Software Vault: The Diamond Collection/The Diamond Collection (Software Vault)(Digital Impact).ISO/cdr13/pidho20b.zip/PIDAHO.TXT

Text File | 1995-03-01 | 26KB | 634 lines

Private Idaho version 2.0 beta March 1, 1995) - Freeware
copyright (c)1995, Joel McNamara ([e-mail])

What it does
------------
Private Idaho makes private e-mail easier.  It simplifies using
PGP and various anonymous remailers.  It can be used with many
Windows e-mail applications.

PGP is fairly well known.  Remailers are getting increased exposure,
but are still not widely used.  If you use PGP, they are worth
knowing and learning about.  For a good introduction, refer to:

    http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~raph/remailer-list.html


What it doesn't do
------------------
Private Idaho isn't e-mail software.  It can't send the messages you
create with it.  Think of it as an e-mail premailing tool.

Private Idaho doesn't automatically keep track of which remailers
are active.  You'll need to manually keep the text file updated to
stay current.

I update the files regularly, and they are available either from
anonymous FTP at ftp.eskimo.com /joelm or http://www.eskimo.com/~joelm.

(These files are updated based on information from Raph Levien's
annonymous remailer "pinging" service.  For full information, either
finger [e-mail] or via the Web use
http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~raph/remailer-list.html.)

Private Idaho isn't a PGP shell.  It is designed simply to make sending
private e-mail easier.  Don't expect sophisticated key management and
access to all of PGP's features.


Requirements
------------
Microsoft Windows 3.x
Visual Basic runtime file (VBRUN300.DLL - not included)
A Windows e-mail package (Eudora, MS Mail, Pegasus, etc.)
PGP (Pretty Good Privacy - 2.6.2 is the latest MIT version)


Installing Private Idaho:
-------------------------
Copy the following files to the directory that contains your
e-mail software:

PIDAHO.EXE    the application
CPMAILER.TXT    the remailer list
RMINFO.TXT    the remailer info list
USENET.TXT    the list of mail to USENET newsgroup gateways
EMAIL.TXT    the list of e-mail software settings
PIDAHO.TXT    this file

Copy the following file to the directory (or disk) that contains PGP:

PIPGP.PIF    for easy shelling to DOS PGP
PIPGPX.PIF    shell and autoclose

Copy the following file to the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory:

CMDIALOG.VBX

(You don't need to replace this file if it already exists).

Add PIDAHO.EXE to a Windows program group of your choice.

When you run Private Idaho for the first time, it will prompt you
for configuration information (to be saved in the PIDAHO.INI file).
You will only need to go through this process once.  The steps
are fairly self-explnatory.

Before running Private Idaho for the first time, have your e-mail
software running, with a blank, new message window open.  You may
need this to provide Private Idaho with configuration information.

(If you're using an older version of Private Idaho and plan to install
the new version in the same directory, delete the CPMAILER.TXT,
USENET.TXT, and PIDAHO.INI files.  The file format has changed in
version 2.0.)


Installing the remailer PGP public keys:
----------------------------------------
With Private Idaho you can easily send encrypted mail to certain
remailers, using their public keys.  The ciphertext is decrypted when
received, and then sent on to the next destination.

Obviously, you need copies of the remailer public keys on your public
key ring.

The file RMKEYS.ZIP contains text files with each each remailer's key.
The INSTALL.BAT file will add all of these keys to your key ring.
Just unzip the files and run the batch file (you need to have PGP
installed correctly first.)

Sorry, this is just an ugly DOS batch file.  A more GUI-oriented
version may end up in a future version of Private Idaho.


To use an address book:
-----------------------
When Private Idaho is first run, it prompts you if you want to use an
address book.  This is simply a text file, with each line containing an
e-mail address (if you use Eudora, you can use the RCPDBASE.TXT file).
These addresses appear in the To: combo list.

You can also specify an address file later, by using the Options command
in the File menu.

If you change the file, you'll need to restrat Private Idaho for the
names in the address book to appear in the To: line.


To encrypt a message:
---------------------
1. Enter the e-mail address of the person you want to send the
   encrypted message to.  (Since most people will use their e-mail
   address as part of their PGP user ID, Private Idaho will search
   through the public key ring looking for a match.  If it finds
   a match, it will encrypt off of that key.  If it can't find a
   match, user IDs in the public key ring are displayed, and you
   select one.)

2. Compose the message you want to encrypt in the message box.

3. Choose the "Encrypt message" command from the PGP menu.

Private Idaho will create a temporary file containing the message,
shell out to PGP and encrypt the file with ASCII armor, copy the
encrypted text to the message box, and delete the temporary file
with the PGP wipe command (yes, wipe only performs a single pass
at overwriting the data before deleting, if you need more security,
try a shareware memory resident app called Real Delete).


To encrypt and sign a message:
------------------------------
Same as encrypting a message (only you choose the "Encrypt and sign
message" command from the PGP menu).


To sign a message:
------------------
Same steps as encrypting a message (only you choose the "Clear sign
message" command from the PGP menu).  This adds your signature to the
text contained in the message box.  The text is not encrypted.

Important Note: Some e-mail packages (notably Eudora), hard code
carriage return/line feeds when mail is sent and Word Wrap is turned
on.  This means if you sign and message, the signature will be
invalid when the receiver gets it, because CR/LFs have been added.  I've
found most e-mail software is pretty smart these days, and will auto-
matically wrap lines without CR/LFs.  Consider turning Word Wrap off
if you have this problem with clear signing.


To decrypt a message:
---------------------
1. Paste the encrypted message you received to the message box.

2. Choose the "Decrypt message" command from the PGP menu.  You
   will be prompted for your passphrase.

Private Idaho will create a temporary file containing the message,
shell out to PGP and decrypt the file, copy the decrypted text to the
message box, and delete the temporary file with the PGP wipe command.


To use "Encrypt to self":
-------------------------
This option encrypts the message with your own key in addition
to the key of the person you are sending the message to.  PGP
can encrypt a message with a multiple number of keys.  This
effectively makes the message decipherable by the person you
are sending it to and yourself.

This feature is handy for archiving encrypted messages you have
sent.  You will need to provide your secret passphrase in order
to decrypt any messages "encrypted to self."


To use "Obscurity":
-------------------
When PGP encrypts text with ASCII armor on (almost required for
sending e-mail), it adds a header that identifies the message as
being PGP encrypted.  This obviously clues anyone in to the fact
that the message is encrypted.  There are times when a user might
not want a message to be obviously identified as encrypted.

When Obscurity is checked, Private Idaho will strip off the
identifying PGP headers when a message is encrypted.  It will also
add the headers before it calls PGP to decrypt ciphertext in the
message text box.

Obviously, the sender and receiver of the e-mail are both going
to need to be using Private Idaho and know they need to have
"obscurity" turned on.

Don't use this feature for sending messages to people who don't
know about it.  PGP will not decrypt the ciphertext without the
headers.


To update Private Idaho's public keyring information:
-----------------------------------------------------
When you first run Private Idaho, it copies information from your
public keyring to a text file named PUBKEYS.OUT.  If you add
keys to your keyring, you need to update that file.  To do so:

1. Choose the "Update public keyring" command from the PGP menu.


To control the behavior of the PGP DOS box:
-------------------------------------------
When encrypting and decrypting, Private Idaho needs to shell out to
the DOS version of PGP.  You can control the appearance of the DOS box and
its behavior with the "Run PGP minimized" and "Auto-close PGP" commands.

When "Run PGP minimized" is checked, the iconized window is displayed
at the bottom of the screen when PGP is run.  When this option is
not checked, the full-screen, Windows DOS box is displayed.

When "Auto-close PGP" is checked, the PGP DOS box is automatically
closed when PGP finishes running.  When the option is not checked, you
must manually close the window when PGP is done running.

These features are useful for viewing PGP diagnostic messages.

NOTE: Even if "Run PGP minimized" is checked, when decrypting, the
full window will always be displayed.


To set PGP options:
---------------------
1. Choose the "Options..." command from the PGP menu.

Not that many options to select really.  Just the PGP path (which is
extracted from the PGPPATH environment variable - which you should
have set if you followed the PGP installation instructions) and
your PGP user ID.  You can use the entire user ID (i.e. Joel McNamara
<[e-mail]>) or a portion of it.  You are prompted for this
when Private Idaho starts.  Both of these options are stored in the
PIDAHO.INI file (which Private Idaho creates when you first run it).

There is also a temporary file name.  This is the file Private Idaho
uses when encrypting and decrypting text from the clipboard.  PIDAHO
is the default, and you should leave that setting unless you have
any name conflicts (which you shouldn't).  Temporary files are written
and deleted/wiped from the PGP directory.


To send mail through one anonymous remailer:
--------------------------------------------
You have a choice of different types of remailers to use.  They include:

    Cypherpunk - the largest catagory of remailers.

    Eric - another type of remailer (i.e. "soda" - csua.berkeley.edu)

    Anon.penet.fi - Julf's remailer in Finland.  Very popular on
    USENET newsgroups.  You need to get a free account before using,
    which people will be able to reply back to your anonymous mail.

I really don't want to get into the differences between the various
types or make suggestions on which to use.

See: http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~raph/remailer-list.html for some good
information sources on remailers.

1. Check which type of remailer to use in the Remailers menu.

2. Compose the message and specify who you want to send the mail to
   in the To: line.

3. Select a remailer from the Remailer: combo list.

3. Choose the "Append info to message" command from the Transfer menu.

The appropriate remailer instructions are added to the contents of the
message box.  The remailer address is passed to Eudora when you choose
the "Transfer to e-mail" command from the Transfer menu.  The "Append
and Transfer" command appends and transfers in one menu selection.

You'll notice the words "latency" and "up time."  Press the "?" button
next to the remailer combo box for definitions.  This information is
useful for deciding which remailer to use.


To chain a message (send it through multiple remailers):
--------------------------------------------------------

This option currently only works with Cyperpunk-type remailers.

1. Follow the same steps as above, but choose "chain" from the Remailer:
   combo list box.

3. Choose the "Append info to message" command from the Transfer menu.

3. A list of remailers is displayed.  Select the ones you wish to chain.
   You can choose the order you wish to chain the remailers.

The appropriate remailer instructions are added to the contents of the
message box.


To encrypt mail and send it through an anonymous mailer:
--------------------------------------------------------
1. Encrypt the message first.

2. Select the appropriate remailer(s) and choose the "Append info to
   message" command from the Transfer menu.

If you don't follow this order, you'll end up encrypting the remailer
instructions.  The remailers are smart, but not that smart.


To use Cypherpunk remailer advanced features:
---------------------------------------------
The Cypherpunk remailers offer some advanced features to enhance
e-mail privacy.  When the "Cypherpunk" option is checked in the Remailers
menu, the "Advanced Cypherpunk" cascading menu item is available.

By checking one of the options, it filters the remailers in Remailer
list box.  For example, if you check the "Use latent time" option, only
Cypherpunk remailers that support the latent time option will be
displayed in the list box.  If no options are checked, all Cypherpunk
remailers are displayed.

Select advanced options, then select which remailers to use.  (Each time
an option is checked or unchecked, the list is reset, and the default
value is "none.")

Here is a brief summary of the different features:

    Encrypt to remailer(s)
    ----------------------
These remailers have their own public key.  If you send mail encrypted
with their key to them, they will automatically decrypt the mail and
pass the decrypted message to the next destination.  This is a fairly
secure form of communication, since there is no plaintext transmitted
to the remailer.

When this option is checked, the text in the message box will be
encrypted with the selected remailer(s)' key.

You must first add the remailer keys to your public key ring.  See the
installation section at the beginning of this file.

You can also chain remailers with this option.  Each text block will be
encrypted with the appropriate remailer's key.  This was a fairly tedious
task to do by hand, but Private Idaho completely automates the process.

Keep in mind this level of encryption is totally seperate from you
encrypting a message to an individual.

    Replace subject
    ---------------
The "Replace subject" option removes the subject on the To: line, and
adds a user-selected subject to final mail destination.  This is useful
if you really don't want someone to guess the contents of the mail by
the subject line.

A dialog box will prompt you for the subject title.

    Use latent time
    ---------------
The "Use latent time" option instructs the remailer to delay sending
the message after some set period of time.  This is useful if you
suspect traffic analysis is taking place (watching the flow of messages
to and from you).

A dialog box will prompt you for the amount of delay.

You can either specify a local time for the mail to be sent (in 24 hour
clock format).  For example, entering 18:00 would instruct the remailer
to send the message at 6:00 PM, the local time of the remailer.  (Don't add
AM or PM.)

You can also specify a set number of hours and minutes after the mail
is receieved.  For example, entering +10:30, would delay sending the
message 10 hours, 30 minutes after it was received by remailer.  You
can enter values of up to 24 hours.

If you are chaining remailers and use the latent time option, the same
value will be used for all remailers.  A future version will allow you
to enter unique time values for each remailer.

    Use cutmarks
    ------------
Some e-mail packages automatically attach a signature (sig) to the bottom
of each sent message.  This obviously reduces the anonymous nature of
using a remailer.

When the "Use cutmarks" option is checked, the remailer will search for
a line beginning with a certain character string.  It will remove that
line, and all subsequent lines.  For example, if you specify the cutmarks
to be "--", the line containing "-----------------------" and any lines
after it, would be stripped from the message.

You specify the cutmarks string in a dialog box.

If you are chaining remailers, cutmarks will only be removed from the
message received by the first remailer.  This is because a message
composed in Private Idaho will not have any sigs attached to it.

NOTE:  Be careful of using cutmarks with encrypted messages.  PGP
encrypted messages start with "-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----", so if you
used "---" as the cutmark, your message would be removed.


To post anonymously to a USENET newsgroup:
------------------------------------------
You can prepare a message for anonymous posting to a USENET newsgroup.

1. Enter the name of the newsgroup you want to post to in the To: combo
   box (i.e. alt.2600).

2. Enter the subject and message.

3. Select which type of remailer to use from the Remailers menu.

    Cypherpunk - if this remailer type is selected, the "E-mail
    gateway" option is available. A list of mail-to-USENET gateways
    is displayed for you to select.

    Eric - if this type of remailer is selected, the message is
    posted directly through the remailer.

    Anon.penet.fi - if you have an account on Anon.penet.fi, the
    message will be posted directly through the remailer.

4. Specify you want to post to a newsgroup by checking a menu item in
   the Newsgroup menu.  If you select None, specific information needed
   to create a newsgroup posting will not be added.

5. Select a remailer (or "chain") from Remailer: combo box.

6. Choose the "Append info to message" command from the "Transfer"
   menu.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Sending an e-mail message to one of the USENET gateways
will not anonymize the mail.  You must send it through a remailer
first.  Please test by sending mail to someplace like alt.test
before doing it for real.

Not all USENET gateways support all newsgroups.  You may have to try
several to find one that supports the groups you want to post to.


To transfer a message to your e-mail software:
----------------------------------------------
1. Make sure the e-mail software (Eudora, MS Mail, etc.) is running, a
   blank, new message in the e-mail software is in front, and the cursor
   is on the To: line.  Do not minimize/iconize the e-mail application.

2. In the Private Idaho "Transfer" menu, choose the "Transfer to e-mail"
   command.

This transfers the address information and message contents you entered
in Private Idaho to your e-mail software.

Technically, this is a pretty dumb operation.  It does a series of
Clipboard copies and pastes (with SendKeys) to the e-mailer.  Poor man's
DDE or OLE.  If you don't have the new message window open or the
cursor is somewhere other than the To: line, Private Idaho will
happily try to paste the data in whatever e-mailer window is active.


Changing e-mail transfer settings:
----------------------------------
The Options command in the Transfer menu contains the settings used to
transfer a message from Private Idaho to the e-mail software you are
using.  This information must be correct for a valid transfer to take
place.

The information in the dialog is fairly self-explanatory.

In version 2.0, a list box displaying all running applications and
available windows to transfer to has been included.  Make sure your
e-mail application is running before you run Private Idaho.  You may
need to experiment with which window to transfer to.  Use your common
sense in selecting a window name from the list.


Adding your own e-mail software specifications:
-----------------------------------------------
The EMAIL.TXT file contains specifications for a variety of e-mail
packages.  Up to 12 e-mail apps will be displayed in the dialog box
when you choose Options from the Transfer menu.

The file is a text file, with each line representing e-mail
information.  The file format is simple.  A record consists of:

line 1 - the name of the app to appear on the button (i.e. MS Mail)
line 2 - the program name as it appears when you ALT+TAB (Microsoft Mail)
line 3 - the first header in a new message (i.e. To:)
line 4 - the second header in a new message (i.e. CC:)
line 5 - the third header in a new message (i.e. Subject:)
line 6 - the fourth header in a new message (if nothing, leave blank)
line 7 - the fifth header in a new message (if nothing, leave blank)
Line 8 - the sixth header in a new message (if nothing, leave blank)

Private Idaho reads 8 lines in at a time and associates it with a
button.  When you press the button, the information is added to the
header section.

You probably won't need to modify this file.


Other stuff
-------------
When Private Idaho runs for the first time, or when you choose the
Update public keyring command from the PGP menu, the screen will go black,
and depending on how slow your machine is, you may get a brief glimpse of
the PGP DOS screen before the Windows app first appears.  This ugliness
occurs when Private Idaho shells out to PGP and redirects the contents
of the public ring to a text file named PUBKEYS.OUT.  Kind of cheesy,
but effective since VB doesn't easily support redirected output from
shelled DOS apps.

Don't modify the remailers text file please.  You can get the most current,
usually on a weekly basis, from ftp.eskimo.com /joelm or
http://www.eskimo.com/~joelm.

Practical limitation of text in the message box, approximately 32K.

Total anonymous mailers to list for chaining, 30.

The name Private Idaho comes from a catchy B-52s song.  No deep social
meaning, just had a nice ring to it.

Cypherpunks write code...


Command summary
-----------------
File
     Import message - reads a text file into the message area
     Export message - saves the contents of the message area to a text file
     Options - sets whether an address book is used
     Exit - just what it sounds like
Edit
     Cut - standard
     Copy - standard
     Paste - standard
     Clear message - clears any text in the message box
     Copy message - copies any text in the message box to the Clipboard
     Paste messages - pastes Clipboard text to the message box
PGP
     Encrypt message - encrypts text in the message box
     Encrypt and sign message - encrypts and signs text in the message box
     Clear sign message - attaches a signature to text in the message box
     Decrypt message - decrypts PGP ciphertext in the message box
     Encrypt to self - also encrypts with your key for archiving
     Obscurity - adds and deletes PGP headers from ciphertext
     Update public keyring - updates PI's keyring file
     Run PGP minimized - keeps the PGP DOS box minimized
     Auto-close PGP - automatically closes the PGP DOS box window
     Options - sets PGP path, your user ID, and temp file
Remailers
     Cypherpunk - displays Cypherpunk-style remailers
     Eric - displays Eric-style remailers
     Anon.penet.fi - displays Penet-style remailers
     Advanced Cypherpunk - more Cypherpunk-remailer options
        Encrypt to remailer(s) - encrypts message with remailer PGP key
        Replace subject - uses a different subject line
        Use latent time - delays sending the message
        Use cutmarks - removes specified signature lines
Newsgroups
     None - if you're not posting to a USENET newsgroup
     E-mail gateway - displays e-mail gateways to newsgroups
     Eric - fills in information for posting through Eric remailers
     Anon.penent.fi - fills in information for posting through Penet
Transfer
     Append info to message - adds remailer info to message
     Transfer to e-mail - transfers the message to an e-mailer
     Append and transfer - adds remailer info and transfers
     Options - options for specifying e-mailer
Help
     About... - brief info
     Information... - displays this file


Future versions
-----------------
Despite the many new features, there are still a few things left I'd
eventually like Private Idaho to do:

Advanced Cut-marks (such as using with newsgroups)
Advanced Latent-time (specified time per each chained remailer)
Advanced ## Headers (not just ## subject, but user-defined headers)
"Real" app that doesn't require the VB runtime


Release history
-----------------
1/5/95        1.0 release
1/12/95        1.1 release
            fixed path and .INI problems in load routine
            cosmetic changes to the interface
2/21/95        1.5b beta release - no longer Eudora exclusive
            added "encrypt to self" option
            added "obscurity" option
            added manual "update public key ring" command
            added key equivalents to some commands
            added user-specified temp file
            added e-mail configuration options
            added optional "address book" (no RCPDBASE)
            revised remailer list format for more info
            added "eric" and "penet" remailers
            revised mail/USENET gateway operation
            added "append & transfer" command
            some user interface changes
            revised this document
3/1/95        2.0b beta release
            significant added features jumped to 2.0!
            fixed AppActivate/Transfer to work with NT
            added message Import/Export commands
            optimized user ID check against public key
            added single/chained remailer encryption
            added remailer list filtering by type
            added "Advanced features" menu
            added "Insert" commands in Edit menu
            added transfer list box for selecting e-mailer
            modified CPMAILERS.TXT format
            added RMINFO.TXT file (Raph's)
            added ADDKEYS.BAT file (installs remailer keys)
            added min/max/auto-close states for PGP DOS box
            revised this document