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116f80c3 3<head>
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4<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
5<title>Email Self-Defense - a guide to fighting surveillance with GnuPG
6encryption</title>
7<meta name="keywords" content="GnuPG, GPG, openpgp, surveillance, privacy,
7b83f7f9 8email, security, GnuPG2" />
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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" />
19bce4d7 14<link rel="shortcut icon"
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557b8a79 18<body>
e59c77da 19<!--<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to Enigmail's PGP functionality being migrated into Icedove and Thunderbird, steps 2 and 3 of the guide are currently out of date.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 20
f12cd56f 21<!-- PLACE FUNDRAISER MODAL WINDOW HERE -->
aa082aba 22
9980a4ad 23
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24<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ GnuPG Header and introduction text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
25<header class="row" id="header"><div>
116f80c3 26
e59c77da 27
19bce4d7 28<h1>Email Self-Defense</h1>
116f80c3 29
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30<!-- Language list for browsers that do not have JS enabled -->
31<ul id="languages" class="os">
a4eb3926 32<!--<li><a class="current" href="/en">English - v4.0</a></li>
c1fa777e 33<li><a href="/cs">čeština - v4.0</a></li>
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48<li><a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Translation_Guide">
49<strong><span style="color: #2F5FAA;">Translate!</span></strong></a></li>
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50</ul>
51
52<ul id="menu" class="os">
37d0bc33 53<li class="spacer"><a href="index.html" class="current">Set up guide</a></li>
54<!--<li><a href="mac.html">Mac OS</a></li>-->
55<!--<li><a href="windows.html">Windows</a></li>-->
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56<li class="spacer"><a href="workshops.html">Teach your friends</a></li>
57<li class="spacer"><a
770452f9 58href="https://fsf.org/share?u=https://u.fsf.org/zb&amp;t=Email%20encryption%20for%20everyone%20via%20%40fsf">
f211d856 59Share&nbsp;
14c5f099 60<img src="../static/img/gnu-social.png" class="share-logo"
19bce4d7 61alt="[GNU Social]" />&nbsp;
14c5f099 62<img src="../static/img/mastodon.png" class="share-logo"
d06ce723 63alt="[Mastodon]" />&nbsp;
14c5f099 64<img src="../static/img/reddit-alien.png" class="share-logo"
19bce4d7 65alt="[Reddit]" />&nbsp;
14c5f099 66<img src="../static/img/hacker-news.png" class="share-logo"
f211d856 67alt="[Hacker News]" /></a></li>
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68</ul>
69
70<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ FSF Introduction ~~~~~~~~~ -->
71<div id="fsf-intro">
72
6003a573 73<h3><a href="https://u.fsf.org/ys"><img
19bce4d7 74alt="Free Software Foundation"
14c5f099 75src="../static/img/fsf-logo.png" />
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76</a></h3>
77
78<div class="fsf-emphasis">
79
80<p>We fight for computer users' rights, and promote the development of free (as
81in freedom) software. Resisting bulk surveillance is very important to us.</p>
82
83<p><strong>Please donate to support Email Self-Defense. We need to keep
84improving it, and making more materials, for the benefit of people around
85the world taking the first step towards protecting their privacy.</strong></p>
86
87</div>
88
89<p><a
0dacb163 90href="https://crm.fsf.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&amp;id=14&amp;mtm_campaign=email_self_defense&amp;mtm_kwd=guide_donate"><img
19bce4d7 91alt="Donate"
14c5f099 92src="../static/img/en/donate.png" /></a></p>
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93
94</div><!-- End #fsf-intro -->
95
96<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Guide Introduction ~~~~~~~~~ -->
97<div class="intro">
98
99<p><a id="infographic" href="infographic.html"><img
14c5f099 100src="../static/img/en/infographic-button.png"
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101alt="View &amp; share our infographic &rarr;" /></a>
102Bulk surveillance violates our fundamental rights and makes free speech
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103risky. This guide will teach you a basic surveillance self-defense skill: email
104encryption. Once you've finished, you'll be able to send and receive emails
105that are scrambled to make sure a surveillance agent or thief intercepting
106your email can't read them. All you need is a computer with an Internet
107connection, an email account, and about forty minutes.</p>
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108
109<p>Even if you have nothing to hide, using encryption helps protect the privacy
110of people you communicate with, and makes life difficult for bulk surveillance
111systems. If you do have something important to hide, you're in good company;
112these are the same tools that whistleblowers use to protect their identities
80b64e11 113while shining light on human rights abuses, corruption, and other crimes.</p>
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114
115<p>In addition to using encryption, standing up
116to surveillance requires fighting politically for a <a
e59c77da 117href="https://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">reduction
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118in the amount of data collected on us</a>, but the essential first step is
119to protect yourself and make surveillance of your communication as difficult
120as possible. This guide helps you do that. It is designed for beginners, but
121if you already know the basics of GnuPG or are an experienced free software
122user, you'll enjoy the advanced tips and the <a href="workshops.html">guide
123to teaching your friends</a>.</p>
124
125</div><!-- End .intro -->
126</div></header><!-- End #header -->
127
128<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 1: Get the pieces ~~~~~~~~~ -->
129<section class="row" id="section1"><div>
130
131<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
132<div class="section-intro">
133
134<h2><em>#1</em> Get the pieces</h2>
135
136<p class="notes">This guide relies on software which is <a
137href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">freely licensed</a>;
138it's completely transparent and anyone can copy it or make their
139own version. This makes it safer from surveillance than proprietary
80b64e11 140software (like Windows or macOS). Learn more about free software at <a
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141href="https://u.fsf.org/ys">fsf.org</a>.</p>
142
c174e65c 143<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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144
145<p>If you already have an email program, you can skip to <a
7b83f7f9 146href="#section2">Step 2</a>.</p>
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147
148</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
149
150<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
151<div id="step-1a" class="step">
152<div class="sidebar">
153
154<p><img
14c5f099 155src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step1a-install-wizard.png"
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156alt="Step 1.A: Install Wizard" /></p>
157
158</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
159<div class="main">
160
161<h3><em>Step 1.a</em> Set up your email program with your email account</h3>
162
163<p>Open your email program and follow the wizard (step-by-step walkthrough)
37d0bc33 164that 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>
165<br />
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166
167<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
168<div class="troubleshooting">
169
170<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
171
172<dl>
173<dt>The wizard doesn't launch</dt>
174<dd>You can launch the wizard yourself, but the menu option for doing so is
175named differently in each email program. The button to launch it will be in
176the program's main menu, under "New" or something similar, titled something
177like "Add account" or "New/Existing email account."</dd>
178
179<dt>The wizard can't find my account or isn't downloading my mail</dt>
180<dd>Before searching the Web, we recommend you start by asking other people
181who use your email system, to figure out the correct settings.</dd>
182
b7f7b4a2 183<dt>I can't find the menu</dt>
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184<dd>In many new email programs, the main menu is represented by an image of
185three stacked horizontal bars.</dd>
186
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187<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
188<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
189href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
190page</a>.</dd>
191</dl>
192
193</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
194</div><!-- End .main -->
195</div><!-- End #step1-a .step -->
196
197<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
198<div id="step-1b" class="step">
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199<div class="main">
200
37d0bc33 201<h3><em>Step 1.b</em> Get your terminal ready and install GnuPG</h3>
19bce4d7 202
803e8e2e 203<p>If you are using a GNU/Linux machine, you should already have GnuPG installed, and you can skip to <a href="#section2">Step 2</a>.</p>
204<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 steps. For the rest of the steps in this guide, the steps are the same for all operating systems. </p>
19bce4d7 205
37d0bc33 206<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ MACOS ~~~~~~~~~ -->
207<div class="troubleshooting">
19bce4d7 208
37d0bc33 209<h4>MacOS</h4>
64af8734 210
37d0bc33 211<dl>
212<dt>Use a third-party package manager to install GnuPG</dt>
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213<dd>Your macOS comes with a program called "Terminal" pre-installed, which we'll use to set up your encryption with GnuPG, using the command line. However, the default macOS package manager makes it difficult to install GnuPG and other pieces of free software (like Emacs, GIMP, or Inkscape).<br/>
214To make things easier, we recommend setting up the third-party package manager "Homebrew" to install GnuPG. Copy the link on the home page of <a href="https://brew.sh/">Homebrew</a> and paste it in Terminal. Click "Enter" and wait for it to finalize.<br/>
215When it is done, install the program by entering the following code in Terminal:<br/>
eacc6df3 216<span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">brew install gnupg gnupg2</span>. After installation is done, you can follow the steps of the rest of this guide.</dd>
37d0bc33 217</dl>
218
219</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
220
221<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ WINDOWS ~~~~~~~~~ -->
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222<div class="troubleshooting">
223
37d0bc33 224<h4>Windows</h4>
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225
226<dl>
37d0bc33 227<dt>Get GnuPG by downloading GPG4Win</dt>
64f8f564 228<dd><a href="https://www.gpg4win.org/">GPG4Win</a> is a 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.<br/>
19bce4d7 229
19bce4d7 230
b7f7b4a2 231<p class="notes">To follow the rest of the steps in this guide, you'll use the program called "PowerShell", which is a program you'll see elsewhere referred to as a "terminal." This allows you to operate your computer using the command line.</p>
37d0bc33 232</dd>
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233</dl>
234
235</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
236</div><!-- End .main -->
37d0bc33 237</div><!-- End #step1-b .step -->
238
80b64e11 239<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
240<div id="terminology" class="step">
241<div class="main">
242
a4eb3926 243<h3>GnuPG, OpenPGP, what?</h3>
80b64e11 244
245<p>In general, the terms GnuPG, GPG, GNU Privacy Guard, OpenPGP and PGP
246are used interchangeably. Technically, OpenPGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is the
247encryption standard, and GNU Privacy Guard (often shortened to GPG or GnuPG)
248is 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>
249
250</div><!-- End .main -->
251</div><!-- End #terminology.step-->
252
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253</div></section><!-- End #section1 -->
254
255<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 2: Make your keys ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 256<section id="section2" class="row"><div>
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257
258<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
259<div class="section-intro">
260
261<h2><em>#2</em> Make your keys</h2>
14c5f099 262<p><img style="float:right; width:400px; margin-bottom:20px;" 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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263
264<p>To use the GnuPG system, you'll need a public key and a private key (known
265together as a keypair). Each is a long string of randomly generated numbers
266and letters that are unique to you. Your public and private keys are linked
267together by a special mathematical function.</p>
268
269<p>Your public key isn't like a physical key, because it's stored in the open
270in an online directory called a keyserver. People download it and use it,
271along with GnuPG, to encrypt emails they send to you. You can think of the
272keyserver as a phonebook; people who want to send you encrypted email can
273look up your public key.</p>
274
275<p>Your private key is more like a physical key, because you keep it to
276yourself (on your computer). You use GnuPG and your private key together to
277descramble encrypted emails other people send to you. <span style="font-weight:
c902d991 278bold;">You should never share your private key with anyone, under any
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279circumstances.</span></p>
280
281<p>In addition to encryption and decryption, you can also use these keys to
282sign messages and check the authenticity of other people's signatures. We'll
283discuss this more in the next section.</p>
284
285</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
286
287<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
288<div id="step-2a" class="step">
289<div class="sidebar">
19bce4d7 290<p><img
14c5f099 291src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step2a-02-make-keypair.png"
35f08087 292alt="Step 2.A: Make your Keypair" /></p>
7b83f7f9 293<br />
294<p><img
14c5f099 295src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step2a-03-make-keypair.png"
7b83f7f9 296alt="Step 2.A: Set your passphrase" /></p>
297<br />
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298
299</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
300<div class="main">
301
302<h3><em>Step 2.a</em> Make a keypair</h3>
7b83f7f9 303<h6>Make your keypair</h6>
eacc6df3 304<p>Open a terminal using <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">ctrl + alt + t</span> (on GNU/linux), or find it in your applications, and use the following code to create your keypair:</p>
19bce4d7 305
b7f7b4a2 306<p class="notes">We will use the command line in a terminal to create a keypair using the GnuPG program. A terminal should be installed on your GNU/Linux operating system, if you are using a macOS or Windows OS system, use the programs "Terminal" (macOS) or "PowerShell" (Windows) that were also used in section 1.</p>
19bce4d7 307
eacc6df3 308<p># <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">gpg --full-generate-key</span> to start the process.</p>
309<p># To answer what kind of key you would like to create, select the default option <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;"> 1 RSA and RSA</span>.</p>
310<p># Enter the following keysize: <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">4096</span> for a strong key.</p>
311<p># Choose the expiration date, we suggest <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">2y</span> (2 years).</p>
e59c77da 312<p>Follow the prompts to continue setting up with your personal details.</p>
19bce4d7 313
7b83f7f9 314<br />
315<h6>Set your passphrase</h6>
316<p>On the screen titled "Passphrase," pick a strong password! You can
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317do it manually, or you can use the Diceware method. Doing it manually
318is faster but not as secure. Using Diceware takes longer and requires
4d10d72d 319dice, but creates a password that is much harder for attackers to figure
19bce4d7 320out. To use it, read the section "Make a secure passphrase with Diceware" in <a
f211d856 321href="https://theintercept.com/2015/03/26/passphrases-can-memorize-attackers-cant-guess/">
7b83f7f9 322this article</a> by Micah Lee.</p>
323
19bce4d7 324
7b83f7f9 325<p>If you'd like to pick a passphrase manually, come up with something
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326you can remember which is at least twelve characters long, and includes
327at least one lower case and upper case letter and at least one number or
328punctuation symbol. Never pick a password you've used elsewhere. Don't use
329any recognizable patterns, such as birthdays, telephone numbers, pets' names,
330song lyrics, quotes from books, and so on.</p>
331
7b83f7f9 332<br />
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333
334<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
335<div class="troubleshooting">
336
337<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
19bce4d7 338<dl>
e59c77da 339<dt>GnuPG is not installed</dt>
7b83f7f9 340<dd>
eacc6df3 341GPG is not installed. You can check if this is the case with the command <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">gpg --version</span>.
803e8e2e 342If GnuPG is not installed, it would bring up the following result on most GNU/Linux operating systems, or something like it:
eacc6df3 343<span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">Command 'gpg' not found, but can be installed with:
344 sudo apt install gnupg</span>. Follow that command and install the program.</dd>
7b83f7f9 345
346<dt>I took too long to create my passphrase</dt>
b7f7b4a2 347<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 348
b7f7b4a2 349<dt>How can I see my key?</dt>
7b83f7f9 350<dd>
eacc6df3 351Use the following command to see all keys <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">gpg --list-keys</span>. Yours should be listed in there, and later, so will Edward's (<a href="#section3">section 3</a>). If you want to see only your key, you can use <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">gpg --list-key [your@email]</span>.
352You can also use <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">gpg --list-secret-key</span> to see your own private key.</dd>
19bce4d7 353
19bce4d7 354<dt>More resources</dt>
7b83f7f9 355<dd>For more information about this process, you can also refer to <a
356href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/c14.html#AEN25">The GNU Privacy
357Handbook</a>. Make sure you stick with "RSA and RSA" (the default),
358because it's newer and more secure than the algorithms the documentation
803e8e2e 359recommends. Also make sure your key is at least 4096 bits if you
80b64e11 360want to be secure.</dd>
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361
362<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
363<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
364href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
365page</a>.</dd>
366</dl>
367
368</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
369
370<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
371<div class="troubleshooting">
372
373<h4>Advanced</h4>
19bce4d7 374<dl>
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375<dt>Advanced key pairs</dt>
376<dd>When GnuPG creates a new keypair, it compartmentalizes
377the encryption function from the signing function through <a
378href="https://wiki.debian.org/Subkeys">subkeys</a>. If you use
7b83f7f9 379subkeys carefully, you can keep your GnuPG identity more
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380secure and recover from a compromised key much more quickly. <a
381href="https://alexcabal.com/creating-the-perfect-gpg-keypair/">Alex Cabal</a>
6003a573 382and <a href="https://keyring.debian.org/creating-key.html">the Debian wiki</a>
19bce4d7 383provide good guides for setting up a secure subkey configuration.</dd>
64f8f564 384</dl>
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385
386</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
387</div><!-- End .main -->
388</div><!-- End #step-2a .step -->
389
390<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
391<div id="step-2b" class="step">
7b83f7f9 392<div class="sidebar">
393<p><img
14c5f099 394src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step2b-04-upload-and-certificate.png"
80b64e11 395alt="Step 2.B: Send to server and generate a certificate" /></p>
19bce4d7 396
7b83f7f9 397</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
398<div class="main">
19bce4d7 399
7b83f7f9 400<h3><em>Step 2.b</em> Some important steps following creation</h3>
19bce4d7 401
7b83f7f9 402<h6>Upload your key to a keyserver</h6>
403<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
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404that you can select from the menu when you upload, but they are all copies
405of each other, so it doesn't matter which one you use. However, it sometimes
406takes a few hours for them to match each other when a new key is uploaded.</p>
eacc6df3 407<p># Copy your keyID <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">gnupg --list-key [your@email]</span> 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>
408<p># Upload your key to a server: <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">gpg --send-key [keyID]</span></p>
7b83f7f9 409
410<br />
411
7b83f7f9 412<h6>Export your key to a file</h6>
4f41943f 413<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>
7b83f7f9 414
eacc6df3 415<span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">
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416$ gpg --export-secret-keys -a [keyid] > my_secret_key.asc<br/>
417$ gpg --export -a [keyid] > my_public_key.asc<br/>
35f08087 418</span><br />
7b83f7f9 419
420<br />
19bce4d7 421
80b64e11 422<h6>Generate a revocation certificate</h6>
b7f7b4a2 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>
424
eacc6df3 425<p># Copy your keyID <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">gnupg --list-key [your@email]</span> 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>
2ae503fa 426<p># Generate a revocation certificate: <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">gpg --gen-revoke --output revoke.asc [keyID]</span></p>
eacc6df3 427<p># It will prompt you to give a reason for revocation, we recommend to use <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">1 "key has been compromised"</span></p>
169c7097 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
430<br />
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431
432<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
433<div class="troubleshooting">
434
435<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
436
437<dl>
b7f7b4a2 438<dt>My key doesn't seem to be working or I get a "permission denied."</dt>
64f8f564 439<dd>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.<br/><br/>
19bce4d7 440
64f8f564 441# Check your permissions: <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">ls -l ~/.gnupg/*</span><br/><br/>
196a2cab 442# Set permissions to read, write, execute for only yourself, no others. These are the recommended permissions for your folder. <br/>
64f8f564 443You can use the code <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">chmod 700 ~/.gnupg</span><br/><br/>
196a2cab 444# Set permissions to read and write for yourself only, no others. These are the recommended permissions for the keys inside your folder. <br/>
64f8f564 445You can use the code: <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">chmod 600 ~/.gnupg/*</span><br/><br/>
19bce4d7 446
64f8f564 447<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><br/>
7b83f7f9 448</dd>
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449<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
450<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
451href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
452page</a>.</dd>
453</dl>
454
455</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
456
457<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
458<div class="troubleshooting">
459
460<h4>Advanced</h4>
461
462<dl>
7b83f7f9 463<dt>More about keyservers</dt>
464<dd>You can find some more keyserver information<a
803e8e2e 465href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x457.html"> in this manual</a>. <a
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466href="https://sks-keyservers.net/overview-of-pools.php">The sks Web site</a>
467maintains a list of highly interconnected keyservers. You can also <a
468href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x56.html#AEN64">directly export
469your key</a> as a file on your computer.</dd>
7b83f7f9 470
471<dt>Transferring your keys</dt>
64f8f564 472<dd>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:<br/>
7b83f7f9 473
eacc6df3 474<span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">
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475$ gpg --export-secret-keys -a keyid > my_private_key.asc<br/>
476$ gpg --export -a keyid > my_public_key.asc<br/>
477$ gpg --import my_private_key.asc<br/>
478$ gpg --import my_public_key.asc<br/>
eacc6df3 479</span>
7b83f7f9 480
35f08087 481<p>Ensure that the keyID printed is the correct one, and if so, then go ahead and add ultimate trust for it:</p>
eacc6df3 482<span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">
35f08087 483$ gpg --edit-key [your@email]
64f8f564 484</span><br/>
7b83f7f9 485
eacc6df3 486Because this is your key, you should choose <span style="color:#2f5faa; font-family: monospace;">ultimate</span>. You shouldn't trust anyone else's key ultimately.
80b64e11 487
a4eb3926 488<p class="notes"> Refer to <a href="#step-2b">troubleshoot 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 489</dd>
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490</dl>
491
492</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
493</div><!-- End .main -->
494</div><!-- End #step-2b .step -->
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495</div></section><!-- End #section2 -->
496
7b83f7f9 497<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 3: Set up email encryption ~~~~~~~~~ -->
498<section id="section3" class="row"><div>
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499
500<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
501<div class="section-intro">
502
7b83f7f9 503<h2><em>#3</em> Set up email encryption</h2>
64f8f564 504<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 505
506</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
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507
508<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 509<div id="step-3a" class="step">
510<div class="sidebar">
511
14c5f099 512<p><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step3a-open-key-manager.png"
fedfd572 513alt="Step 3.A: Email Menu" /></p>
cf02c02f 514<br />
14c5f099 515<p><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step3a-import-from-file.png"
7b83f7f9 516alt="Step 3.A: Import From File" /></p>
cf02c02f 517<br />
14c5f099 518<p><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step3a-success.png"
7b83f7f9 519alt="Step 3.A: Success" /></p>
40833450 520<br />
14c5f099 521<p><img src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step3a-troubleshoot.png"
40833450 522alt="Step 3.A: Troubleshoot" /></p>
7b83f7f9 523</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
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524<div class="main">
525
7b83f7f9 526<h3><em>Step 3.a</em> Set up your email with encryption</h3>
527Once 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.
19bce4d7 528
35f08087 529<p># Open your email client and use "Tools" &rarr; <span style="color:#2f5faa;">OpenPGP Manager</span></p>
eacc6df3 530<p># Under "File" &rarr; <span style="color:#2f5faa;">Import Secret Key(s) From File</span></p>
7b83f7f9 531<p># Select the file you saved under the name [my_secret_key.asc] in step <a href="#step-3b">step 3.b</a> when you exported your key</p>
532<p># Unlock with your passphrase</p>
533<p># You will receive a "OpenPGP keys successfully imported" window to confirm success</p>
eacc6df3 534<p># Go to "Edit" (in Icedove) or "Tools" (in Thunderbird) &rarr; "Account settings" &rarr; "End-To-End Encryption," and make sure your key is imported and select <span style="color:#2f5faa;">Treat this key as a Personal Key</span>.</p>
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535
536</div><!-- End .main -->
19bce4d7 537
7b83f7f9 538<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 539<div class="main">
540<div class="troubleshooting">
541<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
542<dl>
543<dt>I'm not sure the import worked correctly</dt>
544<dd>
eacc6df3 545Look for "Account settings" &rarr; "End-To-End Encryption" (Under "Edit" (in Icedove) or "Tools" (in Thunderbird)). Here you can see if your personal key associated with this email is found. If it is not, you can try again via the <span style="color:#2f5faa;">Add key</span> option. Make sure you have the correct, active, secret key file.
7b83f7f9 546</dd>
547
548<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
549<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
550href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
551page</a>.</dd>
552</dl>
553
554</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
555</div><!-- End .main -->
556</div><!-- End #step3-a .step -->
557</div></section><!-- End #section3 -->
558
559<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 4: Try it out ~~~~~~~~~ -->
560<section class="row" id="section4"><div>
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561
562<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
563<div class="section-intro">
564
7b83f7f9 565<h2><em>#4</em> Try it out!</h2>
14c5f099 566<p><img style="float:right; width:250px; margin-bottom:20px;" 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 567<p>Now you'll try a test correspondence with an FSF computer program named Edward,
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568who knows how to use encryption. Except where noted, these are the same
569steps you'd follow when corresponding with a real, live person.</p>
570
571<!-- <p>NOTE: Edward is currently having some technical difficulties, so he
572may take a long time to respond, or not respond at all. We're sorry about
573this and we're working hard to fix it. Your key will still work even without
574testing with Edward.</p> -->
575</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
576
577<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 578<div id="step-4a" class="step">
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579<div class="sidebar">
580
581<p><img
14c5f099 582src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step4a-send-key-to-Edward.png"
7b83f7f9 583alt="Step 4.A Send key to Edward." /></p>
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584
585</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
586<div class="main">
587
7b83f7f9 588<h3><em>Step 4.a</em> Send Edward your public key</h3>
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589
590<p>This is a special step that you won't have to do when corresponding
7b83f7f9 591with real people. In your email program's menu, go to "Tools" &rarr; "OpenPGP Key
a4eb3926 592Manager." You should see your key in the list that pops up. Right click
eacc6df3 593on your key and select <span style="color:#2f5faa;">Send Public Keys by Email</span>. 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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594
595<p>Address the message to <a
596href="mailto:edward-en@fsf.org">edward-en@fsf.org</a>. Put at least one word
597(whatever you want) in the subject and body of the email. Don't send yet.</p>
598
eacc6df3 599<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 <span style="color:#2f5faa">Do Not Encrypt</span>. Once encryption is off, hit Send.</p>
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600
601<p class="notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to
602respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the <a
b7f7b4a2 603href="#section6">Use it Well</a> section of this guide. Once you have received a response,
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604head to the next step. From here on, you'll be doing just the same thing as
605when corresponding with a real person.</p>
606
7b83f7f9 607<p>When you open Edward's reply, GnuPG may prompt you for your passphrase
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608before using your private key to decrypt it.</p>
609
610</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 611</div><!-- End #step-4a .step -->
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612
613<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 614<div id="step-4b" class="step">
615<div class="sidebar">
19bce4d7 616
7b83f7f9 617<p><img
14c5f099 618src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step4b-option1-verify-key.png"
7b83f7f9 619alt="Step 4.B Option 1. Verify key" /></p>
19bce4d7 620
cf02c02f 621<br />
7b83f7f9 622<p><img
14c5f099 623src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step4b-option2-import-key.png"
7b83f7f9 624alt="Step 4.B Option 2. Import key" /></p>
625</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
19bce4d7 626
7b83f7f9 627<div class="main">
19bce4d7 628
7b83f7f9 629<h3><em>Step 4.b</em> Send a test encrypted email</h3>
630<h6>Get Edward's key</h6>
80b64e11 631<p>To encrypt an email to Edward, you need its public key, so now you'll have
7b83f7f9 632to download it from a keyserver. You can do this in two different ways:</p>
4f41943f 633<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 <span style="color:#2f5faa">Discover</span> next to the text: "This message was sent with a key that you don't have yet." A popup with Edward's key details will follow.</p>
19bce4d7 634
4f41943f 635<p><strong>Option 2.</strong> Open your OpenPGP manager and under "Keyserver" choose <span style="color:#2f5faa">Discover Keys Online</span>. Here, fill in Edward's email address, and import Edward's key.</p>
19bce4d7 636
eacc6df3 637<p>The option <span style="color:#2f5faa">Accepted (unverified)</span> 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 638
b7f7b4a2 639<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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640
641<p class="notes">Since you encrypted this email with Edward's public key,
642Edward's private key is required to decrypt it. Edward is the only one with
80b64e11 643its private key, so no one except Edward can decrypt it.</p>
19bce4d7 644
7b83f7f9 645<br />
a4eb3926 646<h6>Send Edward an encrypted email</h6>
7b83f7f9 647
a4eb3926 648<p> Write a new email in your email program, addressed to <a
7b83f7f9 649href="mailto:edward-en@fsf.org">edward-en@fsf.org</a>. Make the subject
650"Encryption test" or something similar and write something in the body.</p>
651
eacc6df3 652<p>This time, make sure encryption is turned on by using the dropdown menu "Security" and select <span style="color:#2f5faa">Require Encryption</span>. Once encryption is on, hit Send.</p>
7b83f7f9 653
654<br />
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655
656<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
657<div class="troubleshooting">
658
659<h4>Troubleshooting</h4>
660
661<dl>
7b83f7f9 662<dt>"Recipients not valid, not trusted or not found"</dt>
80b64e11 663<dd>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 OpenPGP Key Manager to make sure the recipient is listed there.</dd>
7b83f7f9 664
665<dt>Unable to send message</dt>
eacc6df3 666<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 <span style="color:#2f5faa">Yes, but I have not verified that this is the correct key</span> in the "Acceptance" option at the bottom of this window. Resend the email.</dd>
7b83f7f9 667
668<dt>I can't find Edward's key</dt>
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669<dd>Close the pop-ups that have appeared since you clicked Send. Make sure
670you are connected to the Internet and try again. If that doesn't work, repeat
671the process, choosing a different keyserver when it asks you to pick one.</dd>
672
673<dt>Unscrambled messages in the Sent folder</dt>
674<dd>Even though you can't decrypt messages encrypted to someone else's key,
675your email program will automatically save a copy encrypted to your public key,
676which you'll be able to view from the Sent folder like a normal email. This
677is normal, and it doesn't mean that your email was not sent encrypted.</dd>
678
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679<dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt>
680<dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a
681href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
682page</a>.</dd>
683</dl>
684
685</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
686
687<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
688<div class="troubleshooting">
689
690<h4>Advanced</h4>
691
692<dl>
693<dt>Encrypt messages from the command line</dt>
694<dd>You can also encrypt and decrypt messages and files from the <a
695href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x110.html">command line</a>,
696if that's your preference. The option --armor makes the encrypted output
697appear in the regular character set.</dd>
698</dl>
699
700</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
701</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 702</div><!-- End #step-4b .step -->
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703
704<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
705<div id="step-headers_unencrypted" class="step">
706<div class="main">
707
708<h3><em>Important:</em> Security tips</h3>
19e80165 709
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710<p>Even if you encrypt your email, the subject line is not encrypted, so
711don't put private information there. The sending and receiving addresses
712aren't encrypted either, so a surveillance system can still figure out who
713you're communicating with. Also, surveillance agents will know that you're
714using GnuPG, even if they can't figure out what you're saying. When you
7b83f7f9 715send attachments, you can choose to encrypt them or not,
19bce4d7 716independent of the actual email.</p>
bdf319c4 717
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718<p>For greater security against potential attacks, you can turn off
719HTML. Instead, you can render the message body as plain text. In order
fedfd572 720to do this in Icedove or Thunderbird, go to View &gt; Message Body As &gt; Plain
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721Text.</p>
722
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723</div><!-- End .main -->
724</div><!-- End #step-headers_unencrypted .step-->
d85363e7 725
19bce4d7 726<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 727<div id="step-4c" class="step">
728<div class="sidebar">
729
730<p><img
14c5f099 731src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step4c-Edward-response.png"
7b83f7f9 732alt="Step 4.C Edward's response" /></p>
733
734</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
735
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736<div class="main">
737
7b83f7f9 738<h3><em>Step 4.c</em> Receive a response</h3>
19bce4d7 739
80b64e11 740<p>When Edward receives your email, it will use its private key to decrypt
f54f2134 741it, then reply to you. </p>
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742
743<p class="notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to
744respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the <a
7b83f7f9 745href="#section6">Use it Well</a> section of this guide.</p>
746
169c7097 747<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 748
f2545138 749<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 750
19bce4d7 751</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 752</div><!-- End #step-4c .step -->
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753
754<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 755<div id="step-4d" class="step">
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756<div class="main">
757
80b64e11 758<h3><em>Step 4.d</em> Send a signed test email</h3>
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759
760<p>GnuPG includes a way for you to sign messages and files, verifying that
761they came from you and that they weren't tampered with along the way. These
762signatures are stronger than their pen-and-paper cousins -- they're impossible
763to forge, because they're impossible to create without your private key
764(another reason to keep your private key safe).</p>
765
766<p>You can sign messages to anyone, so it's a great way to make people
767aware that you use GnuPG and that they can communicate with you securely. If
768they don't have GnuPG, they will be able to read your message and see your
769signature. If they do have GnuPG, they'll also be able to verify that your
770signature is authentic.</p>
771
a4eb3926 772<p>To sign an email to Edward, compose any message to the email address and click the
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773pencil icon next to the lock icon so that it turns gold. If you sign a
774message, GnuPG may ask you for your password before it sends the message,
775because it needs to unlock your private key for signing.</p>
776
eacc6df3 777<p>In "Account Settings" &rarr; "End-To-End-Encryption" you can opt to <span style="color:#2f5faa">add digital signature by default</span>.</p>
19bce4d7 778
7b83f7f9 779</div><!-- End .main -->
780</div><!-- End #step-4d .step -->
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781
782<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 783<div id="step-4e" class="step">
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784<div class="main">
785
7b83f7f9 786<h3><em>Step 4.e</em> Receive a response</h3>
19bce4d7 787
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788<p>When Edward receives your email, he will use your public key (which
789you sent him in <a href="#step-3a">Step 3.A</a>) to verify the message
80b64e11 790you sent has not been tampered with and to encrypt a reply to you.</p>
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791
792<p class="notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to
793respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the <a
7b83f7f9 794href="#section6">Use it Well</a> section of this guide.</p>
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795
796<p>Edward's reply will arrive encrypted, because he prefers to use encryption
797whenever possible. If everything goes according to plan, it should say
798"Your signature was verified." If your test signed email was also encrypted,
799he will mention that first.</p>
800
7b83f7f9 801<p>When you receive Edward's email and open it, your email client will
f54f2134
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802automatically detect that it is encrypted with your public key, and
803then it will use your private key to decrypt it.</p>
804
19bce4d7 805</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 806</div><!-- End #step-4e .step -->
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807</div></section>
808
803e8e2e 809<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 5: Learn About the Web of Trust ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 810<section class="row" id="section5"><div>
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811
812<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
813<div class="section-intro">
814
b7f7b4a2 815<h2><em>#5</em> Learn about the Web of Trust</h2>
1805f65d 816<p><img style="float:right; width:250px; margin-bottom:20px;" src="../static/img/en/screenshots/section5-web-of-trust.png" alt="Illustration of keys all interconnected with a web of lines"/></p>
19bce4d7 817
b7f7b4a2 818<p>Email encryption is a powerful technology, but it has a weakness:
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819it requires a way to verify that a person's public key is actually
820theirs. Otherwise, there would be no way to stop an attacker from making
b7f7b4a2 821an email address with your friend's name, creating keys to go with it, and
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822impersonating your friend. That's why the free software programmers that
823developed email encryption created keysigning and the Web of Trust.</p>
824
825<p>When you sign someone's key, you are publicly saying that you've verified
826that it belongs to them and not someone else.</p>
827
828<p>Signing keys and signing messages use the same type of mathematical
829operation, but they carry very different implications. It's a good practice
830to generally sign your email, but if you casually sign people's keys, you
831may accidently end up vouching for the identity of an imposter.</p>
832
833<p>People who use your public key can see who has signed it. Once you've
834used GnuPG for a long time, your key may have hundreds of signatures. You
835can consider a key to be more trustworthy if it has many signatures from
836people that you trust. The Web of Trust is a constellation of GnuPG users,
837connected to each other by chains of trust expressed through signatures.</p>
838
839</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
840
841<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 842<div id="step-5a" class="step">
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843<div class="sidebar">
844
845<p><img
14c5f099 846src="../static/img/en/screenshots/step5a-key-properties.png"
7b83f7f9 847alt="Section 5: trusting a key" /></p>
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848
849</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
850<div class="main">
851
7b83f7f9 852<h3><em>Step 5.a</em> Sign a key</h3>
19bce4d7 853
eacc6df3 854<p>In your email program's menu, go to OpenPGP Key Manager and select <span style="color:#2f5faa">Key properties</span> by right clicking on Edward's key.</p>
19bce4d7 855
eacc6df3 856<p>Under "Your Acceptance," you can select <span style="color:#2f5faa">Yes, I've verified in person this key has the correct fingerprint"</span>.</p>
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857
858<p class="notes">You've just effectively said "I trust that Edward's public
859key actually belongs to Edward." This doesn't mean much because Edward isn't
b7f7b4a2 860a 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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861
862<!--<div id="pgp-pathfinder">
863
864<form enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded" action="/mk_path.cgi"
865method="get">
866
f211d856 867<p><strong>From:</strong><input type="text" value="xD41A008"
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868name="FROM"></p>
869
f211d856 870<p><strong>To:</strong><input type="text" value="50BD01x4" name="TO"></p>
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871
872<p class="buttons"><input type="submit" value="trust paths" name="PATHS"><input
873type="reset" value="reset" name=".reset"></p>
874
875</form>
876
877</div>End #pgp-pathfinder -->
878</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 879</div><!-- End #step-5a .step -->
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880
881<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
882<div id="step-identify_keys" class="step">
883<div class="main">
884
885<h3>Identifying keys: Fingerprints and IDs</h3>
886
887<p>People's public keys are usually identified by their key fingerprint,
888which is a string of digits like F357AA1A5B1FA42CFD9FE52A9FF2194CC09A61E8
889(for Edward's key). You can see the fingerprint for your public key, and
7b83f7f9 890other public keys saved on your computer, by going to OpenPGP Key
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891Management in your email program's menu, then right clicking on the key
892and choosing Key Properties. It's good practice to share your fingerprint
893wherever you share your email address, so that people can double-check that
894they have the correct public key when they download yours from a keyserver.</p>
895
c0c01f86 896<p class="notes">You may also see public keys referred to by a shorter
a4eb3926 897keyID. This keyID is visible directly from the Key Management
898window. These eight character keyIDs were previously used for
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899identification, which used to be safe, but is no longer reliable. You
900need to check the full fingerprint as part of verifying you have the
901correct key for the person you are trying to contact. Spoofing, in
902which someone intentionally generates a key with a fingerprint whose
903final eight characters are the same as another, is unfortunately
904common.</p>
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905
906</div><!-- End .main -->
907</div><!-- End #step-identify_keys .step-->
908
909<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
910<div id="check-ids-before-signing" class="step">
911<div class="main">
912
913<h3><em>Important:</em> What to consider when signing keys</h3>
914
915<p>Before signing a person's key, you need to be confident that it actually
916belongs to them, and that they are who they say they are. Ideally, this
917confidence comes from having interactions and conversations with them over
918time, and witnessing interactions between them and others. Whenever signing
919a key, ask to see the full public key fingerprint, and not just the shorter
a4eb3926 920keyID. If you feel it's important to sign the key of someone you've just
19bce4d7 921met, also ask them to show you their government identification, and make
7b83f7f9 922sure the name on the ID matches the name on the public key.</p>
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923
924<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
925<div class="troubleshooting">
926
927<h4>Advanced</h4>
928
929<dl>
930<dt>Master the Web of Trust</dt>
931<dd>Unfortunately, trust does not spread between users the way <a
6003a573 932href="https://fennetic.net/irc/finney.org/~hal/web_of_trust.html">many people
a4eb3926 933think</a>. One of the best ways to strengthen the GnuPG community is to deeply <a
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934href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x334.html">understand</a> the Web of
935Trust and to carefully sign as many people's keys as circumstances permit.</dd>
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936</dl>
937
938</div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
939</div><!-- End .main -->
940</div><!-- End #check-ids-before-signing .step-->
7b83f7f9 941</div></section><!-- End #section5 -->
d85363e7 942
7b83f7f9 943<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 6: Use it well ~~~~~~~~~ -->
944<section id="section6" class="row"><div>
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945
946<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
947<div class="section-intro">
948
7b83f7f9 949<h2><em>#6</em> Use it well</h2>
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950
951<p>Everyone uses GnuPG a little differently, but it's important to follow
952some basic practices to keep your email secure. Not following them, you
953risk the privacy of the people you communicate with, as well as your own,
954and damage the Web of Trust.</p>
955
956</div><!-- End .section-intro -->
957
958<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 959<div id="step-6a" class="step">
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960<div class="sidebar">
961
962<p><img
1805f65d 963src="../static/img/en/screenshots/section6-01-use-it-well.png"
7b83f7f9 964alt="Section 6: Use it Well (1)" /></p>
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965
966</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
967<div class="main">
968
969<h3>When should I encrypt? When should I sign?</h3>
970
971<p>The more you can encrypt your messages, the better. If you only encrypt
972emails occasionally, each encrypted message could raise a red flag for
973surveillance systems. If all or most of your email is encrypted, people
974doing surveillance won't know where to start. That's not to say that only
975encrypting some of your email isn't helpful -- it's a great start and it
976makes bulk surveillance more difficult.</p>
977
978<p>Unless you don't want to reveal your own identity (which requires other
979protective measures), there's no reason not to sign every message, whether or
980not you are encrypting. In addition to allowing those with GnuPG to verify
981that the message came from you, signing is a non-intrusive way to remind
982everyone that you use GnuPG and show support for secure communication. If you
983often send signed messages to people that aren't familiar with GnuPG, it's
984nice to also include a link to this guide in your standard email signature
985(the text kind, not the cryptographic kind).</p>
986
987</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 988</div><!-- End #step-6a .step -->
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989
990<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 991<div id="step-6b" class="step">
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992<div class="sidebar">
993
994<p><img
1805f65d 995src="../static/img/en/screenshots/section6-02-use-it-well.png"
7b83f7f9 996alt="Section 6: Use it Well (2)" /></p>
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997
998</div><!-- /.sidebar -->
999<div class="main">
1000
1001<h3>Be wary of invalid keys</h3>
1002
1003<p>GnuPG makes email safer, but it's still important to watch out for invalid
1004keys, which might have fallen into the wrong hands. Email encrypted with
1005invalid keys might be readable by surveillance programs.</p>
1006
1007<p>In your email program, go back to the first encrypted email that Edward
1008sent you. Because Edward encrypted it with your public key, it will have a
80b64e11 1009green checkmark a at the top "OpenPGP" button.</p>
19bce4d7 1010
7b83f7f9 1011<p><b>When using GnuPG, make a habit of glancing at that button. The program
4227f3fd 1012will warn you there if you get an email signed with a key that can't
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1013be trusted.</b></p>
1014
1015</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 1016</div><!-- End #step-6b .step -->
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1017
1018<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 1019<div id="step-6c" class="step">
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1020<div class="main">
1021
1022<h3>Copy your revocation certificate to somewhere safe</h3>
1023
1024<p>Remember when you created your keys and saved the revocation certificate
80b64e11 1025that 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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1026
1027<p>If your private key ever gets lost or stolen, you'll need this certificate
1028file to let people know that you are no longer using that keypair.</p>
1029
1030</div><!-- End .main -->
7b83f7f9 1031</div><!-- End #step-6c .step -->
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1032
1033<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1034<div id="step-lost_key" class="step">
1035<div class="main">
1036
b7f7b4a2 1037<h3><em>IMPORTANT:</em> ACT SWIFTLY if someone gets your private key</h3>
19bce4d7 1038
b7f7b4a2 1039<p>If you lose your private key or someone else gets a hold
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1040of it (say, by stealing or cracking your computer), it's
1041important to revoke it immediately before someone else uses
1042it to read your encrypted email or forge your signature. This
1043guide doesn't cover how to revoke a key, but you can follow these <a
1044href="https://www.hackdiary.com/2004/01/18/revoking-a-gpg-key/">instructions</a>.
1045After you're done revoking, make a new key and send an email to everyone
1046with whom you usually use your key to make sure they know, including a copy
1047of your new key.</p>
1048
1049</div><!-- End .main -->
1050</div><!-- End #step-lost_key .step-->
1051
35f08087 1052<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
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1053<div id="webmail-and-GnuPG" class="step">
1054<div class="main">
1055
1056<h3>Webmail and GnuPG</h3>
1057
1058<p>When you use a web browser to access your email, you're using webmail,
1059an email program stored on a distant website. Unlike webmail, your desktop
1060email program runs on your own computer. Although webmail can't decrypt
1061encrypted email, it will still display it in its encrypted form. If you
1062primarily use webmail, you'll know to open your email client when you receive
1063a scrambled email.</p>
1064
1065</div><!-- End .main -->
1066</div><!-- End #webmail-and-GnuPG .step-->
1067
35f08087 1068<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
7b83f7f9 1069<div id="step-6d" class="step">
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1070<div class="main">
1071
1072<h3>Make your public key part of your online identity</h3>
1073
1074<p> First add your public key fingerprint to your email signature, then
1075compose an email to at least five of your friends, telling them you just
1076set up GnuPG and mentioning your public key fingerprint. Link to this guide
1077and ask them to join you. Don't forget that there's also an awesome <a
1078href="infographic.html">infographic to share.</a></p>
1079
1080<p class="notes">Start writing your public key fingerprint anywhere someone
1081would see your email address: your social media profiles, blog, Website,
1082or business card. (At the Free Software Foundation, we put ours on our
1083<a href="https://fsf.org/about/staff">staff page</a>.) We need to get our
1084culture to the point that we feel like something is missing when we see an
1085email address without a public key fingerprint.</p>
1086
35f08087 1087</div><!-- End .main-->
1088</div><!-- End #step-6d .step-->
7b83f7f9 1089</div></section><!-- End #section6 -->
19bce4d7 1090
7b83f7f9 1091<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 7: Next steps ~~~~~~~~~ -->
b7f7b4a2 1092<section class="row" id="section7">
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1093<div id="step-click_here" class="step">
1094<div class="main">
0a225228 1095
19bce4d7 1096<h2><a href="next_steps.html">Great job! Check out the next steps.</a></h2>
bb28ee32 1097
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1098</div><!-- End .main -->
1099</div><!-- End #step-click_here .step-->
7b83f7f9 1100</section><!-- End #section7 -->
bdf319c4 1101
19bce4d7 1102<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ FAQ ~~~~~~~~~ -->
f44dd62f 1103<!-- When un-commenting this section go to main.css and search
116f80c3 1104for /* Guide Sections Background */ then add #faq to the desired color
19bce4d7 1105<section class="row" id="faq"><div>
116f80c3 1106<div class="sidebar">
19bce4d7 1107
116f80c3 1108<h2>FAQ</h2>
6c495e2d 1109
19bce4d7 1110</div>
116f80c3 1111<div class="main">
19bce4d7 1112
116f80c3
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1113<dl>
1114<dt>My key expired</dt>
1115<dd>Answer coming soon.</dd>
6c495e2d 1116
116f80c3
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1117<dt>Who can read encrypted messages? Who can read signed ones?</dt>
1118<dd>Answer coming soon.</dd>
6c495e2d 1119
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1120<dt>My email program is opening at times I don't want it to open/is now my
1121default program and I don't want it to be.</dt>
116f80c3
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1122<dd>Answer coming soon.</dd>
1123</dl>
19bce4d7 1124
116f80c3
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1125</div>
1126</div>
1127</section> --><!-- End #faq -->
bdf319c4 1128
19bce4d7
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1129<!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Footer ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1130<footer class="row" id="footer"><div>
1131<div id="copyright">
1132
1133<h4><a href="https://u.fsf.org/ys"><img
1134alt="Free Software Foundation"
14c5f099 1135src="../static/img/fsf-logo.png" /></a></h4>
19bce4d7 1136
37d0bc33 1137<p>Copyright &copy; 2014-2021 <a
19bce4d7
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1138href="https://u.fsf.org/ys">Free Software Foundation</a>, Inc. <a
1139href="https://my.fsf.org/donate/privacypolicy.html">Privacy Policy</a>. Please
1140support our work by <a href="https://u.fsf.org/yr">joining us as an associate
1141member.</a></p>
1142
1143<p>The images on this page are under a <a
1144href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons
1145Attribution 4.0 license (or later version)</a>, and the rest of it is under
1146a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0">Creative Commons
1147Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license (or later version)</a>. Download the <a
6003a573 1148href="https://agpl.fsf.org/emailselfdefense.fsf.org/edward/CURRENT/edward.tar.gz">
f211d856 1149source code of Edward reply bot</a> by Andrew Engelbrecht
a3a9a0ac 1150&lt;andrew@engelbrecht.io&gt; and Josh Drake &lt;zamnedix@gnu.org&gt;,
19bce4d7 1151available under the GNU Affero General Public License. <a
6003a573 1152href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#OtherLicenses">Why these
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1153licenses?</a></p>
1154
1155<p>Fonts used in the guide &amp; infographic: <a
1156href="https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Dosis">Dosis</a> by Pablo
6003a573 1157Impallari, <a href="https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Signika">Signika</a>
19bce4d7 1158by Anna Giedry&#347;, <a
6003a573 1159href="https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Archivo+Narrow">Archivo
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1160Narrow</a> by Omnibus-Type, <a
1161href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Graphics_Howto#Pitfalls">PXL-2000</a>
1162by Florian Cramer.</p>
1163
1164<p>Download the <a href="emailselfdefense_source.zip">source package</a>
1165for this guide, including fonts, image source files and the text of Edward's
1166messages.</p>
1167
1168<p>This site uses the Weblabels standard for labeling <a
1169href="https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/freejs">free JavaScript</a>. View
abf30801 1170the JavaScript <a href="https://weblabels.fsf.org/emailselfdefense.fsf.org/"
19bce4d7
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1171rel="jslicense">source code and license information</a>.</p>
1172
1173</div><!-- /#copyright -->
1174
1175<p class="credits">Infographic and guide design by <a rel="external"
6003a573 1176href="https://jplusplus.org"><strong>Journalism++</strong><img
138192ae 1177src="static/img/jplusplus.png"
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1178alt="Journalism++" /></a></p><!-- /.credits -->
1179</div></footer><!-- End #footer -->
116f80c3 1180
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1194 var u = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https" : "http") + "://"+"piwik.fsf.org//";
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