<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <meta name="keywords" content="otr, encryption, off-the-record" /> <meta name="description" content="otr encryption" /> <title>OTR encryption
</title> <link href="../css/topicpage.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" /> <div id="banner"> <a name="tabs" id="tabs"></a> <div id="navleft"><a class="navleftsty" href="../AdiumHelp.html">Adium Help
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</a></div> <div id="caticon"> <img src="../gfx/AdiumIcon.png" alt="Adium Icon" height="32" width="32" border="0" /> </div> <p><a href="https://otr.cypherpunks.ca">Off-the-Record (OTR) Messaging
</a> enables you to have private conversations over instant messaging. According to the OTR Development Team, it aims to provide the following:
</p> <li>"Encryption: No one else can read your instant messages."
</li> <li>"Authentication: You are assured the correspondent is who you think it is."
</li> <li>"Deniability: The messages you send do not have digital signatures that are checkable by a third party. Anyone can forge messages after a conversation to make them look like they came from you. However, during a conversation, your correspondent is assured the messages he sees are authentic and unmodified."
</li> <li>"Perfect forward secrecy: If you lose control of your private keys, no previous conversation is compromised."
</li> <div class="taskboxline"> <div class="taskboxheader"> <div class="taskboxtext"> <li>Generate an OTR fingerprint:
</li> <li>Open the preferences, accessible via the
<strong>Adium
</strong> menu in the menu bar, and select the
<strong>Encryption
</strong> pane.
</li> <li>Click the
<strong>Generate
</strong> button. This fingerprint is unique for the account selected in the dropdown.
</li> <li>Make sure you have the "Encryption" (lock) item in the chat window's toolbar. If not, click "Customise Toolbar..." from the
<strong>View
</strong> menu and add it.
</li> <p align="center"> <img src="../gfx/Chat window-Encryption.png" alt="" width="" height="" /></p> <div class="taskboxline"> <div class="taskboxheader"> <h3>Initiating an OTR-encrypted chat
</h3> <div class="taskboxtext"> <li>Open a chat with the contact with whom you want to have a private conversation. Notice the "Encryption" item in the toolbar appears unlocked. It signifies the chat currently is not encrypted.
</li> <li>Click the icon and select "Initiate Encrypted OTR Chat". Notice the previously unlocked icon is now locked.
</li> <li>You will be prompted to verify the fingerprint of your contact. If you are certain of its trustworthy origin click "Accept".
</li> <p>Next time you start an OTR chat with the same contact, Adium will remember you verified their fingerprint so you will not have to do so again.
</p> <div class="taskboxline"> <div class="taskboxheader"> <h3>Encryption settings
</h3> <div class="taskboxtext"> <p>There are four different settings which can be adjusted on a per-account and on a per-contact basis: "Disable chat encryption", "Encrypt chats as requested", "Encrypt chats automatically" and "Force encryption and refuse plaintext".
</p> <p><strong>Per-account
</strong></p> <li>Open preferences, select the
<strong>Accounts
</strong> pane and double-click the account.
</li> <li>Click the "Privacy" tab and choose your option for this account from the dropdown.
</li> <p><strong>Per-contact
</strong></p> <li>In the chat window/tab you have open with the contact in question, click the lock in the toolbar and choose your option via "Encryption Settings".
</li> <div class="taskboxline"> <div class="taskboxheader"> <h3>Disabling chat logging on your computer
</h3> <div class="taskboxtext"> <p>By default, Adium stores all of your chats locally. You might want to disable logging of chats on your computer entirely or just for OTR-encrypted chats or specific accounts.
</p> <li>Open preferences, select the
<strong>General
</strong> pane.
</li> <li>Tick the appropriate checkboxes.
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