232
80b64e11 233<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
234<div id="terminology" class="step">
235<div class="main">
236
a4eb3926 237<h3>GnuPG, OpenPGP, what?</h3>
80b64e11 238
239<p>In general, the terms GnuPG, GPG, GNU Privacy Guard, OpenPGP and PGP
240are used interchangeably. Technically, OpenPGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is the
241encryption standard, and GNU Privacy Guard (often shortened to GPG or GnuPG)
242is the program that implements the standard. Most email programs provide an interface for GnuPG. There is also a newer version of GnuPG, called GnuPG2.</p>
243
244</div><!-- End .main -->
245</div><!-- End #terminology.step-->
246
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247</div></section><!-- End #section1 -->
248
249<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 2: Make your keys ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 250<section id="section2" class="row"><div>
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251
252<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
253<div class="section-intro">
254
255<h2><em>#2</em> Make your keys</h2>
69e314de 256<p class="float medium"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step2a-01-make-keypair.png" alt="A robot with a head shaped like a key holding a private and a public key"/></p>
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257
258<p>To use the GnuPG system, you'll need a public key and a private key (known
259together as a keypair). Each is a long string of randomly generated numbers
260and letters that are unique to you. Your public and private keys are linked
261together by a special mathematical function.</p>
262
263<p>Your public key isn't like a physical key, because it's stored in the open
264in an online directory called a keyserver. People download it and use it,
265along with GnuPG, to encrypt emails they send to you. You can think of the
266keyserver as a phonebook; people who want to send you encrypted email can
267look up your public key.</p>
268
269<p>Your private key is more like a physical key, because you keep it to
270yourself (on your computer). You use GnuPG and your private key together to
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271descramble encrypted emails other people send to you. <strong>You should never share your private key with anyone, under any
272circumstances.</strong></p>
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273
274<p>In addition to encryption and decryption, you can also use these keys to
275sign messages and check the authenticity of other people's signatures. We'll
276discuss this more in the next section.</p>
277
278</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
279
280<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
281<div id="step-2a" class="step">
282<div class="sidebar">
69e314de 283<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 284src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step2a-02-make-keypair.png"
35f08087 285alt="Step 2.A: Make your Keypair" /></p>
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286
287<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 288src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step2a-03-make-keypair.png"
7b83f7f9 289alt="Step 2.A: Set your passphrase" /></p>
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290
291</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
292<div class="main">
293
294<h3><em>Step 2.a</em> Make a keypair</h3>
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295
296<h4>Make your keypair</h4>
19bce4d7 297
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298<p>We will use the command line in a terminal to create a keypair using the
299GnuPG program.</p>
19bce4d7 300
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301<p class="notes">Whether on GNU/Linux, macOS or Windows, you can launch your
302terminal ("Terminal" in macOS, "PowerShell" in Windows) from the Applications
303menu (some GNU/Linux systems respond to the <kbd>Ctrl + Alt + T</kbd>
304shortcut).</p>
305
306<p># Enter <code>gpg --full-generate-key</code> to start the process.</p>
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307<p># To answer what kind of key you would like to create, select the default option: <samp>1&nbsp;RSA&nbsp;and&nbsp;RSA</samp>.</p>
308<p># Enter the following keysize: <code>4096</code> for a strong key.</p>
63fe86d5 309<p># Choose the expiration date; we suggest <code>2y</code> (2 years).</p>
e59c77da 310<p>Follow the prompts to continue setting up with your personal details.</p>
a7ba22c6 311<p class="notes"> Depending on your version of GPG, you may need to use <code>--gen-key</code> instead of <code>--full-generate-key</code>.</p>
19bce4d7 312
77aea16c 313<h4>Set your passphrase</h4>
7b83f7f9 314<p>On the screen titled "Passphrase," pick a strong password! You can
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315do it manually, or you can use the Diceware method. Doing it manually
316is faster but not as secure. Using Diceware takes longer and requires
4d10d72d 317dice, but creates a password that is much harder for attackers to figure
19bce4d7 318out. To use it, read the section "Make a secure passphrase with Diceware" in <a
f211d856 319href="https://theintercept.com/2015/03/26/passphrases-can-memorize-attackers-cant-guess/">
7b83f7f9 320this article</a> by Micah Lee.</p>
321
19bce4d7 322
7b83f7f9 323<p>If you'd like to pick a passphrase manually, come up with something
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324you can remember which is at least twelve characters long, and includes
325at least one lower case and upper case letter and at least one number or
326punctuation symbol. Never pick a password you've used elsewhere. Don't use
327any recognizable patterns, such as birthdays, telephone numbers, pets' names,
328song lyrics, quotes from books, and so on.</p>
329
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330<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
331<div class="troubleshooting">
332
333<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
19bce4d7 334<dl>
e59c77da 335<dt>GnuPG is not installed</dt>
7b83f7f9 336<dd>
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337You can check if this is the case with the command <code>gpg --version</code>&#65279;.
338If GnuPG is not installed, it will bring up the following result on most GNU/Linux operating systems, or something like it:
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339<samp>Command 'gpg' not found, but can be installed with:
340 sudo apt install gnupg</samp>. Follow that command and install the program.</dd>
7b83f7f9 341
061aad83 342<dt><i>gpg --full-generate-key</i> command not working</dt>
412a3134 343<dd>Some distributions use a different version of GPG. When you receive an error code that is something along the lines of: <samp>gpg: Invalid option "--full-generate-key"</samp>, you can try the following commands: <br />
061aad83 344<code>sudo apt update</code><br />
345<code>sudo apt install gnupg2</code><br />
346<code>gpg2 --full-generate-key</code><br />
a7ba22c6 347If this resolved the issue, you need to continue to use the gpg2 identifier instead of gpg throughout the following steps of the guide.
348<p class="notes"> Depending on your version of GPG, you may need to use <code>--gen-key</code> instead of <code>--full-generate-key</code>.</p></dd>
061aad83 349
7b83f7f9 350<dt>I took too long to create my passphrase</dt>
b7f7b4a2 351<dd>That's okay. It's important to think about your passphrase. When you're ready, just follow the steps from the beginning again to create your key.</dd>
19bce4d7 352
b7f7b4a2 353<dt>How can I see my key?</dt>
7b83f7f9 354<dd>
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355Use the following command to see all keys: <code>gpg --list-keys</code>&#65279;. Yours should be listed in there, and later, so will Edward's (<a href="#section3">Section 3</a>).<br />
356If you want to see only your key, you can use <code>gpg --list-key [your@email]</code>&#65279;.<br />
77aea16c 357You can also use <code>gpg --list-secret-key</code> to see your own private key.</dd>
19bce4d7 358
19bce4d7 359<dt>More resources</dt>
7b83f7f9 360<dd>For more information about this process, you can also refer to <a
361href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/c14.html#AEN25">The GNU Privacy
362Handbook</a>. Make sure you stick with "RSA and RSA" (the default),
363because it's newer and more secure than the algorithms the documentation
63fe86d5 364recommends. Also make sure your key is at least 4096&nbsp;bits if you
80b64e11 365want to be secure.</dd>
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366
367<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
368<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
369href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
370page</a>.</dd>
371</dl>
372
373</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
374
375<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
376<div class="troubleshooting">
377
378<h4>Advanced</h4>
19bce4d7 379<dl>
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380<dt>Advanced key pairs</dt>
381<dd>When GnuPG creates a new keypair, it compartmentalizes
382the encryption function from the signing function through <a
383href="https://wiki.debian.org/Subkeys">subkeys</a>. If you use
7b83f7f9 384subkeys carefully, you can keep your GnuPG identity more
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385secure and recover from a compromised key much more quickly. <a
386href="https://alexcabal.com/creating-the-perfect-gpg-keypair/">Alex Cabal</a>
6003a573 387and <a href="https://keyring.debian.org/creating-key.html">the Debian wiki</a>
19bce4d7 388provide good guides for setting up a secure subkey configuration.</dd>
64f8f564 389</dl>
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390
391</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
392</div><!-- End .main -->
393</div><!-- End #step-2a .step -->
394
395<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
396<div id="step-2b" class="step">
7b83f7f9 397<div class="sidebar">
69e314de 398<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 399src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step2b-04-upload-and-certificate.png"
80b64e11 400alt="Step 2.B: Send to server and generate a certificate" /></p>
19bce4d7 401
7b83f7f9 402</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
403<div class="main">
19bce4d7 404
7b83f7f9 405<h3><em>Step 2.b</em> Some important steps following creation</h3>
19bce4d7 406
77aea16c 407<h4>Upload your key to a keyserver</h4>
7b83f7f9 408<p>We will upload your key to a keyserver, so if someone wants to send you an encrypted message, they can download your public key from the Internet. There are multiple keyservers
9c973564 409that you can select from the menu when you upload, but they are mostly all copies
410of each other. Any server will work, but it's good to remember which one you uploaded your key to originally. Also keep in mind, sometimes takes a few hours for them to match each other when a new key is uploaded.</p>
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411<p># Copy your keyID: <code>gpg --list-key [your@email]</code> will list your public ("pub") key information, including your keyID, which is a unique list of numbers and letters. Copy this keyID, so you can use it in the following command.</p>
412<p># Upload your key to a server:
413<code>gpg --send-key [keyID]</code></p>
7b83f7f9 414
77aea16c 415<h4>Export your key to a file</h4>
4f41943f 416<p>Use the following command to export your secret key so you can import it into your email client at the next <a href="#section3">step</a>. To avoid getting your key compromised, store this in a safe place, and make sure that if it is transferred, it is done so in a trusted way. Exporting your keys can be done with the following commands:</p>
77aea16c 417<p><code>
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418$ gpg --export-secret-keys -a [keyID] > my_secret_key.asc<br/>
419$ gpg --export -a [keyID] > my_public_key.asc
77aea16c 420</code></p>
7b83f7f9 421
77aea16c 422<h4>Generate a revocation certificate</h4>
63fe86d5 423<p>Just in case you lose your key, or it gets compromised, you want to generate a certificate and choose to save it in a safe place on your computer for now (please refer to <a href="#step-6c">Step 6.C</a> for how to best store your revocation cerficate safely). This step is essential for your email self-defense, as you'll learn more about in <a href="#section5">Section 5</a>.</p>
b7f7b4a2 424
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425<p># Copy your keyID: <code>gpg --list-key [your@email]</code> will list your public ("pub") key information, including your keyID, which is a unique list of numbers and letters. Copy this keyID, so you can use it in the following command.</p>
426<p># Generate a revocation certificate: <code>gpg --gen-revoke --output revoke.asc [keyID]</code></p>
427<p># It will prompt you to give a reason for revocation, we recommend to use <samp>1&nbsp;=&nbsp;key has been compromised</samp>.</p>
63fe86d5 428<p># You don't have to fill in a reason, but you can; then press "Enter" for an empty line, and confirm your selection.</p>
80b64e11 429
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430
431<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
432<div class="troubleshooting">
433
434<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
435
436<dl>
563fcf5d 437<dt>Sending my key to the keyserver is not working</dt>
412a3134 438<dd>Instead of using the general command to upload your key to the keyserver, you can use a more specific command and add the keyserver to your command <code>gpg --keyserver keys.openpgp.org --send-key [keyID]</code>&#65279;.</dd>
563fcf5d 439
b7f7b4a2 440<dt>My key doesn't seem to be working or I get a "permission denied."</dt>
e4fa2e82 441<dd><p>Like every other file or folder, gpg keys are subject to permissions. If these are not set correctly, your system may not be accepting your keys. You can follow the next steps to check, and update to the right permissions.</p>
19bce4d7 442
77aea16c 443<p># Check your permissions: <code>ls -l ~/.gnupg/*</code></p>
e4fa2e82 444<p># Set permissions to read, write, execute for only yourself, no others. These are the recommended permissions for your folder. <br/>
77aea16c 445You can use the code: <code>chmod 700 ~/.gnupg</code></p>
e4fa2e82 446<p># Set permissions to read and write for yourself only, no others. These are the recommended permissions for the keys inside your folder. <br/>
77aea16c 447You can use the code: <code>chmod 600 ~/.gnupg/*</code></p>
19bce4d7 448
e4fa2e82 449<p class="notes">If you have (for any reason) created your own folders inside ~/.gnupg, you must also additionally apply execute permissions to that folder. Folders require execution privileges to be opened. For more information on permissions, you can check out <a href="https://helpdeskgeek.com/linux-tips/understanding-linux-permissions-chmod-usage/">this detailed information guide</a>.</p>
7b83f7f9 450</dd>
412a3134 451
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452<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
453<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
454href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
455page</a>.</dd>
456</dl>
457
458</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
459
460<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
461<div class="troubleshooting">
462
463<h4>Advanced</h4>
464
465<dl>
7b83f7f9 466<dt>More about keyservers</dt>
467<dd>You can find some more keyserver information<a
803e8e2e 468href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x457.html"> in this manual</a>. <a
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469href="https://sks-keyservers.net/overview-of-pools.php">The sks Web site</a>
470maintains a list of highly interconnected keyservers. You can also <a
471href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x56.html#AEN64">directly export
472your key</a> as a file on your computer.</dd>
7b83f7f9 473
474<dt>Transferring your keys</dt>
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475<dd>
476<p>Use the following commands to transfer your keys. To avoid getting your key compromised, store it in a safe place, and make sure that if it is transferred, it is done so in a trusted way. Importing and exporting a key can be done with the following commands:</p>
7b83f7f9 477
77aea16c 478<p><code>
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479$ gpg --export-secret-keys -a [keyID] > my_private_key.asc<br />
480$ gpg --export -a [keyID] > my_public_key.asc<br />
481$ gpg --import my_private_key.asc<br />
e4fa2e82 482$ gpg --import my_public_key.asc
77aea16c 483</code></p>
7b83f7f9 484
35f08087 485<p>Ensure that the keyID printed is the correct one, and if so, then go ahead and add ultimate trust for it:</p>
e4fa2e82 486
77aea16c 487<p><code>
35f08087 488$ gpg --edit-key [your@email]
77aea16c 489</code></p>
7b83f7f9 490
dbfeba09 491<p>Because this is your key, you should choose <code>ultimate</code>&#65279;. You shouldn't trust anyone else's key ultimately.</p>
80b64e11 492
63fe86d5 493<p class="notes"> Refer to <a href="#step-2b">Troubleshooting in Step 2.B</a> for more information on permissions. When transferring keys, your permissions may get mixed, and errors may be prompted. These are easily avoided when your folders and files have the right permissions</p>
7b83f7f9 494</dd>
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495</dl>
496
497</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
498</div><!-- End .main -->
499</div><!-- End #step-2b .step -->
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500</div></section><!-- End #section2 -->
501
7b83f7f9 502<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 3: Set up email encryption ~~~~~~~~~ -->
503<section id="section3" class="row"><div>
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504
505<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
506<div class="section-intro">
507
7b83f7f9 508<h2><em>#3</em> Set up email encryption</h2>
64f8f564 509<p class="notes">The Icedove (or Thunderbird) email program has PGP functionality integrated, which makes it pretty easy to work with. We'll take you through the steps of integrating and using your key in these email clients.</p>
7b83f7f9 510
511</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
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512
513<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 514<div id="step-3a" class="step">
515<div class="sidebar">
516
69e314de 517<p class="large"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step3a-open-key-manager.png"
fedfd572 518alt="Step 3.A: Email Menu" /></p>
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519
520<p class="large"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step3a-import-from-file.png"
7b83f7f9 521alt="Step 3.A: Import From File" /></p>
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522
523<p class="large"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step3a-success.png"
7b83f7f9 524alt="Step 3.A: Success" /></p>
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525
526<p class="large"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step3a-troubleshoot.png"
40833450 527alt="Step 3.A: Troubleshoot" /></p>
7b83f7f9 528</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
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529<div class="main">
530
7b83f7f9 531<h3><em>Step 3.a</em> Set up your email with encryption</h3>
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532
533<p>Once you have set up your email with encryption, you can start contributing to encrypted traffic on the Internet. First we'll get your email client to import your secret key, and we will also learn how to get other people's public keys from servers so you can send and receive encrypted email.</p>
19bce4d7 534
fb4dff9b 535<p># Open your email client and use "Tools" &rarr; <i>OpenPGP Key Manager</i></p>
77aea16c 536<p># Under "File" &rarr; <i>Import Secret Key(s) From File</i></p>
63fe86d5 537<p># Select the file you saved under the name [my_secret_key.asc] in <a href="#step-2b">Step 2.B</a> when you exported your key</p>
7b83f7f9 538<p># Unlock with your passphrase</p>
539<p># You will receive a "OpenPGP keys successfully imported" window to confirm success</p>
fb4dff9b 540<p># Go to "Account settings" &rarr; "End-To-End Encryption," and make sure your key is imported and select <i>Treat this key as a Personal Key</i>.</p>
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541
542</div><!-- End .main -->
19bce4d7 543
7b83f7f9 544<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 545<div class="main">
546<div class="troubleshooting">
547<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
548<dl>
549<dt>I'm not sure the import worked correctly</dt>
550<dd>
fb4dff9b 551Look for "Account settings" &rarr; "End-To-End Encryption." Here you can see if your personal key associated with this email is found. If it is not, you can try again via the <i>Add key</i> option. Make sure you have the correct, active, secret key file.
7b83f7f9 552</dd>
553
554<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
555<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
556href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
557page</a>.</dd>
558</dl>
559
560</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
561</div><!-- End .main -->
562</div><!-- End #step3-a .step -->
563</div></section><!-- End #section3 -->
564
565<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 4: Try it out ~~~~~~~~~ -->
566<section class="row" id="section4"><div>
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567
568<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
569<div class="section-intro">
570
7b83f7f9 571<h2><em>#4</em> Try it out!</h2>
69e314de 572<p class="float small"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/section3-try-it-out.png" alt="Illustration of a person in a house with a cat connected to a server"/></p>
a4eb3926 573<p>Now you'll try a test correspondence with an FSF computer program named Edward,
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574who knows how to use encryption. Except where noted, these are the same
575steps you'd follow when corresponding with a real, live person.</p>
576
577<!-- <p>NOTE: Edward is currently having some technical difficulties, so he
578may take a long time to respond, or not respond at all. We're sorry about
579this and we're working hard to fix it. Your key will still work even without
580testing with Edward.</p> -->
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581
582<div style="clear: both"></div>
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583</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
584
585<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 586<div id="step-4a" class="step">
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587<div class="sidebar">
588
69e314de 589<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 590src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step4a-send-key-to-Edward.png"
7b83f7f9 591alt="Step 4.A Send key to Edward." /></p>
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592
593</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
594<div class="main">
595
7b83f7f9 596<h3><em>Step 4.a</em> Send Edward your public key</h3>
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597
598<p>This is a special step that you won't have to do when corresponding
7b83f7f9 599with real people. In your email program's menu, go to "Tools" &rarr; "OpenPGP Key
a4eb3926 600Manager." You should see your key in the list that pops up. Right click
77aea16c 601on your key and select <i>Send Public Keys by Email</i>. This will create a new draft message, as if you had just hit the "Write" button, but in the attachment you will find your public keyfile.</p>
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602
603<p>Address the message to <a
604href="mailto:edward-en@fsf.org">edward-en@fsf.org</a>. Put at least one word
605(whatever you want) in the subject and body of the email. Don't send yet.</p>
606
77aea16c 607<p>We want Edward to be able to open the email with your keyfile, so we want this first special message to be unencrypted. Make sure encryption is turned off by using the dropdown menu "Security" and select <i>Do Not Encrypt</i>. Once encryption is off, hit Send.</p>
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608
609<p class="notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to
610respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the <a
b7f7b4a2 611href="#section6">Use it Well</a> section of this guide. Once you have received a response,
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612head to the next step. From here on, you'll be doing just the same thing as
613when corresponding with a real person.</p>
614
7b83f7f9 615<p>When you open Edward's reply, GnuPG may prompt you for your passphrase
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616before using your private key to decrypt it.</p>
617
618</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 619</div><!-- End #step-4a .step -->
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620
621<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 622<div id="step-4b" class="step">
623<div class="sidebar">
19bce4d7 624
69e314de 625<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 626src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step4b-option1-verify-key.png"
7b83f7f9 627alt="Step 4.B Option 1. Verify key" /></p>
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628
629<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 630src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step4b-option2-import-key.png"
7b83f7f9 631alt="Step 4.B Option 2. Import key" /></p>
632</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
19bce4d7 633
7b83f7f9 634<div class="main">
19bce4d7 635
7b83f7f9 636<h3><em>Step 4.b</em> Send a test encrypted email</h3>
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637
638<h4>Get Edward's key</h4>
639
80b64e11 640<p>To encrypt an email to Edward, you need its public key, so now you'll have
7b83f7f9 641to download it from a keyserver. You can do this in two different ways:</p>
fb4dff9b 642<p><strong>Option 1.</strong> In the email answer you received from Edward as a response to your first email, Edward's public key was included. On the right of the email, just above the writing area, you will find an "OpenPGP" button that has a lock and a little wheel next to it. Click that, and select <i>Discover</i> next to the text: "This message was signed with a key that you don't yet have." A popup with Edward's key details will follow.</p>
19bce4d7 643
fb4dff9b 644<p><strong>Option 2.</strong> Open your OpenPGP Key manager, and under "Keyserver" choose <i>Discover Keys Online</i>. Here, fill in Edward's email address, and import Edward's key.</p>
19bce4d7 645
77aea16c 646<p>The option <i>Accepted (unverified)</i> will add this key to your key manager, and now it can be used to send encrypted emails and to verify digital signatures from Edward.</p>
19bce4d7 647
b7f7b4a2 648<p class="notes">In the popup window confirming if you want to import Edward's key, you'll see many different emails that are all associated with its key. This is correct; you can safely import the key.</p>
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649
650<p class="notes">Since you encrypted this email with Edward's public key,
651Edward's private key is required to decrypt it. Edward is the only one with
80b64e11 652its private key, so no one except Edward can decrypt it.</p>
19bce4d7 653
77aea16c 654<h4>Send Edward an encrypted email</h4>
7b83f7f9 655
a4eb3926 656<p> Write a new email in your email program, addressed to <a
7b83f7f9 657href="mailto:edward-en@fsf.org">edward-en@fsf.org</a>. Make the subject
658"Encryption test" or something similar and write something in the body.</p>
659
77aea16c 660<p>This time, make sure encryption is turned on by using the dropdown menu "Security" and select <i>Require Encryption</i>. Once encryption is on, hit Send.</p>
7b83f7f9 661
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662
663<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
664<div class="troubleshooting">
665
666<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
667
668<dl>
7b83f7f9 669<dt>"Recipients not valid, not trusted or not found"</dt>
412a3134 670<dd>You could get the above error message, or something along these lines: "Unable to send this message with end-to-end encryption, because there are problems with the keys of the following recipients: ..." In these cases, you may be trying to send an encrypted email to someone when you do not have their public key yet. Make sure you follow the steps above to import the key to your key manager. Open the OpenPGP Key Manager to make sure the recipient is listed there.</dd>
7b83f7f9 671
672<dt>Unable to send message</dt>
77aea16c 673<dd>You could get the following message when trying to send your encrypted email: "Unable to send this message with end-to-end encryption, because there are problems with the keys of the following recipients: edward-en@fsf.org." This usually means you imported the key with the "unaccepted (unverified) option." Go to the "key properties" of this key by right clicking on the key in the OpenPGP Key Manager, and select the option <i>Yes, but I have not verified that this is the correct key</i> in the "Acceptance" option at the bottom of this window. Resend the email.</dd>
7b83f7f9 674
675<dt>I can't find Edward's key</dt>
19bce4d7 676<dd>Close the pop-ups that have appeared since you clicked Send. Make sure
412a3134 677you are connected to the Internet and try again. If that doesn't work, you can download the key manually from <a href="https://keys.openpgp.org/search?q=edward-en%40fsf.org">the keyserver</a>, and import it by using the <i>Import Public Key(s) from File</i> option in the OpenPGP Key Manager.</dd>
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678
679<dt>Unscrambled messages in the Sent folder</dt>
680<dd>Even though you can't decrypt messages encrypted to someone else's key,
681your email program will automatically save a copy encrypted to your public key,
682which you'll be able to view from the Sent folder like a normal email. This
683is normal, and it doesn't mean that your email was not sent encrypted.</dd>
684
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685<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
686<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
687href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
688page</a>.</dd>
689</dl>
690
691</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
692
693<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
694<div class="troubleshooting">
695
696<h4>Advanced</h4>
697
698<dl>
699<dt>Encrypt messages from the command line</dt>
700<dd>You can also encrypt and decrypt messages and files from the <a
701href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x110.html">command line</a>,
702if that's your preference. The option --armor makes the encrypted output
703appear in the regular character set.</dd>
704</dl>
705
706</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
707</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 708</div><!-- End #step-4b .step -->
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709
710<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
711<div id="step-headers_unencrypted" class="step">
712<div class="main">
713
714<h3><em>Important:</em> Security tips</h3>
19e80165 715
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716<p>Even if you encrypt your email, the subject line is not encrypted, so
717don't put private information there. The sending and receiving addresses
718aren't encrypted either, so a surveillance system can still figure out who
719you're communicating with. Also, surveillance agents will know that you're
720using GnuPG, even if they can't figure out what you're saying. When you
7b83f7f9 721send attachments, you can choose to encrypt them or not,
19bce4d7 722independent of the actual email.</p>
bdf319c4 723
e72398d7
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724<p>For greater security against potential attacks, you can turn off
725HTML. Instead, you can render the message body as plain text. In order
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726to do this in Icedove or Thunderbird, go to "View" &rarr; "Message Body As" &rarr; <i>Plain
727Text</i>.</p>
e72398d7 728
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729</div><!-- End .main -->
730</div><!-- End #step-headers_unencrypted .step-->
d85363e7 731
19bce4d7 732<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 733<div id="step-4c" class="step">
734<div class="sidebar">
735
69e314de 736<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 737src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step4c-Edward-response.png"
7b83f7f9 738alt="Step 4.C Edward's response" /></p>
739
740</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
741
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742<div class="main">
743
7b83f7f9 744<h3><em>Step 4.c</em> Receive a response</h3>
19bce4d7 745
80b64e11 746<p>When Edward receives your email, it will use its private key to decrypt
f54f2134 747it, then reply to you. </p>
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748
749<p class="notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to
750respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the <a
7b83f7f9 751href="#section6">Use it Well</a> section of this guide.</p>
752
169c7097 753<p>Edward will send you an encrypted email back saying your email was received and decrypted. Your email client will automatically decrypt Edward's message.</p>
7b83f7f9 754
f2545138 755<p class="notes">The OpenPGP button in the email will show a little green checkmark over the lock symbol to show the message is encrypted, and a little orange warning sign which means that you have accepted the key, but not verified it. When you have not yet accepted the key, you will see a little question mark there. Clicking the prompts in this button will lead you to key properties as well.</p>
19bce4d7 756
19bce4d7 757</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 758</div><!-- End #step-4c .step -->
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759
760<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 761<div id="step-4d" class="step">
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762<div class="main">
763
80b64e11 764<h3><em>Step 4.d</em> Send a signed test email</h3>
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765
766<p>GnuPG includes a way for you to sign messages and files, verifying that
767they came from you and that they weren't tampered with along the way. These
768signatures are stronger than their pen-and-paper cousins -- they're impossible
769to forge, because they're impossible to create without your private key
770(another reason to keep your private key safe).</p>
771
772<p>You can sign messages to anyone, so it's a great way to make people
773aware that you use GnuPG and that they can communicate with you securely. If
774they don't have GnuPG, they will be able to read your message and see your
775signature. If they do have GnuPG, they'll also be able to verify that your
776signature is authentic.</p>
777
a4eb3926 778<p>To sign an email to Edward, compose any message to the email address and click the
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779pencil icon next to the lock icon so that it turns gold. If you sign a
780message, GnuPG may ask you for your password before it sends the message,
781because it needs to unlock your private key for signing.</p>
782
77aea16c 783<p>In "Account Settings" &rarr; "End-To-End-Encryption" you can opt to <i>add digital signature by default</i>.</p>
19bce4d7 784
7b83f7f9 785</div><!-- End .main -->
786</div><!-- End #step-4d .step -->
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787
788<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 789<div id="step-4e" class="step">
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790<div class="main">
791
7b83f7f9 792<h3><em>Step 4.e</em> Receive a response</h3>
19bce4d7 793
f54f2134
Z
794<p>When Edward receives your email, he will use your public key (which
795you sent him in <a href="#step-3a">Step 3.A</a>) to verify the message
80b64e11 796you sent has not been tampered with and to encrypt a reply to you.</p>
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797
798<p class="notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to
799respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the <a
7b83f7f9 800href="#section6">Use it Well</a> section of this guide.</p>
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801
802<p>Edward's reply will arrive encrypted, because he prefers to use encryption
803whenever possible. If everything goes according to plan, it should say
804"Your signature was verified." If your test signed email was also encrypted,
805he will mention that first.</p>
806
7b83f7f9 807<p>When you receive Edward's email and open it, your email client will
f54f2134
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808automatically detect that it is encrypted with your public key, and
809then it will use your private key to decrypt it.</p>
810
19bce4d7 811</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 812</div><!-- End #step-4e .step -->
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813</div></section>
814
803e8e2e 815<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 5: Learn About the Web of Trust ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 816<section class="row" id="section5"><div>
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817
818<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
819<div class="section-intro">
820
b7f7b4a2 821<h2><em>#5</em> Learn about the Web of Trust</h2>
69e314de 822<p class="float small"><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/section5-web-of-trust.png" alt="Illustration of keys all interconnected with a web of lines"/></p>
19bce4d7 823
b7f7b4a2 824<p>Email encryption is a powerful technology, but it has a weakness:
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825it requires a way to verify that a person's public key is actually
826theirs. Otherwise, there would be no way to stop an attacker from making
b7f7b4a2 827an email address with your friend's name, creating keys to go with it, and
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828impersonating your friend. That's why the free software programmers that
829developed email encryption created keysigning and the Web of Trust.</p>
830
831<p>When you sign someone's key, you are publicly saying that you've verified
832that it belongs to them and not someone else.</p>
833
834<p>Signing keys and signing messages use the same type of mathematical
835operation, but they carry very different implications. It's a good practice
836to generally sign your email, but if you casually sign people's keys, you
77aea16c 837may accidentally end up vouching for the identity of an imposter.</p>
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838
839<p>People who use your public key can see who has signed it. Once you've
840used GnuPG for a long time, your key may have hundreds of signatures. You
841can consider a key to be more trustworthy if it has many signatures from
842people that you trust. The Web of Trust is a constellation of GnuPG users,
843connected to each other by chains of trust expressed through signatures.</p>
844
845</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
846
847<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 848<div id="step-5a" class="step">
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849<div class="sidebar">
850
69e314de 851<p class="large"><img
14c5f099 852src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step5a-key-properties.png"
7b83f7f9 853alt="Section 5: trusting a key" /></p>
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854
855</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
856<div class="main">
857
7b83f7f9 858<h3><em>Step 5.a</em> Sign a key</h3>
19bce4d7 859
77aea16c 860<p>In your email program's menu, go to OpenPGP Key Manager and select <i>Key properties</i> by right clicking on Edward's key.</p>
19bce4d7 861
77aea16c 862<p>Under "Your Acceptance," you can select <i>Yes, I've verified in person this key has the correct fingerprint"</i>.</p>
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863
864<p class="notes">You've just effectively said "I trust that Edward's public
865key actually belongs to Edward." This doesn't mean much because Edward isn't
b7f7b4a2 866a real person, but it's good practice, and for real people it is important. You can read more about signing a person's key in the <a href="#check-ids-before-signing">check IDs before signing</a> section.</p>
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867
868<!--<div id="pgp-pathfinder">
869
870<form enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded" action="/mk_path.cgi"
871method="get">
872
f211d856 873<p><strong>From:</strong><input type="text" value="xD41A008"
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874name="FROM"></p>
875
f211d856 876<p><strong>To:</strong><input type="text" value="50BD01x4" name="TO"></p>
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877
878<p class="buttons"><input type="submit" value="trust paths" name="PATHS"><input
879type="reset" value="reset" name=".reset"></p>
880
881</form>
882
883</div>End #pgp-pathfinder -->
884</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 885</div><!-- End #step-5a .step -->
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886
887<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
888<div id="step-identify_keys" class="step">
889<div class="main">
890
891<h3>Identifying keys: Fingerprints and IDs</h3>
892
893<p>People's public keys are usually identified by their key fingerprint,
894which is a string of digits like F357AA1A5B1FA42CFD9FE52A9FF2194CC09A61E8
895(for Edward's key). You can see the fingerprint for your public key, and
7b83f7f9 896other public keys saved on your computer, by going to OpenPGP Key
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897Management in your email program's menu, then right clicking on the key
898and choosing Key Properties. It's good practice to share your fingerprint
899wherever you share your email address, so that people can double-check that
900they have the correct public key when they download yours from a keyserver.</p>
901
c0c01f86 902<p class="notes">You may also see public keys referred to by a shorter
a4eb3926 903keyID. This keyID is visible directly from the Key Management
904window. These eight character keyIDs were previously used for
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905identification, which used to be safe, but is no longer reliable. You
906need to check the full fingerprint as part of verifying you have the
907correct key for the person you are trying to contact. Spoofing, in
908which someone intentionally generates a key with a fingerprint whose
909final eight characters are the same as another, is unfortunately
910common.</p>
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911
912</div><!-- End .main -->
913</div><!-- End #step-identify_keys .step-->
914
915<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
916<div id="check-ids-before-signing" class="step">
917<div class="main">
918
919<h3><em>Important:</em> What to consider when signing keys</h3>
920
921<p>Before signing a person's key, you need to be confident that it actually
922belongs to them, and that they are who they say they are. Ideally, this
923confidence comes from having interactions and conversations with them over
924time, and witnessing interactions between them and others. Whenever signing
925a key, ask to see the full public key fingerprint, and not just the shorter
a4eb3926 926keyID. If you feel it's important to sign the key of someone you've just
19bce4d7 927met, also ask them to show you their government identification, and make
7b83f7f9 928sure the name on the ID matches the name on the public key.</p>
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929
930<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
931<div class="troubleshooting">
932
933<h4>Advanced</h4>
934
935<dl>
936<dt>Master the Web of Trust</dt>
937<dd>Unfortunately, trust does not spread between users the way <a
6003a573 938href="https://fennetic.net/irc/finney.org/~hal/web_of_trust.html">many people
a4eb3926 939think</a>. One of the best ways to strengthen the GnuPG community is to deeply <a
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940href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x334.html">understand</a> the Web of
941Trust and to carefully sign as many people's keys as circumstances permit.</dd>
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942</dl>
943
944</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
945</div><!-- End .main -->
946</div><!-- End #check-ids-before-signing .step-->
7b83f7f9 947</div></section><!-- End #section5 -->
d85363e7 948
7b83f7f9 949<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 6: Use it well ~~~~~~~~~ -->
950<section id="section6" class="row"><div>
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951
952<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
953<div class="section-intro">
954
7b83f7f9 955<h2><em>#6</em> Use it well</h2>
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956
957<p>Everyone uses GnuPG a little differently, but it's important to follow
958some basic practices to keep your email secure. Not following them, you
959risk the privacy of the people you communicate with, as well as your own,
960and damage the Web of Trust.</p>
961
962</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
963
964<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 965<div id="step-6a" class="step">
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966<div class="sidebar">
967
69e314de 968<p class="medium"><img
1805f65d 969src="../static/img/en/screenshots/section6-01-use-it-well.png"
7b83f7f9 970alt="Section 6: Use it Well (1)" /></p>
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971
972</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
973<div class="main">
974
975<h3>When should I encrypt? When should I sign?</h3>
976
977<p>The more you can encrypt your messages, the better. If you only encrypt
978emails occasionally, each encrypted message could raise a red flag for
979surveillance systems. If all or most of your email is encrypted, people
980doing surveillance won't know where to start. That's not to say that only
981encrypting some of your email isn't helpful -- it's a great start and it
982makes bulk surveillance more difficult.</p>
983
984<p>Unless you don't want to reveal your own identity (which requires other
985protective measures), there's no reason not to sign every message, whether or
986not you are encrypting. In addition to allowing those with GnuPG to verify
987that the message came from you, signing is a non-intrusive way to remind
988everyone that you use GnuPG and show support for secure communication. If you
989often send signed messages to people that aren't familiar with GnuPG, it's
990nice to also include a link to this guide in your standard email signature
991(the text kind, not the cryptographic kind).</p>
992
993</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 994</div><!-- End #step-6a .step -->
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995
996<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 997<div id="step-6b" class="step">
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998<div class="sidebar">
999
69e314de 1000<p class="medium"><img
1805f65d 1001src="../static/img/en/screenshots/section6-02-use-it-well.png"
7b83f7f9 1002alt="Section 6: Use it Well (2)" /></p>
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1003
1004</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
1005<div class="main">
1006
1007<h3>Be wary of invalid keys</h3>
1008
1009<p>GnuPG makes email safer, but it's still important to watch out for invalid
1010keys, which might have fallen into the wrong hands. Email encrypted with
1011invalid keys might be readable by surveillance programs.</p>
1012
1013<p>In your email program, go back to the first encrypted email that Edward
1014sent you. Because Edward encrypted it with your public key, it will have a
80b64e11 1015green checkmark a at the top "OpenPGP" button.</p>
19bce4d7 1016
77aea16c 1017<p><strong>When using GnuPG, make a habit of glancing at that button. The program
4227f3fd 1018will warn you there if you get an email signed with a key that can't
77aea16c 1019be trusted.</strong></p>
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1020
1021</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 1022</div><!-- End #step-6b .step -->
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1023
1024<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 1025<div id="step-6c" class="step">
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1026<div class="main">
1027
1028<h3>Copy your revocation certificate to somewhere safe</h3>
1029
1030<p>Remember when you created your keys and saved the revocation certificate
80b64e11 1031that GnuPG made? It's time to copy that certificate onto the safest storage that you have -- a flash drive, disk, or hard drive stored in a safe place in your home could work, not on a device you carry with you regularly. The safest way we know is actually to print the revocation certificate and store it in a safe place.</p>
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1032
1033<p>If your private key ever gets lost or stolen, you'll need this certificate
1034file to let people know that you are no longer using that keypair.</p>
1035
1036</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 1037</div><!-- End #step-6c .step -->
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1038
1039<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1040<div id="step-lost_key" class="step">
1041<div class="main">
1042
b7f7b4a2 1043<h3><em>IMPORTANT:</em> ACT SWIFTLY if someone gets your private key</h3>
19bce4d7 1044
b7f7b4a2 1045<p>If you lose your private key or someone else gets a hold
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1046of it (say, by stealing or cracking your computer), it's
1047important to revoke it immediately before someone else uses
1048it to read your encrypted email or forge your signature. This
1049guide doesn't cover how to revoke a key, but you can follow these <a
1050href="https://www.hackdiary.com/2004/01/18/revoking-a-gpg-key/">instructions</a>.
1051After you're done revoking, make a new key and send an email to everyone
1052with whom you usually use your key to make sure they know, including a copy
1053of your new key.</p>
1054
1055</div><!-- End .main -->
1056</div><!-- End #step-lost_key .step-->
1057
35f08087 1058<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
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1059<div id="webmail-and-GnuPG" class="step">
1060<div class="main">
1061
1062<h3>Webmail and GnuPG</h3>
1063
1064<p>When you use a web browser to access your email, you're using webmail,
1065an email program stored on a distant website. Unlike webmail, your desktop
1066email program runs on your own computer. Although webmail can't decrypt
1067encrypted email, it will still display it in its encrypted form. If you
1068primarily use webmail, you'll know to open your email client when you receive
1069a scrambled email.</p>
1070
1071</div><!-- End .main -->
1072</div><!-- End #webmail-and-GnuPG .step-->
1073
35f08087 1074<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 1075<div id="step-6d" class="step">
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1076<div class="main">
1077
1078<h3>Make your public key part of your online identity</h3>
1079
1080<p> First add your public key fingerprint to your email signature, then
1081compose an email to at least five of your friends, telling them you just
1082set up GnuPG and mentioning your public key fingerprint. Link to this guide
1083and ask them to join you. Don't forget that there's also an awesome <a
1084href="infographic.html">infographic to share.</a></p>
1085
1086<p class="notes">Start writing your public key fingerprint anywhere someone
1087would see your email address: your social media profiles, blog, Website,
1088or business card. (At the Free Software Foundation, we put ours on our
1089<a href="https://fsf.org/about/staff">staff page</a>.) We need to get our
1090culture to the point that we feel like something is missing when we see an
1091email address without a public key fingerprint.</p>
1092
35f08087 1093</div><!-- End .main-->
1094</div><!-- End #step-6d .step-->
7b83f7f9 1095</div></section><!-- End #section6 -->
19bce4d7 1096
7b83f7f9 1097<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 7: Next steps ~~~~~~~~~ -->
b7f7b4a2 1098<section class="row" id="section7">
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1099<div id="step-click_here" class="step">
1100<div class="main">
0a225228 1101
19bce4d7 1102<h2><a href="next_steps.html">Great job! Check out the next steps.</a></h2>
bb28ee32 1103
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1104</div><!-- End .main -->
1105</div><!-- End #step-click_here .step-->
7b83f7f9 1106</section><!-- End #section7 -->
bdf319c4 1107
19bce4d7 1108<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ FAQ ~~~~~~~~~ -->
f44dd62f 1109<!-- When un-commenting this section go to main.css and search
116f80c3 1110for /* Guide Sections Background */ then add #faq to the desired color
19bce4d7 1111<section class="row" id="faq"><div>
116f80c3 1112<div class="sidebar">
19bce4d7 1113
116f80c3 1114<h2>FAQ</h2>
6c495e2d 1115
19bce4d7 1116</div>
116f80c3 1117<div class="main">
19bce4d7 1118
116f80c3
ZR
1119<dl>
1120<dt>My key expired</dt>
1121<dd>Answer coming soon.</dd>
6c495e2d 1122
116f80c3
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1123<dt>Who can read encrypted messages? Who can read signed ones?</dt>
1124<dd>Answer coming soon.</dd>
6c495e2d 1125
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1126<dt>My email program is opening at times I don't want it to open/is now my
1127default program and I don't want it to be.</dt>
116f80c3
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1128<dd>Answer coming soon.</dd>
1129</dl>
19bce4d7 1130
116f80c3
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1131</div>
1132</div>
1133</section> --><!-- End #faq -->
bdf319c4 1134
19bce4d7
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1135<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Footer ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1136<footer class="row" id="footer"><div>
1137<div id="copyright">
1138
1139<h4><a href="https://u.fsf.org/ys"><img
1140alt="Free Software Foundation"
14c5f099 1141src="../static/img/fsf-logo.png" /></a></h4>
19bce4d7 1142
37d0bc33 1143<p>Copyright &copy; 2014-2021 <a
19bce4d7
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1144href="https://u.fsf.org/ys">Free Software Foundation</a>, Inc. <a
1145href="https://my.fsf.org/donate/privacypolicy.html">Privacy Policy</a>. Please
1146support our work by <a href="https://u.fsf.org/yr">joining us as an associate
1147member.</a></p>
1148
1149<p>The images on this page are under a <a
1150href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons
1151Attribution 4.0 license (or later version)</a>, and the rest of it is under
1152a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0">Creative Commons
1153Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license (or later version)</a>. Download the <a
6003a573 1154href="https://agpl.fsf.org/emailselfdefense.fsf.org/edward/CURRENT/edward.tar.gz">
f211d856 1155source code of Edward reply bot</a> by Andrew Engelbrecht
a3a9a0ac 1156&lt;andrew@engelbrecht.io&gt; and Josh Drake &lt;zamnedix@gnu.org&gt;,
19bce4d7 1157available under the GNU Affero General Public License. <a
6003a573 1158href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#OtherLicenses">Why these
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1159licenses?</a></p>
1160
1161<p>Fonts used in the guide &amp; infographic: <a
1162href="https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Dosis">Dosis</a> by Pablo
6003a573 1163Impallari, <a href="https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Signika">Signika</a>
19bce4d7 1164by Anna Giedry&#347;, <a
6003a573 1165href="https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Archivo+Narrow">Archivo
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1166Narrow</a> by Omnibus-Type, <a
1167href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Graphics_Howto#Pitfalls">PXL-2000</a>
1168by Florian Cramer.</p>
1169
1170<p>Download the <a href="emailselfdefense_source.zip">source package</a>
1171for this guide, including fonts, image source files and the text of Edward's
1172messages.</p>
1173
1174<p>This site uses the Weblabels standard for labeling <a
1175href="https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/freejs">free JavaScript</a>. View
abf30801 1176the JavaScript <a href="https://weblabels.fsf.org/emailselfdefense.fsf.org/"
19bce4d7
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1177rel="jslicense">source code and license information</a>.</p>
1178
1179</div><!-- /#copyright -->
1180
1181<p class="credits">Infographic and guide design by <a rel="external"
6003a573 1182href="https://jplusplus.org"><strong>Journalism++</strong><img
138192ae 1183src="static/img/jplusplus.png"
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1184alt="Journalism++" /></a></p><!-- /.credits -->
1185</div></footer><!-- End #footer -->
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1195 var _paq = _paq || [];
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