Silk Road forums
Discussion => Security => Topic started by: Ridinthesilkroadinalambo on September 06, 2012, 02:30 am
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So im newbie here and am confused about this whole GPG?PGP thing! I understand that this is a program that allows you to communicate with others anonymously but im at a loss as to how it works really. Ive spent about a week or so getting things together so im secure and anonymous on sr but honestly ive hit a road block! I downloaded the gpg4win program and generated 2 keys but i have no idea what to do next. I tried searching the forum and was only able to find,in my opinion, overly technical, methods and honestly it confuses this newbie.Im probably safe in assuming that most people on here kno what they're doing, otherwise they wouldnt be able to be on here.Im so fuckin frustrated tho, if someone could please,please help me with directions/instructions on how to properly work this program on windows! :o :o :o :o
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So im newbie here and am confused about this whole GPG?PGP thing! I understand that this is a program that allows you to communicate with others anonymously but im at a loss as to how it works really. Ive spent about a week or so getting things together so im secure and anonymous on sr but honestly ive hit a road block! I downloaded the gpg4win program and generated 2 keys but i have no idea what to do next. I tried searching the forum and was only able to find,in my opinion, overly technical, methods and honestly it confuses this newbie.Im probably safe in assuming that most people on here kno what they're doing, otherwise they wouldnt be able to be on here.Im so fuckin frustrated tho, if someone could please,please help me with directions/instructions on how to properly work this program on windows! :o :o :o :o
It doesn't provide anonymity (so you need to be careful that the name and email are your SR pseudonym and a fake or anonymous email address), it provides the ability to encrypt your messages.
You provide your public key to people and obtain their public key from them (or here on the forum or from vendor pages). Messages are encrypted with those public keys and only people with the corresponding secret key can decrypt and read the messages.
I recommend you read this thread:
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=131.0
Then go to PGP Club to practice:
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=30938.0
For details on how to correctly label your key and why it is important, see this thread:
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=33566.0
For links to other important GPG posts see this thread:
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=38861.0
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Originally posted by "marv". give credit to him, this is also how I learned, Very simple.
This guide will show you how to encrypt your address when making a purchase. Most casual buyers will not require an understanding of GPG encryption beyond the need to encrypt your address when making a purchase.
After following this tutorial, you will be able to quickly encrypt your address and enjoy greater peace of mind. You won't believe how easy this will be.
Follow these steps slowly and with peace in your heart. This is very easy to do and everyone reading this can do it. Take as much time as you need.
FIRST, go here and hit the big, green download button: http://www.gpg4win.org/
Install it and remember the folder where it was installed.
Go to the folder where it was installed and double-click 'gpa'.
NOW you're in business.
NEXT, go to your vendor's page and find his PUBLIC KEY; copy his PUBLIC KEY.
OPEN notepad on your computer.
PASTE the vendor's PUBLIC KEY in the notepad. Save it as "HOTSTUFF"; save this on your desktop.
GO BACK to gpa. Click IMPORT.
SELECT the HOTSTUFF.txt file from your desktop.
Click on CLIPBOARD.
A clipboard will open up.
TYPE your address.
CLICK ENCRYPT.
A menu will come up and you will see the PUBLIC KEY you just imported. Select this PUBLIC KEY.
Click OK.
Now your CLIPBOARD will be filled with funny letters.
COPY ALL THE FUNNY LETTERS AND SYMBOLS.
THIS IS YOUR ADDRESS, ENCRYPTED.
PASTE THE ENCRYPTED ADDRESS INTO THE ADDRESS FIELD WHEN YOU ARE MAKING THE PURCHASE WITH THAT VENDOR.
NOW YOU CAN SLEEP JUST A LITTLE EASIER. BUT I RECOMMEND YOU LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WHOLE PROCESS.
THIS IS A GREAT START.
marv
note: if anyone will suggest modifications to this guide to make the process even smoother and more accurate, please let us know.
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Hey thank you for helping but i need a bit more help. i thought i had it figured out And went ahead and placed a small order,however i still do not understand how to communicate with the vendor through the key codes? So I placed the order and the bitcoins have been removed from my account. Im not sure how to finalize an order or get in touch with the person through the key codes. I did make sure to take down all of the info so that i could properly follow the directions given on here! your help is so much appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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OK from my new prospective.
I am thinking you did not supply your address when making the purchase?
Log into Silk road and at the top you can click on your orders tab.
you will see the name of the vendor,(here is also the finalize tab ) to send him a message click on his name and on his profile page you will have an option to send a message. The profile will also make you aware of the vendors terms and you should read this in full.
Understand what finalizing is and whether you should be using this at this time or later in the transaction
If you are positive about PGP usage send the vendor your information, IF in doubt practice on the forums so we frustrate our vendors with being tutors as the need to spend there time packaging :)
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If you are worried enough about your security to be using PGP, than you should most definitely not being using windows to access the silk road or any other part of the darknet.
for one example of one of the many dangers of using windows, there is a thread around here about how windows 7 (and possibly other versions) keeps a constant 10mb/s encrypted connection with the NSA. and although it is not know what that connection is sending, a lot of signs point to complete surveillance of everything yhat you do on the machine. That alone should be enough to make any SR user fear windows. And some people (myself included) believe that Mac systems have similar issues
You should really be using a linux LiveUSB to access SR. Not only is it a million times safer, but the PGP programs in the ones designed for anonymity are much easier to use than gpg4win, and it pretty much already set up for you.
follow the instructions here to make a Tails Linux LiveUSB (one of the more favored LiveUSBs among SR users):
https://tails.boum.org/doc/first_steps/manual_usb_installation/windows/index.en.html
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or get stuck with anything, and I will be happy to walk you through it, including using its PGP program (which is incredibly easy to use after taking a few minutes to learn how)