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24 <h1>Email Self-Defense
</h1>
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60 <p>We want to translate this guide
61 into more languages, and make a version for encryption on mobile
62 devices. Please donate, and help people around the world take the first
63 step towards protecting their privacy with free software.
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81 Understanding and setting up email encryption sounds like a daunting task
82 to many people. That's why helping your friends with GnuPG plays such an
83 important role in helping spread encryption. Even if only one person shows
84 up, that's still one more person using encryption who wasn't before. You have
85 the power to help your friends keep their digital love letters private, and
86 teach them about the importance of free software. If you use GnuPG to send and
87 receive encrypted email, you're a perfect candidate for leading a workshop!
</p>
89 </div><!-- End .intro -->
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92 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 1: Get your friends or community interested ~~~~~~~~~
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102 <h2><em>#
1</em> Get your friends or community interested
</h2>
104 <p>If you hear friends grumbling about their lack of privacy, ask them if
105 they're interested in attending a workshop on Email Self-Defense. If your
106 friends don't grumble about privacy, they may need some convincing. You might
107 even hear the classic
"if you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to
108 fear" argument against using encryption.
</p>
110 <p>Here are some talking points you can use to help explain why it's worth
111 it to learn GnuPG. Mix and match whichever you think will make sense to
114 </div><!-- End .section-intro -->
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125 <h3>Strength in numbers
</h3>
127 <p>Each person who chooses to resist mass surveillance with encryption makes
128 it easier for others to resist as well. People normalizing the use of strong
129 encryption has multiple powerful effects: it means those who need privacy
130 the most, like potential whistle-blowers and activists, are more likely to
131 learn about encryption. More people using encryption for more things also
132 makes it harder for surveillance systems to single out those that can't
133 afford to be found, and shows solidarity with those people.
</p>
135 </div><!-- End .main -->
138 <h3>People you respect may already be using encryption
</h3>
140 <p>Many journalists, whistleblowers, activists, and researchers use GnuPG,
141 so your friends might unknowingly have heard of a few people who use it
142 already. You can search for
"BEGIN PUBLIC KEY BLOCK" + keyword to help make
143 a list of people and organizations who use GnuPG whom your community will
144 likely recognize.
</p>
146 </div><!-- End .main -->
149 <h3>Respect your friends' privacy
</h3>
151 <p>There's no objective way to judge what constitutes privacy-sensitive
152 correspondence. As such, it's better not to presume that just because you
153 find an email you sent to a friend innocuous, your friend (or a surveillance
154 agent, for that matter!) feels the same way. Show your friends respect by
155 encrypting your correspondence with them.
</p>
157 </div><!-- End .main -->
160 <h3>Privacy technology is normal in the physical world
</h3>
162 <p>In the physical realm, we take window blinds, envelopes, and closed doors
163 for granted as ways of protecting our privacy. Why should the digital realm
164 be any different?
</p>
166 </div><!-- End .main -->
169 <h3>We shouldn't have to trust our email providers with our privacy
</h3>
171 <p>Some email providers are very trustworthy, but many have incentives not
172 to protect your privacy and security. To be empowered digital citizens,
173 we need to build our own security from the bottom up.
</p>
175 </div><!-- End .main -->
176 </div><!-- End #step-aa .step -->
177 </div></section><!-- End #section1 -->
179 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 2: Plan The Workshop ~~~~~~~~~ -->
180 <section class=
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184 margin-bottom: 0px;">
186 <h2><em>#
2</em> Plan The Workshop
</h2>
188 <p>Once you've got at least one interested friend, pick a date and start
189 planning out the workshop. Tell participants to bring their computer and
190 ID (for signing each other's keys). If you'd like to make it easy for the
191 participants to use
<a href=
"https://theintercept.com/2015/03/26/passphrases-can-memorize-attackers-cant-guess/">Diceware
</a> for choosing passwords, get a pack of dice
192 beforehand. Make sure the location you select has an easily accessible
193 Internet connection, and make backup plans in case the connection stops
194 working on the day of the workshop. Libraries, coffee shops, and community
195 centers make great locations. Try to get all the participants to set up
196 an email client based on Thunderbird before the event. Direct them to their
197 email provider's IT department or help page if they run into errors.
</p>
199 <p>Estimate that the workshop will take at least forty minutes plus ten minutes
200 for each participant. Plan extra time for questions and technical glitches.
</p>
202 <p>The success of the workshop requires understanding and catering to
203 the unique backgrounds and needs of each group of participants. Workshops
204 should stay small, so that each participant receives more individualized
205 instruction. If more than a handful of people want to participate, keep the
206 facilitator to participant ratio high by recruiting more facilitators, or by
207 facilitating multiple workshops. Small workshops among friends work great!
</p>
209 </div><!-- End .section-intro -->
210 </div></section><!-- End #section2 -->
212 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 3: Follow The Guide ~~~~~~~~~ -->
213 <section class=
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"section3"><div>
215 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
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217 margin-bottom: 0px;">
219 <h2><em>#
3</em> Follow the guide as a group
</h2>
221 <p>Work through the Email Self-Defense guide a step at a time as a group. Talk
222 about the steps in detail, but make sure not to overload the participants
223 with minutia. Pitch the bulk of your instructions to the least tech-savvy
224 participants. Make sure all the participants complete each step before the
225 group moves on to the next one. Consider facilitating secondary workshops
226 afterwards for people that had trouble grasping the concepts, or those that
227 grasped them quickly and want to learn more.
</p>
229 <p>In
<a href=
"index.html#section2">Section
2</a> of the guide, make
230 sure the participants upload their keys to the same keyserver so that
231 they can immediately download each other's keys later (sometimes
232 there is a delay in synchronization between keyservers). During
<a
233 href=
"index.html#section3">Section
3</a>, give the participants the option to
234 send test messages to each other instead of or as well as Edward. Similarly,
235 in
<a href=
"index.html#section4">Section
4</a>, encourage the participants
236 to sign each other's keys. At the end, make sure to remind people to safely
237 back up their revocation certificates.
</p>
239 </div><!-- End .section-intro -->
242 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 4: Explain the pitfalls ~~~~~~~~~ -->
243 <section class=
"row" id=
"section4"><div>
245 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
246 <div class=
"section-intro" style=
"border: none; padding-bottom: 0px;
247 margin-bottom: 0px;">
249 <h2><em>#
4</em> Explain the pitfalls
</h2>
251 <p>Remind participants that encryption works only when it's explicitly used;
252 they won't be able to send an encrypted email to someone who hasn't already
253 set up encryption. Also remind participants to double-check the encryption icon
254 before hitting send, and that subjects and timestamps are never encrypted.
</p>
257 href=
"https://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html">dangers
258 of running a proprietary system
</a> and
259 advocate for free software, because without it, we can't
<a
260 href=
"https://www.fsf.org/bulletin/2013/fall/how-can-free-software-protect-us-from-surveillance">meaningfully
261 resist invasions of our digital privacy and autonomy
</a>.
</p>
263 </div><!-- End .section-intro -->
264 </div></section><!-- End #section4 -->
266 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 5: Explain The Pitfalls ~~~~~~~~~ -->
267 <section id=
"section5" class=
"row"><div>
269 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
270 <div class=
"section-intro" style=
"border: none; padding-bottom: 0px;
271 margin-bottom: 0px;">
273 <h2><em>#
5</em> Share additional resources
</h2>
275 <p>GnuPG's advanced options are far too complex to teach in a single
276 workshop. If participants want to know more, point out the advanced subsections
277 in the guide and consider organizing another workshop. You can also share
278 <a href=
"https://www.gnupg.org/documentation/index.html">GnuPG's
</a>
279 official documentation and mailing lists, and the
<a href=
"https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">Email Self-Defense feedback
</a> page. Many GNU/Linux distribution's Web
280 sites also contain a page explaining some of GnuPG's advanced features.
</p>
282 </div><!-- End .section-intro -->
283 </div></section><!-- End #section5 -->
285 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 6: Next steps ~~~~~~~~~ -->
286 <section class=
"row" id=
"section6"><div>
288 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
289 <div class=
"section-intro" style=
"border: none; padding-bottom: 0px;
290 margin-bottom: 0px;">
292 <h2><em>#
6</em> Follow up
</h2>
294 <p>Make sure everyone has shared email addresses and public key fingerprints
295 before they leave. Encourage the participants to continue to gain GnuPG
296 experience by emailing each other. Send them each an encrypted email one
297 week after the event, reminding them to try adding their public key ID to
298 places where they publicly list their email address.
</p>
300 <p>If you have any suggestions for improving this workshop guide, please
301 let us know at
<a href=
"mailto:campaigns@fsf.org">campaigns@fsf.org
</a>.
</p>
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