In essence, data is only exchanged between friends, although it is possible that the ultimate source and destination of a given transfer are multiple friends apart. File transfer is carried on using a multi-hop swarming system (inspired by the "Turtle Hopping" feature from the Turtle F2F project, but implemented differently). It is possible to share folders between friends. IPv6 support was merged into the master branch and will be released in the next version. Friends of friends cannot connect by default, but they can see each other, if the users allow it. After authentication and exchanging an asymmetric key, OpenSSL is used to establish a connection, and for end-to-end encryption. Authentication and ConnectivityĪfter initial installation, the user generates a pair of (GPG) cryptographic keys with RetroShare. ![]() Users can communicate indirectly through mutual friends and request direct connections. RetroShare is an instant messaging and file sharing network that uses a distributed hash table for address discovery. In August 2015, RetroShare repository was migrated from SourceForge to GitHub. It lost a point because there has not been a recent independent code audit. On November 4, 2014, RetroShare scored 6 out of 7 points on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's secure messaging scorecard. The web site 'PRISM Break' has recommended RetroShare for anonymous file sharing since 2013. Just keep in mind that there will be quite an initial learning curve as you figure out how everything works.There has been an unofficial build for the single-board computer Raspberry Pi, named PiShare, since 2012. If you and a group of friends would like to also have a more private place, though, somewhere unmonitored, just for you, then it could work very well indeed. Plainly RetroShare still isn't going to replace your other social network accounts. A left-hand panel includes links to common functions like the instant messenger, or file sharing, and a couple of wizards do a reasonable job of helping you get started. A toolbar gives you easy to all RetroShare's key features, listing your friends, taking you to group chat rooms, displaying shared files, forums, channels and more. This isn't quite as polished as regular social networks, then - but it's not really so difficult to use, either. ![]() This is easy to do (it takes one click), but they just use an alarming "RetroShare has detected an unregistered plugin" apparent error message which will probably leave some users thinking there's a security issue. On first launch, for instance, it detects any plugins you've installed and asks you to authorise them, much like Firefox with a new extension. This isn't actually that difficult (creating a key is just a matter of filling in a form, for instance), and you only have to do it once, but it's undeniably more complicated than using Facebook.Īnd we found several other situations where RetroShare made few concessions to beginners. You'll need to generate a GPG key to establish your identity, for instance, then exchange it with friends to authenticate the connection. If you're thinking this sounds a little complex to set up, then you have a point, to a degree. And because the system is decentralised - there's no central server control everything - and RetroShare's connections are encrypted with GPG (GNU Privacy Guard), you can be sure that no-one else will get to monitor what you're saying or sharing, not even the RetroShare developers. ![]() So you have to explicitly add someone before you can connect to them at all. But you're only connected to trusted friends/ family/ work colleagues (or whoever else you want to invite). The features are very similar, so you can share your news, read what's going on with other people, post on forums, use instant messaging and voice chat, share files, folders and more. The program is what the developers call a "secure social network". RetroShare is a powerful tool which allows you to chat, share files and otherwise communicate with a group of trusted friends.
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