Resource How to add more privacy when we want to share private things of our lives to someone else (Tutorial)

[Nirrend]

Hello everyone, as a purpose of improving privacy (due to the fact that members here got their SN or N seized, due to the fact that this website is probably monitored and due to the fact that it's our right to keep our lives secret), I'll create this thread to explain how we can all use message encryption to discuss through the forum or the PM section.

If you are using Windows, Mac or Linux, thigs will work differently.

To make it easy, among the different ways that exist to encrypt messages, one of the best known is the use of the Open PGP system. This allow everyone to turn a message like this one "Hello" to a set of numbers and letter "5qf5qez42q65f4ve56qfvqefv4165qzefv1q".
The fact is that, my "Hello" will be only available for the person who is allowed to (The rights are determined by the person who sends the message).

Many softwares use Open PGP encryption:

For MacOs, one of the most known is GnuPG (but, you'll need to watch few videos to understand how you'll have to do this)
For IoS, there's an app "PGPro", it's easy to use
For Windows and Linux, the most know and used is "Kleopatra"

In my case, I use Kleopatra, so I'll do a tutorial for windows

---Tutorial for Kleopatra---

Here is a little tutorial, it takes 5 minutes to do if you are interested !

Kleopatra allow to send message in a public place that could only be decrypted and read by the person you want and allow it to read. If for example, I wanted to share a personal and sensitive fact about me to a friend on a forum where anyone could read it, by using Kleopatra and by encrypting the message, nobody could understand my message except the one I encrypted it for (My friend).

So, to explain how it will work (if you don't know), you have to download Kleopatra (freeware). Once you have installed Kleopatra on your computer, you open it and here you have many options in the menu. You have to do few but quick things before.

1) Create a PGP Key pair by doing in Kleopatra : File --> New Keypair ... --> "Create a personal OpenPGP Key pair" --> Here you have to write down a name for the key (You can put the name you put in SanctionedSuicide but do not write personal or critical informations about you (Email is not necessary and as an advice, don't put your email in your Key, because everyone will see your mail when it will be added to Kleopatra) --> Before going to "Next", go to "Advanced Settings..." --> Put the RSA and +RSA on 4096 bits and then click "Ok" --> Click on "Next >" --> "Create" --> Create a passphrase with 8 caracters (AND MEMORISE IT SOMEWHERE BECAUSE IT IS AKED TO ENCRYPT AND DECRYPT MESSAGES) --> Once passphrase created click on "Finish"

2) Import the personal PGP Key of someone you want to talk to by doing: Copy the message the person shared you which may looks like this from ---BEGIN OF PGP PUBLIC KEY----" to ---END OF PGP PUBLIC KEY---- --> Go on Kleopatra --> Click on "Tools" --> Click on "Clipboard" --> Click on "Certificate Import" --> A window just opened and talk about make it valid, so click on "Yes" --> On the top of the new window you should have something where it's written "Certify with", so put here your PGP public key you created before to certify with --> Click on "Certify" once you choose your PGP public key to certify with --> Enter your passphrase --> You succesfully added a PGP Public Key

3) Sharing here your PGP public key because the person you want to talk to will need it (and he'll need yours like in part 2) to decrypt and encrypt a message.
So, to share your PGP Public Key, you have to: Go on kleopatra --> On the main window, you have a board with many section (Name - Email - UserID - Valid from - Valid until - Key ID), right click on the Key which bears the name you put when you created it before (In my case, Nirrend) --> Click on "Export ..." and put it on your desktop --> Here, there's 2 possibilities, a) either you can double click on the file and a text open with absurd caracters (like --BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY--- 4FEQZ64F23QG41QG454F5QFE ---END PGP PUBLIC KEY--- b) either when you click there is no text but a window that open with information about kleopatra --> If you're in the B case, right click on the file you exported from Kleopatra, click on "Properties", "Open with" and chose a text editor like "Notepad" for example / If A) you have nothing more to do --> So, once your file display text like "--BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY--- 4FEQZ64F23QG41QG454F5QFE ---END PGP PUBLIC KEY---", Copy it entierly --> Paste it on the conversation with your friend --> You've succesfully shared your PGP PUBLIC KEY

I have to warn you, do NOT share your PRIVATE PGP KEY but only the PUBLIC (it's public when written BEGIN OF PUBLIC PGP) because if you share your PRIVATE, everybody could read the messages that are only intended for you.

4) To encript you have to: Select "Notepad" in Kleopatra --> Write your message in the Notepad tab --> Once you wrote it, click on "Recipients" --> let the "Sing as" checked but verify that you will sign with the PGP that you shared to your friend --> You can let checked the "Encrypted for me", that allow you to decrypt your own message and read it again --> Let check the "Encrypt for others" and write here the name of your friend's key (For example with me "Nirrend"), the name is displayed in your main Kleopatra menu --> Go back to "Notepad" --> Click on "Sign / Encrypt Notepad" --> Copy and paste here the entire encrypted message which may looks like

"-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----

HcaswBHfGl0BNCypgK95AKFUPUelZy2lxa9T0lcyixOMN8TyVivzROQtDE+uWw9z
GZjF5Agak3zBvab4vUq4AyOCOC9+cv9BW4jjwF0XWELBhGm82YrY0qwDvPa3OytJ

-----END PGP MESSAGE-----"

but more longer.

5) To decrypt the message of someone else : Copy the encrypted message your friend just sent --> Paste it in "Notepad" of Kleopatra --> Click on "Decrypt / Verify Notepad"

To go back on the main menu of Klopatra, in the top menu click on "View" and then click on "Notepad"

If you think that this tutorial is useful, I'll ask if it's possible to pin this thread somewhere, I'll also ask if you find the idea interesting, if an option on each member profil would be added to put our PGP Public Key here.
At least, we could add the Public PGP Key of soemone by just going on his profile.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As a test, here is a PGP Public Key you could add to your software to learn how to import public keys !

-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
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CTDXvAhynnweHJhf9wg8/SZgzVta43ItiHqAcNy5RRZwUKJjzfDc7bLYlY4Z
=GGn2
-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

 

[Smart No More]

That's really useful. Good call! I'd like to see this pinned.

I think with Windows gnuPG is actually offered alongside the Kleopatra install. They work together synergistically from what I can tell.

I really think it's a good idea for anyone planning to buy anything sensitive or communicate with anyone on sensitive matters online to familiarise themselves with pgp encryption. It's not as complicated as it first appears and once you do it once it's easy thereafter.

To further effectively remain private you can double encrypt messages or send them through and ecrypted service so that there are multiple layers of encryption. Apps that don't require personally identifying details to sign up might be a good option if you have a vpn running.