From 5722f3ce688ce4f71a7f3a4a3aa3d070c3e47014 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Micah Anderson Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2008 12:09:22 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] add some documentation to the user section about establishing trust --- website/getting-started-user.mdwn | 54 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 54 insertions(+) diff --git a/website/getting-started-user.mdwn b/website/getting-started-user.mdwn index 947c2da..2260256 100644 --- a/website/getting-started-user.mdwn +++ b/website/getting-started-user.mdwn @@ -104,6 +104,60 @@ subkey to your ssh agent by running: FIXME: using the key with a single ssh connection? +Establish trust +--------------- + +Now that you have the above setup, you will need to establish an +acceptable trust path to the admin(s) of a monkeysphere-enabled server +that you will be connecting to. You need to do this because the admin +is certifying the host, and you need a mechanism to validate that +certification. The only way to do that is by indicating who you trust +to certify hosts. This is a two step process: first you must sign the +key, and then you have to indicate a trust level. + +The process of signing another key is outside the scope of this +document, however the gnupg README details the signing process and you +can find good [documentation +](http://www.debian.org/events/keysigning) online detailing this +process. + +If you have signed your admins' key, you need to denote some kind of +trust to that key. To do this you should edit the key and use the +'trust' command. For the Monkeysphere to trust the assertions that are +made about a host, you need full calculated validity to the host +certifiers. This can be done either by giving full trust to one +host-certifying key, or by giving marginal trust to three different +host-certifiers. In the following we demonstrate how to add full trust +validity to a host-certifying key: + + $ gpg --edit-key + Command> trust + pub 2048R/3B757F8C created: 2008-06-19 expires: 2008-11-16 usage: CA + trust: unknown validity: full + [ unknown ] (1). ssh://monkeysphere.info + [ unknown ] (2) ssh://george.riseup.net + + Please decide how far you trust this user to correctly verify other users' keys + (by looking at passports, checking fingerprints from different sources, etc.) + + 1 = I don't know or won't say + 2 = I do NOT trust + 3 = I trust marginally + 4 = I trust fully + 5 = I trust ultimately + m = back to the main menu + + Your decision? 4 + +Note: Due to a limitation with gnupg, it is not currently possible to +limit the domain scope properly, which means that if you fully trust +an admin, this admin can currently assert host verification for any +hosts. + +Because the Monkeysphre relies on GPG's definition of the OpenPGP web +of trust, it is important to understand [how GPG calculates User ID +validity for a key](/trust-models). + Miscellaneous ------------- -- 2.25.1