Many people have never heard of P2P file-sharing networks like DarkMX even though DarkMX and its predecessor, WinMX, have over two decades of continued development. P2P file-sharing networks are more stable than torrents. DarkMX has a very slick retro interface. It is almost identical to the old WinMX from 20+ years ago, except it brokers all connections via TOR for preserving privacy.

I figured out several ways to run DarkMX on a headless server without GUI. This allows me to install it on a remote server without any desktop environment and run the software as a daemon without the GUI.

First I used the X forwarding feature of SSH to pipe the GUI to a local machine. On that machine I did all the configuration inside the GUI. Then I closed the program.

Then on the remote machine I used 'xvfb' to run DarkMX as a nohup'd daemon with a dummy GUI buffer. That way I don't need to be connected to the GUI from a local machine and the application will still run. It also uses less RAM without the GUI.

There are other ways to do this, such as VNC and xpra. I just chose the quickest, dirtiest method in this case.

Why would I go to all that trouble? Well, I don't need to, but there are some people who might need to publish while maintaining strict anonymity. So they would need tools like DarkMX and TOR. For me it's just fun.

DarkMX operates over the TOR privacy preserving network. As a result the location of my peer is hidden and extremely hard to impossible for an adversary to locate. So when I publish something, such as a letter, or paper, or opinion, anyone can download it since censoring it is not viable. It ensures that my speech remains free and available to the general public. Now when I author essays, papers, homiles and such, I can publish them as file shares, and I can publish them simultaneously as a TOR hidden website with the built-in webserver feature. So readers don't need DarkMX to read my files--they can just fire up TOR Browser or use a TOR proxy with their web browser. If they want to snarf a whole directory they can install DarkMX, or use a script to snarf them via TOR.

If you are inclined to fiddle around with installing this software on a headless server, please share the techniques and tools used that suit you.

(DarkMX download site: https://darkmx.app)

#DarkMX #P2P #FileSharing #Anonymous #SelfHosting #TOR #OnionNetwork #Censorship

@selfhosted@a.gup.pe @infostorm@a.gup.pe @darknet@a.gup.pe infosec@a.gup.pe

NEWSCARD: Decentralized, Encrypted Paste Bin via Usenet Newsgroups

NEWSCARD Publish and fetch permanent named records via Network News

Newscard creates a decentralized, encrypted, named record paste bin.

[git repo] https://codeberg.org/OCTADE/newscard (use most recent version only)

With a single command, name the card, snarf the file and encrypt it.

With another command, push the encrypted file to the public network.

With another short command, snarf a file from the network.

Only users knowing the name [key] of the record will be able to decrypt it.

If a strong passphrase is used to name the file, it will be very secure.

This is useful for quickly snarfing, encrypting, and publishing a text file:

$~: card enc [passphrase] [file]
$~: card put [passphrase]

It is useful for retrieving a text file with just a key:

$~: card get [passphrase]
$~: card show [passphrase]

If and when you want the general public to access the record just share the keyword.

Newscard uses nine (9) (NINE) layers of encryption with OpenSSL chacha20 cipher.

Newscard generates 9 each of: cipher keys, salts, key iteration parameters.

It would be nice if something like this were added to the ActivityPub protocol, such that keyword[@]host.url would do the same thing. Then secret text records could be stored securely for later retrieval or revelation.

#NewsCard #Pastebin #Usenet #NNTP #NetworkNews #Encryption #Cryptography #Messaging #Anonymity #Protocols #OpenSource #FreeSoftware #BlackHackJack #Censorship #Retro #InfoSec #Ciphers #Codes #FOSS

@infostorm@a.gup.pe @crypto@a.gup.pe @infosec@a.gup.pe @selfhosting@a.gup.pe

NEWSCARD: Decentralized, Encrypted Paste Bin via Usenet Newsgroups

NEWSCARD Publish and fetch permanent named records via Network News

Newscard creates a decentralized, encrypted, named record paste bin.

[git repo] https://codeberg.org/OCTADE/newscard (use most recent version only)

With a single command, name the card, snarf the file and encrypt it.

With another command, push the encrypted file to the public network.

With another short command, snarf a file from the network.

Only users knowing the name [key] of the record will be able to decrypt it.

If a strong passphrase is used to name the file, it will be very secure.

This is useful for quickly snarfing, encrypting, and publishing a text file:

$~: card enc [passphrase] [file]
$~: card put [passphrase]

It is useful for retrieving a text file with just a key:

$~: card get [passphrase]
$~: card show [passphrase]

If and when you want the general public to access the record just share the keyword.

Newscard uses nine (9) (NINE) layers of encryption with OpenSSL chacha20 cipher.

Newscard generates 9 each of: cipher keys, salts, key iteration parameters.

It would be nice if something like this were added to the ActivityPub protocol, such that keyword[@]host.url would do the same thing. Then secret text records could be stored securely for later retrieval or revelation.

#NewsCard #Pastebin #Usenet #NNTP #NetworkNews #Encryption #Cryptography #Messaging #Anonymity #Protocols #OpenSource #FreeSoftware #BlackHackJack #Censorship #Retro #InfoSec #Ciphers #Codes #FOSS

@infostorm@a.gup.pe @crypto@a.gup.pe @infosec@a.gup.pe

@usenet@lemmy.world

Behold! The net cop gives expensive advice! You are basically requiring that I pay for yet another ERC20 cryptocurrency token just to send text messages.

From the Autonomi site:

"WHEN SOMEONE (A PERSON OR A COLLECTIVE) UPLOADS DATA THEY PAY A FEE TO DO SO."

"+1 Million tokens on offer for early contributors."

MaidSafe is credited as having invented the ICO. I wouldn't touch it or any of its descendant projects with a ten-foot pole.

"MaidSafe are the team behind Autonomi ..."

Didn't you learn from Maidsafe+Mastercoin ICO and ten thousand other ICOs already? The purpose of digital 'tokens' is to separate gullible people from their dollars or euros or yuan or rubles, providing in return something they could already have for free or so cheap it's nearly free. It appears that the people behind Maidsafe are also behind the crypto token you are suggesting, for merely posting text files. Get outta here!

Newscard has several selling points:

0. It's not for sale. Try that with Autonomi, Maidsafe, and a thousand others.
1. It is free, unlike your suggested cryptocurrency pump.
2. My solution is simple and elegant - naming small text files for retrieval.
3. Newscard uses existing infrastructure already in operation for decades.
4. Many mature client softwares and terminal emulators already exist for the task.
5. Newscard doesn't require investment or payment.
6. Newscard doesn't have an integrated, useless payment system.
7. Newscard is ANONYMOUS and uses The Onion Network by default.
8. Users won't lose their money when using Newscard.

And my Newscard solution doesn't require taking zillions of dollars from people who will likely never see a return on their token investment. Storage token sale schemes are a dime a dozen. I can't believe you think I have the credulity to swallow such a scheme.

For almost two decades running countless crews have claimed that they will, 'decentralize the Internet' if you give them your money.

Newsflash: The Internet already is decentralized. Decentralization is a basic part of the design of the Internet. It already routes around damage and censorship by default. Why do I need to pay for a crypto token for something that already exists? Decentralized Usenet has been in continuous operation for decades. I'm already using the 'decentralized Internet' for the Newscard protocol. I've been using the 'decentralized Internet' since forever! It doesn't need to be decentralized by crypto pump schemes. The Internet is already decentralized.

So we already have a decentralized Internet where data storage is abundant and cheap. And these token pumpers want to set themselves up as gatekeepers so we have to pay them to get the tokens to store our data. That is not decentralization. That is the essence of a centralized monetary gatekeeper!

You accused me of misusing Usenet. Yet I am only doing what people have done with Usenet for decades--posting encrypted messages. I'm not misusing Usenet. You're misusing my patience for cryptocurrency dumps and re-hashed token sales strategies.

#CryptoCurrency #Tokens #Decentralization #Usenet #NNTP #Internet #Censorship #Blockchain