On Sun, 22 Sep 1996, Mixmaster wrote:
The trickiest thing about it - by far - is the inscrutable English translation of the helpfile. I have been trying for over a week to make [...] Can any native English speaker please paraphrase the account start-up procedure for us?
I took a stab at re-writing the help file, and I've attached it below. The operator of jena might want to use it instead of the help file currently being distributed, after correcting any errors and adding the German sections back in. IMHO, the How do I.. section is the most useful. I believe these instructions are correct -- I was able to follow them to create a nym, and use it. YMMV. -- William Ono <wmono@direct.ca> PGP Key: F3F716BD fingerprint = A8 0D B9 0F 40 A7 D6 64 B3 00 04 74 FD A7 12 C9 = fingerprint PGP-encrypted mail welcome! "640k ought to be enough for everybody." Pseudonymous Server Help ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This pseudonymous server allows private, pseudonymous communication. When used with chained remailers, true pseudonymity without fear of a connection to a real address can be achieved. Some things to remember about this server: - When creating a pseudonym, a special PGP key created for this purpose is sent to the server. This will be used to name the pseudonym, and assign a Email address. * The hexadecimal key-ID forms the Email address. For example, if the nym's key is 0x01020304, the address will be: anon-01020304@as-node.jena.thur.de * The user-ID of the key contains the pseudonym, only. Note: This is different from the convention, which is to include the Email address in angle brackets. - To publish something under a pseudonym, send a encrypted, signed email to this server, which will post it to one or more Usenet newsgroups, or send it via Email. - Anyone is able to reply to items published under a pseudonym. Anything sent to the pseudonym's Email address is stored on the server, encrypted with the pseudonym's public key. - Because the server does not know (and does not want to know) the true identity behind a pseudonym, mail cannot be delivered directly. - Mail is delivered only when a signed, encrypted request is received from a nym. At this time, all waiting mail is sent to the address specified in the encrypted message. - The server never answers. If something goes wrong, the job will be dropped silently. All commands are sent in the Subject: header of the unencrypted (plaintext) message, and should be Emailed to anon@as-node.jena.thur.de There are two commands: help - sends the server's help file. send - delivers waiting mail. The body of the Email should be a signed, encrypted message with a Reply-To: header, which is where the mail will be delivered via Mixmaster remailers. (The key that the body is signed with determines which nym's mail is delivered.) The nym's mail spool is then purged. To prevent replay attacks, the signature must be less than 48 hours old. If the signature is not valid, the request is bounced and the headers are saved, encrypted, in the nym's mail spool. If no valid command is found in the Subject: header, the body is checked for a signed, encrypted (to the server) message. If the signature is from a keyID belonging to an existing nym, and the check fails, the headers are saved, encrypted, in the nym's mailspool. This is to alert the owner of the nym to a possible spoof attempt. If the signature check fails because the keyID that the signature is from is unknown, the decrypted body is assumed to contain a public key for a new nym, which will be added to the server's database. If the signature is valid, the decrypted body should be a header for the outbound mail, followed by a blank line, then the body for the outbound mail. The following are headers considered valid by the server: * Subject: (or Anon-Subject:) * To: (or Anon-To:) * References: * Newsgroups: (or Post-To: or Anon-Post-To:) * Followup-To: (or Anon-Followup-To:) - This must be specified as a -single- newsgroup if cross-posting All outbound messages has Precedence: junk to silently drop error messages. If any of the above conditions are not met, the server will silently drop the job. This server must not be used to transmit illegal materials, flames, or binary data. I may disable nyms that misuse the server. The German telecommunication laws may require me to modify the server to allow access to intelligence agencies without notification. You are advised to use Mixmaster remailers and other alias servers -- it is recommended that you do not request mail to be sent to your own Email address. How do I .. ~~~~~~~~~~~ ..create an identity? - Run 'pgp -kg' to generate a new key. + Select your keysize. (a 1204-bit or larger key is recommented) + Enter your pseudonym as the user-ID. Do not enter an Email address. + Enter a passphrase. (Make sure not to forget it!) - Run 'pgp -kxa "pseudonym" > anonid.asc' to extract your public key. - Run 'pgp -esa -u "pseudonym" anon@as-node anonid.asc' to sign and encrypt the extracted key for the server. - Mail the result to anon@as-node.jena.thur.de with a Subject: header that does not include the words 'help' or 'send' (It is recommened that you do this through one or more anonymous remailers.) - Test your nym by posting to a test group (de.test is recommended due to the location of the server) and wait several days before requesting mail delivery. - If it didn't work, repeat the entire procedure. It's possible that the key-ID already exists in the server's database and belongs to another pseudonym. ..Email a message? - Write the mail body, remembering not to include any information about your true identity. - Add the following headers at the top of the mail: To: destination@of.mail Subject: Outbound mail's subject line Leave a blank line between the headers and the body. - Save the file. - Run 'pgp -esa -u "pseudonym" anon@as-node filename' to sign the mail with the nym's key, and encrypt it for the server. - Mail the result to anon@as-node.jena.thur.de with a Subject: header that does not include the words 'help' or 'send' (It is recommened that you do this through one or more anonymous remailers.) ..post an article? - Write the article's body, remembering not to include any information about your true identity. - Add the following headers at the top of the mail: Newsgroups: a.newsgroup.name Subject: Article's subject line (If cross-posting, remember that a Followup-To: header is required.) Leave a blank line between the headers and the body. - Save the file. - Run 'pgp -esa -u "pseudonym" anon@as-node filename' to sign the mail with the nym's key, and encrypt it for the server. - Mail the result to anon@as-node.jena.thur.de with a Subject: header that does not include the words 'help' or 'send' (It is recommened that you do this through one or more anonymous remailers.) ..request Email to be delivered? - Create a file containing the following: Reply-To: address@for.delivery Leave a blank line after the header. - Save the file. - Run 'pgp -esa -u "pseudonym" anon@as-node filename' to sign the mail with the nym's key, and encrypt it for the server. - Mail the result to anon@as-node.jena.thur.de with a Subject: header that does not include the words 'help' or 'send' (It is recommened that you do this through one or more anonymous remailers.) Things to remember ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Never send mail directly to the server. Always use at least one remailer to hide your identity. The best way to protect yourself against a police 'request' is to ensure that the server cannot determine your identity. - Use Mixmaster remailers for increased protection. Use mixmaster@as-node.jena.thur.de as the final hop to defeat traffic analysis. - Never request a delivery to your real Email address. Typ Bits/ID Datum Benutzer Type bits/keyID Date User ID öff 1024/D3305539 1996/05/01 Jenaer Anonymous Service <anon@as-node.jena.thur.de> -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.3i mQCNAzGHxbMAAAEEALWo6oH8J48d1QhSrkbQCt/PZorS5o/9vEQ0DC2UHxivY98i AcYnq2Dxv3mQYFxcA4Zl5kAGoZCwUadlubLYPeXP2dpZlcjlI87IBsOK37B3+dQL 9ax0biK8SILNopepwReJTywwNhAoeu2DNqMJDOjocrRTTJCP+0oZs23TMFU5AAUR tDRKZW5hZXIgQW5vbnltb3VzIFNlcnZpY2UgPGFub25AYXMtbm9kZS5qZW5hLnRo dXIuZGU+iQEVAwUQMYfTDAnccDk5839dAQGy7wgAp23a76rW1QU9Sc+HyLBzrEnE usBFQrCDozcO1K9pOE+NYQcQwArnNHpm3+wF/afAsPLsNyD84Cm4vVba7QeAWUx1 un0HFHE840wS9g0S+FUUjoPW/foNVcGFN5RcUJWVSvXSNfihz6JwuuyFZWuZNUdD RA4ta1V9uMM/x+lVmlYQ7PvkBbZXSQS1gkBQAZyxFNx0OOtqxcsLHxJ05FJrniDu r0VRZzkqI1qyUFBlYkd4nx7xA8QraDH7nPWMisiXtxNzuDBW+Cnkdh1xOneS1gzE 7Ssm9r5ktSV+ZQqmk6sh0qeFsWtGQLG6TJBDjb9uNS18dkkru0svZNcrGY+EL4kA lQMFEDGHxbNKGbNt0zBVOQEB5aQEAInk+hdiDVyXnuIKsMgXPfxVJtmzqblvmGTV gRr+7kDlC+Y6ZK1qbeI+uDNJsDGmLkP7Uez+7IwFASrr+bc4ZCbkQK5FZIJvlXLs gkYbvuIzpppR4RfkEpeawehw0ZNuXXpxI6K9P1DabXI+OdVaNG7Lj0Qr5Iac7Vz2 056eXiNH =6tO4 -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Jenaer Mixmaster Anonserver =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= jenanon mixmaster@as-node.jena.thur.de 54e0023828fabe0b85e83b3d458134e3 2.0.3 -----Begin Mix Key----- 54e0023828fabe0b85e83b3d458134e3 258 AASVur47+5caGetEAZJKG/s5uEjXZb+1epW5UWV1 a4Tt/osQKS+c5gxnArSwDyXHsnt9MxDznhRAR73D CT+2a/NC494VAV4MoWGAZI0NZtw8brvzZza/9qp9 V3tlbaIjnPVhGqlPFG6lyTi1BLCJGqMUQZMQWLt5 8Q2AGklC/SYg6QAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQAB -----End Mix Key-----