Copyright: Private Idaho 2.6b Help File


Private Idaho 2.6

Contents

Overview

System Requirements

How to Obtain Private Idaho

Installation

Connecting to the Internet

General Procedures

Updating Remailer/USENET Info

Private Idaho version 2.6b  12/20/95 - Freeware

copyright (c)1995, Joel McNamara (joelm@eskimo.com)


Overview
Private Idaho 2.6b (beta)

Overview

What it does

Private Idaho makes private e-mail easier.  It simplifies using PGP and various anonymous remailers.  You can send e-mail messages with it (if you have access to a SMTP mail server) or you can use it in conjunction with many Windows e-mail applications.  You can also download and decrypt PGP e-mail messages if your Internet provider is using a POP3 mail server (most are).

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 full featured e-mail software (and likely never will be).  It doesn't support many options a package like Eudora or Pegasus does.  It is meant to be a simple, easy to use tool for sending secure e-mail.  (The latest version of Pegasus does have hooks for a PGP drop-in module.  This is being developed as this version of Private Idaho is released.)

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.  See the Updating remailer and USENET info section.

Private Idaho isn't a "complete" PGP shell.  It's designed to make sending private e-mail easier and incorporates the basic PGP features for doing so.


System Requirements
Private Idaho 2.6

System Requirements

Microsoft Windows 3.x, Windows 95

Visual Basic runtime file

(VBRUN300.DLL - not included, most sites such as simtel have this, if you can't find it, try ftp.microsoft.com)

A Windows e-mail package

(Eudora, MS Mail, Pegasus, etc.) - optional

PGP

(Pretty Good Privacy - 2.6.2 is the latest MIT version - if you're using the commercial ViaCrypt Windows version, see following section on Using ViaCrypt PGP.)


Obtaining Private Idaho
Private Idaho 2.6

Obtaining the Files

Latest releases of Private Idaho are available from:

ftp.eskimo.com /u/j/joelm

http://www.eskimo.com/~joelm (plus additional computer privacy info)

Mirror sites for the latest non-beta release include:

http://miso.wwa.com/~dochobbs

ftp.empire.net/pub/WINDOWS/Utils

ftp.cts.com/pub/jrcffmn

ftp.ox.ac.uk/pub/crypto/pgp/pc


Installation
Private Idaho 2.6

Installation

Copy the following files to the directory that contains PGP (be sure to first look at the README.TXT file for information not included in this help file):

PIDAHO.EXE (the application)

CPMAILER.TXT (remailer list)

RMINFO.TXT (remailer info list)

RMKEYS.TXT (recent remailer PGP keys)

USENET.TXT (list of mail to USENET newsgroup gateways)

EMAIL.TXT (list of e-mail software settings)

URLS.TXT (list of Web URLs)

ALPHA.TXT (alias@alpha.c2.org public key)

PIDAHO.HLP (the help file )

PIPGP.PIF (for easy shelling to DOS PGP)

PIPGPX.PIF (shell and autoclose)

Note: You can copy the files to a separate directory if you wish.  I only suggest copying to the PGP directory, because a few users have experienced odd path problems.  In any case, be sure:

     the PGPPATH variable is set in AUTOEXEC.BAT

     the PATH variable in AUTOEXEC.BAT points to the PGP directory, and the directory containing

     Private Idaho (if it is installed elsewhere)

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

CMDIALOG.VBX (common dialog control)

IPP20.VBX  (TCP/IP control)

IPP20.LIC  (TCP/IP support file - not included with IPPort 2.0 beta version)

(You don't need to replace these files if they 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-explanatory.  PIDAHO.INI is written to the

C:\WINDOWS directory.

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.


Updating remailer/USENET info
Private Idaho 2.6

Updating remailer and USENET info

Remailers and USENET mail gateways come and go and vary in reliability.

There are three files that come with Private Idaho that contain remailer and USENET information.

CPMAILER.TXT contains remailer names with latency and "up-time" statistics.

RMINFO.TXT contains remailer names with a description of their features

(i.e. supports PGP, cutmarks, etc.).

USENET.TXT contains mail to USENET newsgroup gateways.

The remailer information is derived from Raph Levien's anonymous remailer

"pinging" service.  The USENET information comes from Matt Ghio's remailer info service.

To make sure you have the most current remailer information, you'll need to manually update the CPMAILER, RMINFO, and USENET files.  This simply consists of getting the latest information, and pasting it over the old file contents.

You can get the most current remailer information by:

finger remailer-list@kiwi.cs.berkeley.edu

or

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

or

E-mailing skaplin@c2.org with the subject:

SEND FILE remailer-ping

The list updates every 15 minutes at 1, 16, 31, 46 past the hour.

You can get the most current USENET gateway information (as well as additional remailer info such as PGP keys) by:

E-mailing mg5n+remailers@andrew.cmu.edu

(no subject or text in the message body required)

Look at the file contents before you replace it.  You should be able to directly copy the information you need and paste it.  (The exception is the RMINFO file.  You'll need to manually edit the first line, which contains a date for how current the information is.)


General Configuration
Private Idaho 2.6

General Configuration

Using an address book

Using OS/2 delay

Installing the remailer PGP public keys

Specifying e-mail information


Using an address book
Private Idaho 2.6

Using 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 restart Private Idaho for the names in the address book to appear in the To: line.


Using OS/2 Delay
Private Idaho 2.6

Using OS/2 Delay

Another option in the Options dialog box is the "Use OS/2 delay" checkbox.  Some versions of OS/2 may run the shelled DOS PGP process and Private Idaho simultaneously, causing errors (for example, PGP isn't through encrypting a file, but Private Idaho decides to display it).  If this box is checked, Private Idaho will pause and display a dialog box.  When PGP has completed its processing, click the
"Resume" button to continue.

If you are running OS/2, you may (or may not) need to check this option. If you are running Windows (by itself), make sure this option is not checked.


Installing remailer PGP keys
Private Idaho 2.6

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.

The file RMKEYS.TXT contains copies of remailer PGP keys.  Use the Export message" command in Private Idaho's File menu to read the file into the message area.  Then use the "Add key from message" command in the PGP menu.  All of the keys will be added to your key ring.  If you already have some of these keys installed, PGP will skip them and only install new ones.


Specifying E-mail information
Private Idaho 2.6

Specifying e-mail information

If you use an Internet provider that supports sending e-mail through a SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) mail server, the most commonly used type, you can send messages directly from Private Idaho without using another e-mail application.  If your Internet provider supports receiving messages through POP3, you can have Private Idaho check your mailbox for PGP encrypted messages.

To do so, you need to enter some setup information when Private Idaho is first run.  This includes:

Your e-mail address - i.e. joelm@eskimo.com

Your real name - i.e. Joel McNamara

Your SMTP server name - i.e. mail.eskimo.com

Your POP account - i.e. joelm

Your POP server name - i.e. mail.eskimo.com

You can get these settings from the current e-mail software you are running.  These settings can be changed with the Options command in Private Idaho's File menu.


General Procedures
Private Idaho 2.6

General Procedures

Encrypting & Decrypting

Sending E-mail

USENET Posting

USENET Posting through E-mail Gateways

Receiving PGP messages

Using C2.ORGs Nym Server

Command Summary

Miscellaneous information


Encrypting & Decrypting
Private Idaho 2.6

Encrypting & Decrypting

Encrypting a message

Encrypting and signing a message

Signing a message

Decrypting a message

Importing or exporting a message

Using a header or signature (sig) in a message

Using multiple keys

Encrypting to yourself

Using "eyes only"

Using conventional encryption

Using "obscurity"

Using word wrap

Using a file as input

Adding a key to your public ring

Deleting a key from your public ring

Inserting a public key in your message

Updating Private Idaho's public key ring information

Controling the behavior of the PGP DOS box

Setting PGP options


Encrypting a message
Private Idaho 2.6

Encrypting 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).


Encrypting & signing a message
Private Idaho 2.6

Encrypting and signing a message

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


Signing a message
Private Idaho 2.6

Signing 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 automatically wrap lines without CR/LFs.  Consider turning Word Wrap off  if you have this problem with clear signing.


Decrypting a message
Private Idaho 2.5

Decrypting 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.


Importing & Exporting a message
Private Idaho 2.6

Importing or exporting a message

The "Import message" command in the File menu reads a text file from disk into the message box.

The "Export message" command saves the contents of the message box to a text file on disk.


Using a header or .sig in a message
Private Idaho 2.6

Using a header or signature (sig) in a message

You can store frequently used headers and signatures and insert them directly into messages composed with Private Idaho.

Headers could be:

X-Anon-Password: <whatever>

X-Anon-To: <the addressee>

Such as those used with the anon.penet.fi remailer.

Signatures are text with your name, e-mail address, and other information.

Choose the Options command in the Edit menu to enter a header and signature.  These are saved to the HEADER.TXT and SIG.TXT files in the Private Idaho directory.

Once entered, the header/signature can be inserted into the message text box with the Insert header and/or Insert signature commands in the Edit menu.

Note: A header with a password or a signature used in the wrong place can compromise the security of your e-mail.  Please use these features carefully.


Using multiple keys
Private Idaho 2.6

Using multiple keys

This option encrypts your message with multiple keys.  When it is checked, a dialog box will prompt you to enter which keys to encrypt the message with.  The List button will display a list of keys in your public ring.  Use the List button to specify one key at a time.

You can also manually enter full or partial user IDs, with each ID separated by a space.

Multiple user IDs will be inserted in the To: line.  If the creator of the key has followed standard PGP conventions, these will be "mailable" e-mail addresses.


Using "encrypt to self"
Private Idaho 2.6

Using "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."


Using "eyes only"
Private Idaho 2.6

Using "eyes only"

This option sets a flag in an encrypted message so when it is decrypted, the contents will only be displayed in the DOS box, and not saved to disk.  Although there are ways to get around this, the idea is to use this option if you're concerned about someone you send an encrypted message to, leaving the decrypted text file somewhere that could be compromised.

If you use Private Idaho and get an "Eyes only" message, decrypted text will not be placed in the message box.  After it is displayed in the PGP DOS box, an error message will appear stating a file could not be found and the decryption couldn't take place.  This is normal.


Using conventional encrypt
Private Idaho 2.6

Using "conventional encrypt"

When "Conventional encrypt" is checked, Private Idaho instructs PGP to use conventional versus public key encryption on a file or a message. This encryption relies on a single passphrase to encrypt and decrypt the information.


Using "obscurity"
Private Idaho 2.6

Using "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 text 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.


Using word wrap
Private Idaho 2.6

Using word wrap

If the Word wrap message menu item is checked, Private Idaho will insert carriage returrns at the end of each line in the message text box.  This is useful when sending messages to users with mail software that doesnt support automatic word wrap.


Using a file as input

Private Idaho 2.6

Using a file as input

When "File as input" is checked, Private Idaho uses a file versus the contents of the message box as the source to encrypt or decrypt. You'll notice the encrypt/decrypt menu items display "file" instead

of "message" when this option is checked.

You will be prompted to supply the filename to encrypt/decrypt. File are encrypted with ASCII armor (to allow easy attachment in mail), and tagged with an .ASC extension.  The plaintext file is not deleted or wiped after encryption.  The file will be encrypted with the key in the To: line.  The Encrypt to self, Eyes only, and Obscurity options are not used, even though they may be checked.

This option is useful if you have a message over 32k that is over Private Idaho's maximum message box size.


Adding a key to your public ring
Private Idaho 2.6

Adding a key to your public ring

If the message box contains someone's PGP public key that they mailed it to you, the "Add key from message" command in the PGP menu will add any key(s) in the message to your public ring and update the PUBKEYS.OUT file.


Deleting a key from your public ring
Private Idaho 2.6

Deleting a key from your public ring

You can delete keys from your public key ring.  To do so:

1.  Choose the "Delete key" command in the PGP menu.

2.  Select which public key to delete from the user ID list.

PGP will remove this key from your key ring and update the PUBKEYS.OUT file.


Inserting a public key in a message
Private Idaho 2.6

Inserting a public key in message

There are times when you'll likely want to send someone your public key so you can exchange messages.  You can easily do this by:

1.  Choosing the "Insert key in message" command in the PGP menu.

2.  Selecting the public key (from a list of user IDs) you want to insert.

This extracts a key from your public key ring, and inserts it at the cursor in the message text box.


Updating public key info
Private Idaho 2.6

Updating public key info

When you first run Private Idaho, it copies information from your public key ring to a text file named PUBKEYS.OUT.  If you add or delete keys from PGP or another shell, you need to update the file.

To do so:

1. Choose the "Update public key ring" command from the PGP menu.

The PUBKEYS.OUT file should always be in the same directory as Private Idaho.

You don't need to use this command if you add or delete keys from within Private Idaho.


Controlling behavior of DOS box
Private Idaho 2.6

Controlling 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.


Setting PGP options
Private Idaho 2.6

Setting PGP options

1. Choose the "Options..." command from the PGP menu.

The PGP path (which is extracted from the PGPPATH environment variable, which you should have set if you followed the PGP installation instructions) is the directory path where the PGP .EXE is located.

Your PGP user ID is just that.  You can use the entire user ID

(i.e. Joel McNamara <joelm@eskimo.com>) or a portion of it.  You are prompted for this when Private Idaho starts.

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.  Do not add a file extension to the temporary name.

You can specify a full path for the temp file (i.e. e:\temp\pidaho). This is provided for users who want the additional security of having their temp files written to a RAM disk.  If a full path is specified, that directory is used.

The Use ViaCrypt Windows version should be checked if you are using the commercial release of PGP sold by ViaCrypt.

If you want to use key rings that are located somewhere other than the default PGP directory, you can specify their location in PGP's CONFIG.TXT file.  See the PGP documentation for details on this.


Using ViaCrypt PGP
Private Idaho 2.6

Using ViaCrypt PGP

There has been some demand for Private Idaho to work with ViaCrypt's commercial version of PGP for Windows.  First a little background.

What ViaCrypt has done, is compile PGP in a Windows shell (vpgpqw.exe). Private Idaho normally assumes the user has DOS PGP, and shells out DOS commands through a PIF file.  Needless to say, this won't work with the PGP Windows shell.

If you use ViaCrypt PGP for Windows, be sure the "Use ViaCrypt Windows version" option is hecked in the PGP Options dialog.

Unfortunately, Private Idaho doesn't interact as seamlessly with the ViaCrypt Windows version as it does with the more common DOS versions. Some slight functionality is lost, including:

You will need to manually create and update the PUBKEYS.OUT text file. The first time you run Private Idaho you will be prompted to use the Notepad (or another editor) to create a file named PUBKEYS.OUT.  Save it in the same directory as PGP.  Next, the ViaCrypt dialog will appear, and list all of the public keys.  Copy everything in this dialog box, starting with the

"Key ring: 'i:\pgp26\pubring.pgp'" (or however it appears on your machine) line and ending with the "28 matching keys found." line.

For example, the text would look something like this:

Key ring: 'i:\pgp26\pubring.pgp'

Type bits/keyID    Date       User ID

pub  1024/2627B761 1995/02/26 Bonafide remailer <remailer@bonafide.jpunix.com>

28 matching keys found.

Save this as PUBKEYS.OUT before you use Private Idaho.  Anytime you add new public keys to your key ring, you'll need to go through this process again. The "Update public key ring" command in Private Idaho will walk you through the steps.

The other thing is the "Run PGP minimized" and "Auto-close PGP" commands are dimmed out.  Since these apply to DOS PIF files, they really don't have an impact on ViaCrypt.

Other than that, Private Idaho should be completely functional

(this has been tested with version 2.7.1 of ViaCrypt PGP for Windows).


Sending Email
Private Idaho 2.6

Sending E-mail

Sending mail

Sending mail through ONE remailer

Sending mail through MULTIPLE remailers

Encrypting mail and sending it through a remailer

Using Cypherpunk remailer advanced features

To transfer a message to your e-mail software

Changing e-mail transfer settings

Adding your own e-mail software specifications


Sending mail
Private Idaho 2.6

Sending Mail

If your Internet provider uses a SMTP mail server, you can send e-mail directly from Private Idaho.

Before running Private Idaho, you should have a PPP or SLIP connection to your Internet provider.  Once youve logged on, choose the Connect command from the File menu.  This establishes communications with the Winsock stack.  If you plan to work off-line, dont connect, or your Winsock stack will be loaded.

To send a message, make sure the proper "to:" mail address is specified and either click the Send button above the message text or use the "Send message" command in the E-mail menu.

When mail is sent, the text next to the Send button is updated, showing the mail server communication status. This is the actual SMTP conversation between your computer and the mail server (you don't have to do anything, just watch).  Any errors should be displayed on this line.

Mail sent directly from Private Idaho is currently limited to the size of the text box (roughly 32K).  Attachments are not supported.

Server communication can be a little tricky.  If you get errors while trying to send a message to your mail server, change the ServerDelay setting in PIDAHO.INI to a longer duration (the default is 2 seconds), and restart Private Idaho.

If you use Private Idaho with a non-SMTP mail server or wish to use a full-featured e-mailer, you can use the Transfer commands in the E-mail menu to transfer a composed message back to your primary e-mailer for sending.


Sending mail through one remailer
Private Idaho 2.6

Sending mail through ONE remailer

You have a choice of different types of remailers to use.  They include:

Cypherpunk - the largest category 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.

4. Choose the "Append info to message" command from the E-mail menu.

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

If you are using a SMTP mail server, you can click the Send button or use the "Send message" command in the E-mail menu.

If you are using another e-mailer, the Transfer to e-mail app command in the E-mail menu moves the message to your e-mailer.  The "Append and Send/Transfer" commands appends and sends/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.


Sending mail through multiple remailers
Private Idaho 2.6

Sending mail through multiple remailers

This option currently only works with Cypherpunk-type remailers (although you could chain to anon.penet.fi as your final destination if its address is specified in the To: line).

1. Follow the same steps as with a single remailer, but choose "chain" from the Remailer: combo list box.

2. 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.


Encrypting mail to send through a remailer
Private Idaho 2.6

Encrypting mail to send 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 Email menu.

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


Using Cypherpunk advanced features
Private Idaho 2.6

Using 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)

Replace subject

Use latent time

Use cutmarks

Post to USENET


Encrypt to remailer
Private Idaho 2.6

Encrypt to remailer(s)

These remailers have PGP public keys.  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 instructions.

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 separate from you encrypting a message to an individual.


Replace Subject
Private Idaho 2.6

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
Private Idaho 2.6

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 received.  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
Private Idaho 2.6

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.


Post to USENET
Private Idaho 2.6

Post to USENET

Some remailers can post anonymously to USENET newsgroups.  When this option is selected, a list of remailers that support this feature is displayed in the remailer list.  Read the Posting anonymously to a USENET newsgroup section for details.


Posting anonymously to a USENET newsgroup
Private Idaho 2.6

Posting 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. If you are posting through the Anon.penet.fi or Eric remailers, you'll need to make sure the remailer is checked in the Newsgroup menu.

If you are using a Cypherpunk remailer, select the "Post to USENET" option in the "Advanced Cypherpunk" cascading menu.  (You can also choose the Encrypt and Subject options to further enhance privacy.)

4. Select the remailer you want to send the message through.

5. Choose the "Append info to message" command from the "E-mail" menu.

6. If you'd like to chain your post, select which Cypherpunk style remailers to use and choose "Append info to message" again.

NOTE: I frequently get e-mail from people who are having difficulties posting to a USENET newsgroups.  If you follow the instructions, this usually isnt a problem with Private Idaho.  The most common reasons why people dont see there anonymous messages posted include:

•	When test posting to alt.test or another high traffic newsgroup, sometimes articles seem to disappear into a black hole.

•	The speed of your Internet providers newsfeed impacts when you will see your article.  It may be hours or days before you actually see an article you posted.  This depends on which server you posted the article to, and the amount of time it takes for the newsfeed to reach your Internet providers news server.

•	If you chain an article, a single remailer that is down will prevent the article from reaching its final destination.

The bottom-line is you get what you pay for.  The remailer services are free.  Its only when some Internet providers start charging for their privacy services, will you see a higher level of reliability when posting anonymous USENET articles.  Until then, be prepared to experiment to find the right remailer that is the most reliable for you.


Posting anonymously through a USENET gateway
Private Idaho 2.6

Posting anonymously through a USENET gateway

USENET gateways are mail servers that support posting to USENET groups through e-mail messages.  To post through a gateway with a Cypherpunk style remailer:

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 the "E-mail gateway" option in the Newsgroups menu.  If you select None, specific information needed to create a newsgroup posting will not be added.

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

5. Choose the "Append info to message" command from the "E-mail" 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.anonymous before doing it for real.

USENET gateways are getting increasingly harder to find.  Many have shut down due to abuses.  Others dont support all newsgroups.  You may have to try several before finding one that works for you.


Private Idaho 2.6

Transferring 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 "E-mail" menu, choose the "Transfer to e-mail app" command.

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

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 email transfer settings
Private Idaho 2.6

Changing e-mail transfer settings

The Transfer Options command in the E-mail 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.  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.

If your e-mail application doesn't support sequentially tabbing through headers (such as Free Agent or Netscape), you'll need to write a simple script to transfer the message information.

The script language has the following commands:

to - to: header line

from - from: header line

subject - subject: header line

cc - cc: header line

bcc - bcc: header line

msg - text in the message window

tab - Tab

+tab - Shift+Tab

enter - Enter

right - Right arrow

left - Left arrow

up - Up arrow

down - Down arrow

escape - Esc

+ - Shift

^ - Ctrl

% - Alt

Each of the commands instructs Private Idaho what information or key should be sent to the e-mail application.  (Header lines are automatically sent with a following Tab.)

Each command (with the exception of the last entered command), should be followed by a comma.

Run your e-mail application and list the key sequences required to transfer the information.  Usually, the cursor should always start on the first line/item of the new message window.  However, if you like, you could write a script to execute a variety of menu commands to open a new message window.

For example, if you were using Free Agent, the following script would correctly transfer your e-mail from Private Idaho:

to,subject,tab,tab,tab,tab,tab,tab,tab,tab,msg


Adding email software specs
Private Idaho 2.6

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.


Receiving PGP Messages
Private Idaho 2.6

Receiving PGP Messages

Introduction

Scanning for PGP messages

Showing PGP messages


Introduction to receiving PGP messages
Private Idaho 2.6

Introduction to receiving PGP messages

If you are connected to the Internet, and your Internet provider uses a POP3 mail server (the most frequently used), Private Idaho can check your mailbox for any messages that have been encrypted with PGP.  If a PGP message is in your mailbox, Private Idaho will download and store it on your hard drive.  Messages are displayed with the Show PGP messages command and you can decrypt the message immediately or wait until later.

While this makes accessing encrypted messages easy, there is one hitch.  Private Idaho only processes PGP encrypted messages, and leaves all other messages on the server.  This means youll need to use a full-featured e-mail application such as Eudora or Pegasus to access any messages that arent encrypted.

For people who periodicially log-on to their Internet provider to check mail, this isnt a problem.  Simply run Private Idaho first to check for any PGP messages, then run your normal e-mail application to access the other messages.

For people who leave their e-mail application running in the background, this presents a sequencing problem.  Currently, with Private Idaho, you can only manually check for PGP messages.  There isnt a timer option to periodically check for messages at some set interval.  Viewing this, its very possible your regular e-mail application will download a PGP message before Private Idaho can.

The only solution to this problem would be to turn Private Idaho into a fully functional e-mail application, so you could send, receive, and manage your encrypted and regular mail.  Unfortunately, I dont have the time to do this.  However, if someone (or a group) is interested in taking this on as a project, Id be glad to share the source code.


Scanning for PGP messages
Private Idaho 2.6

Scanning for PGP messages

The Scan for PGP messages command in the E-mail menu connects to your POP3 mail server and scans the message headers for any PGP messages.  If an encrypted message is found, it is downloaded, added to a file on your hard disk, and then deleted from the server.

The first time you scan for messages, youll be prompted to supply your password to access the mail server.  Private Idaho remembers this password for subsequent scanning, but forgets it when you exit the program.

Status about the scanning process is displayed above the message text box.


Showing PGP messages
Private Idaho 2.6

Showing PGP messages

The Show PGP messages command in the E-mail menu displays a list of all of the PGP messages that Private Idaho has downloaded.  A list containing message status, who the message is from, when it was sent, and the message subject is displayed.

Unread messages have an n to the left of the message.

There are several actions you can perform to a selected message with the command buttons at the bottom of the dialog box.

Delete - flags the message to be deleted.  A d will appear to the left of the message.  Deleted messages can be accessed until they are permanently erased using the Compress PGP messages command in the E-mail menu.

Undelete - flags the message to be undeleted, removing the d.  Use this command to mark any deleted messages undeleted before you compress the file.

Save - copies the entire message to the main Private Idaho message text box.  You can then copy or export the message if you want to save it to disk.

Decrypt - decrypts the encrypted message and inserts the cleartext in the main Private Idaho message window.  Double clicking a message performs the same action.

Compress - compresses the file storing the PGP messages.  Any messages marked for deletion will be permanently removed from the file.

NOTE:  The encrypted PGP messages are stored in a file named PGPMSG.PID.  The MSGIDX.PID file is an index to the messages.


Using C2.ORGs Nym Server
Private Idaho 2.6

Using C2.ORGs Nym Server

What is a nym?

Creating a nym account

Changing your nym password

Encrypting a nym message

Preparing a nym message

Nym notes


What is a nym?
Private Idaho 2.6

What is a nym?

Nym is simply another term for an alias or pseudonym.  Community ConneXion (http://www.c2.org) is a privacy-oriented Internet provider that is currently offering  a no-charge service that allows you to create a nym account (where e-mail can securely be forwarded to you).

This is similar to setting up an anon.penet.fi account, only much more secure.  Instead of using a data base of users associated with account names (like penet.fi), the service works by rerouting through remailers and conventionally encrypting messages forwarded to you with PGP.

Briefly, you supply the nym server with a chain of remailers (PGP encrypted being the most secure), you'd like to use to have any messages forwarded to you.  You also provide a nym account name and a PGP passphrase to encrypt the forwarded message.

For example, if you selected "casper" as a nym, you could send anonymous e-mail or post anonymously to a USENET newsgroup and have people reply to casper@alpha.c2.org.  When someone sends a message to that address, it is PGP encrypted, then sent through a series of remailers you specified.  It is eventually forwarded to you through the remailers.  You'd then use Private Idaho to decrypt the message.

Once you have an account, you can also send mail or post articles from alias@alpha.c2.org.  In such cases, your nym account name would appear in the From: line of the message/article.


Creating a nym account
Private Idaho 2.6

Creating a nym account

Creating a nym account was a bit complex, but Private Idaho has simplified the process.  Just select "Create alpha.c2.org nym" from the Nym menu and follow the instructions in the dialog boxes.  (If you don't already have the alpha.c2.org PGP public key in your ring, Private Idaho will install it for you during the nym setup.)

Private Idaho will step you through the entire account request process, and when you're through, you can send the message to alias@alpha.c2.org.

If you were successful, you'll receive an encrypted confirmation message back.

After you receive confirmation, send mail to your new nym account to test it.  Remember, response time may vary.


Changing your nym password
Private Idaho 2.6

Changing your nym password

You can change your nym account password with this menu item.  The command pastes a template in the message window.  Simply enter your current password and a new password in the message.  Encrypt the message and send to alias@alpha.c2.org.  If you don't provide a value for New-Password, the account will be deleted.  You can also change mail routing with this command.  First specify the remailer routing (put your e-mail address on the To: line, select a chain of remailers, and use the "Append info to message" menu item), then select Change nym password to append the password change information to the routing message.


Encrypting a nym message
Private Idaho 2.6

Encrypting a nym message

All messages sent to alias@alpha.c2.org must be encrypted with the nym server key.  Any plaintext messages will not be processed and be deleted.  As a reminder, whenever you prepare a message to send to the nym server, Private Idaho displays a red encryption reminder above the message window.  After you encrypt the message, the message disappears (you can also click on the reminder message to make it disappear).


Preparing a nym message
Private Idaho 2.6

Preparing a nym message

To send a message through alias@alpha.c2.org, first compose your message in Private Idaho's message window.  If you are sending e-mail, put the address on the To: line.  If you are posting to a newsgroup, enter the USENET gateway on the To: line.  Select the "Prepare nym message" item from the Nym menu.  Now fill in your nym password and the Subject: lines.  Select the "Encrypt nym message" menu item and send the message.


Nym notes
Private Idaho 2.6

Nym notes

Private Idaho stores the nym and expanded nym of the last nym account created in the PIDAHO.INI file.  The password is not stored for security reasons.

Your nym passphrase should be different than your everyday PGP passphrase.  You are compromising your security if they are the same.

Make sure the nym passphrase does not have any spaces in it.  The server will truncate the passphrase at the space.

If you dont get an encrypted reply back in a few days, its likely someone else already has a nym account with the name you requested.  Try submitting a request with a different nym.

If you have questions/comments about the Private Idaho interface to alias@alpha.c2.org send e-mail to joelm@eskimo.com.  If you have comments or questions about the nym server, send e-mail to admin@alpha.c2.org.  You can get additional information about the nym server by sending mail to: help@alpha.c2.org.


Command Summary
Private Idaho 2.6

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

     Save settings - saves program settings, which are restored on running

     Options - sets e-mail and other information

     Connect - creates a Winsock connection

     Disconnect - disconnects the current Winsock connection

     Exit - just what it sounds like

EDIT

     Cut - standard

     Copy - standard

     Paste - standard

     Clear all - clears headers and message box

     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

     Insert header - inserts a predefined header in the message

     Insert signature - inserts a predefined signature in the message

     Options - sets header and signature

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

     Use multiple keys - encrypts message with multiple keys instead of To:

     Encrypt to self - also encrypts with your key for archiving

     Eyes only - only allows DOS box display

     Conventional encrypt - uses single versus public key encryption

     Obscurity - adds and deletes PGP headers from ciphertext

     File as input - uses a file as encrypt/decrypt source

     Update public key ring - updates PI's key ring file

     Add key from message - adds any keys in the message box to public ring

     Delete key - deletes a selected key from the public ring

     Insert key in message - inserts a selected public key in the message

     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

E-mail

     Send message - sends the message through a SMTP mail server

     Append info to message - adds remailer info to message

     Append and send - adds remailer info and sends

     Reply to message - adds > to the message

     Scan for PGP messages - scans your POP3 mailbox for PGP messages

     Show PGP messages - displays downloaded PGP messages

     Transfer to e-mail app - transfers the message to an e-mailer

     Append and transfer - adds remailer info and transfers

     Transfer options - options for specifying e-mailer

Nym

     Create alpha.c2.org nym... - steps you through creating a nym account

     Change nym password - provides a template for nym passowrd changing

     Prepare nym message - prepares a message for sending through the server

     Encrypt nym message - encrypts (mandatory) a message sent to the server

Web

     Options - sets Web browser parameters

Help

     About... - brief info

     Information... - displays the help file

     Send feedback - prepares a feedback message to send


Private Idaho 2.6

Miscellaneous information

Accessing a Web browser

Saving Private Idaho settings

Sending feedback

Other stuff


Accessing a Web browser
Private Idaho 2.6

Accessing a Web browser

One of the main purposes of Private Idaho is to provide an easy environment that encourages people to use PGP and remailers with their e-mail.  The more people that use these tools, the less likely it is governments will be able to take them away.

The Worldwide Web is becoming an increasingly important means of distributing information around the world.  There are a number of free, important electronic information sources and  services that reside on the Web.

If you use a Web browser, Private Idaho can interact with your browser to provide links to sources where you can access tools and information to increase your electronic privacy.

Using the Web menu

The Web menu comes with a series of menu items I feel are important if you use Private Idaho.  Each menu item corresponds to a Web link (or technically a URL - universal resource locator). When you select the menu item, Private Idaho will load (if necessary) and activate your Web browser.  It will then pass commands on to your browser to go to that particular URL.

Private Idaho's default settings assume you use Netscape as a browser (located in c:/netscape/netscape.exe).  If you don't use Netscape, or if you do and it is located in a different path, see the "Configuring Private Idaho for your Web browser" section below.

Obviously, you must be connected to the Internet for a browser to display a Web page.

If your browser is not running, Private Idaho will inform you and then load it.  Once the browser is running, select the menu item again, so the information will be passed on the the browser.

Default menu items

Here are the default menu items that come with Private Idaho.  I encourage you to spend some time exploring them, particularly the sites for the EFF, EPIC, and CPSR organizations.  They contain a wealth of information on cryptography, privacy, and government issues.

Get the latest PGP (US residents) - accesses MIT's PGP distribution page. You must be a US resident to download PGP from this source.

Get the latest PGP (rest of world) - accesses a page of links with sites outside of the US where PGP can be downloaded.

Access the MIT key server - accesses a page where you can store your PGP public key in a database as well as search for other people's.  This is a free central database that get's global use.

Read the official PGP FAQ - accesses the official PGP Frequently Asked Question list.  Most of your questions can be answered here.

Get the short PGP FAQ - accesses a shorter version of the PGP FAQ, with information on the latest version, where to get PGP, and different types of shells to use.

Learn about crypto and privacy - accesses the privacy and cryptography section of the WWW Virtual Library.  Excellent information on PGP, crypto, and electronic privacy issues.

Browse alt.security.pgp - accesses the USENET alt.security.pgp newsgroup. This is the place for breaking information, answers to easy and hard questions, and interesting political discussion.

Help Phil Zimmermann - Phil Zimmermann, the creator of PGP, is under investigation by the US government because of PGP.  This page tells how you can help Phil with his legal situation.

Get remailer information - accesses remailer information you can use to update the RMINFO and CPMAILER files Private Idaho uses.  Also provides links to other remailer information sources.

Go to EFF - accesses the Electronic Frontier Foundation's home page.  An excellent source of information on electronic privacy issues.

Go to EPIC - accesses the Electronic Privacy Information Center's home page.  An excellent source of information on electronic privacy issues.

Go to CPSR - accesses the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility home page.  An excellent source of information on electronic privacy issues.

Get the latest Private Idaho - accesses the central page for Private Idaho distribution.  You can check for any updates and download them.

You can also add your own menu items and links. See the "Adding your own links to the Web menu" section below.

Configuring Private Idaho for your Web browser

As previously stated, Private Idaho's default Web browser configuration is Netscape.  To configure to your own browser, choose the Options command from the Web menu.

This dialog box may look complex, but really isn't.  First, a little background on what happens when you select a menu item from the Web menu.

Private Idaho interacts with a browser by sending a key sequence to it, much in the same way it works when you transfer information to your e-mail software.  While some browsers like Netscape support DDE, I wanted to provide more flexibility for use with other browsers that didn't.

When you select a menu item, it looks to see if the browser is running by seeing if a window exists in the Windows task list.  (If the browser isn't running, it will attempt to load it, and ask you to select the menu item again after the browser has loaded.)

If a window is present, it sends a series of keys that tells the browser to provide some form of input for specifying a URL.  For example in Netscape, the CTRL+L key opens a dialog box for a URL to be entered.  Next, Private Idaho sends the actual URL that corresponds to the menu item to the browser, plus a key sequence that tells it to go to the URL (in Netscape's case, the return/enter key).

With that in mind, here's information on the parameters in the Web Options dialog box.

Web browser path - Enter the full path of the Web browser you use, for example, c:/netscape/netscape.exe (which is the default).

Browser window search string - This is the name of the window that Private Idaho will pass the key sequences to.  Depending on the browser, you can just put its name here.  (HINT:  Run the browser then select the Options command in Private Idaho's Transfer menu to get a list of all of the current window names.  Use the name that corresponds to the browser.)

Here's where things can get a little tricky. Some browsers (such as Netscape) use a parent window and a child window.  If you specify the parent window (named "Netscape") to pass the key sequences to, nothing will happen.  This is because the child window (that's name contains the current URL) is active, and receives any key messages.  The problem with browsers like this, is the window name constantly changes, so you never know which window to send the key sequence to.

The solution is to look for a command pattern that all child window names have.  In Netscape's case, child windows names always start with "Netscape - [", so if you specify this as the Browser window search string, Private Idaho will always be able to activate the correct window.

You may need to do some experimenting with this, to find the correct search string to use.  The window list in the E-mail, Transfer options dialog can help.

Key sequence to prompt for URL - This is a series of keyboard commands within the browser that allows the user to enter a URL.  For example, typing CTRL+L in Netscape brings up a URL dialog box.  You will need to enter the key sequence that is appropriate for your browser.

Certain keys must use special characters.

     For the Ctrl key use a ^

     For the Alt key use a %

     For a tab use {TAB}

     For a return/enter use ~

     For the Shift key use a +

     For keys to be held down at the same time, enclose then with ( )

For example, in Netscape a CTRL+L opens the URL dialog box so you'd enter ^l

Key sequence to get URL - This is the key sequence that will tell the browser to go to the URL.  In Netscape, pressing the return/enter key after the URL has been entered closes the dialog box and goes to the URL.  So, for this parameter you would use a ~

(The corresponding special keys shown above also apply to this parameter.)

All parameters are written to the PIDAHO.INI file when you click the OK button.

Adding your own links to the Web menu

All items that appear in the Web menu are stored in the URLS.TXT file.  You can add to or modify the contents of the file with any text editor, following these rules:

     Each line represents a menu item.  (UNIX folks, this is a DOS CR/LF terminated line.)

     A line containing a "-" is an unselectable menu divider.

     The menu item name is followed by a comma (,) and then the URL, for example:

          Get the latest Private Idaho,http://www.eskimo.com/~joelm

     Don't use multiple commas in a menu item name, as Private Idaho parses the URL after the first comma.


Saving Private Idaho settings
Private Idaho 2.6

Save Private Idaho settings

The Save Settings command in the File menu writes all of your current settings (such as remailer type, whether to minimize PGP, encrypt to self, latent time setting, etc.) to the PIDAHO.INI file.  These settings will be "remembered" the next time you run Private Idaho, with the various options activated.


Sending feedback
Private Idaho 2.6

Sending feedback

Choose the "Send feedback" command from the Help menu.  Text in the message box will be erased, and a new message will be addressed to me, ready for your comments.


Home
Private Idaho 2.6

Connecting to the Internet

You can send and receive e-mail messages over the Internet directly from Private Idaho.  To do so:

•	you must be connected to your Internet provider through a Winsock stack

•	your Internet provider must support a SMTP mail server for outgoing e-mail

•	your Internet provider must support a POP3 mail server for incoming e-mail

Once you are connected to the Internet, run Private Idaho, and select the Connect command in the File menu.  This establishes a conversation with the Winsock stack, and allows Private Idaho to communicate with your Internet providers mail servers.

A green box next to the Send button indicates Private Idaho is connected.  A red box indicates Private Idaho isnt connected.

If you do not select Connect, you wont be able to send or receive mail directly from Private Idaho.  This is useful when you want to work off-line or only use Private Idaho for transferring messages to and from an existing e-mail application such as Eudora or Pegasus.

The default setting is for Private Idaho not to be connected.  If you would like Private Idaho to always be connected on start-up, add the following to the Settings section of the PIDAHO.INI file:

Online=1

You can disconnect Private Idaho at any time using the Disconnect command in the File menu.

When connected, the Connect command will be dimmed.  When disconnected, the Disconnect command will be dimmed.

Which mail servers you use depends on the information in the Options dialog box in the File menu.  For example:

E-mail address - joelm@eskimo.com

Real name - Joel McNamara

SMTP server name - mail.eskimo.com

POP account name - joelm

POP server name - mail.eskimo.com

IMPORTANT NOTE:  The custom control Im using for providing Winsock access is called IPPort.  Its a slick control produced by a company called devSoft (http://www.devlink.com/devsoft/) and I recommend it to anyone writing Internet Visual Basic applications.

Previous versions of Private Idaho used the 1.x version of the IPPort custom control.  I licensed the control, and provided it free for all Private Idaho users.  A major disadvantage with the 1.x version was it automatically loaded the Winsock stack.  This created problems for some users when using Private Idaho off-line.

The 2.0 version of IPPort addresses this, thus the new Connect and Disconnect features.  IPPort is still in beta, thats why youll get the somewhat annoying splash screen about it when you run Private Idaho.  This is temporary.  I'm planning on licensing the new version when it goes into final release.  When it does, the screen wont appear anymore.  In any case, don't worry about personally licensing IPPort (unless youre a developer that wants to use it for another product).


Other Stuff...
Private Idaho 2.6

Other Stuff

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.

Thanks to John Deters for the NT fix, John Coffman for help with AOL settings and distribution and a mirror site, M.D. Hobbs, Ned Brickley, and Paul Leyland for a mirror sites, Robert Fries for "help-fying" this text, and everyone that's taken the time to send me comments.

Cypherpunks write code...