X-Git-Url: http://git.chise.org/gitweb/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=README;h=9fdf6d79baa5ea1ab9c28e271c4829f29bc2bc0e;hb=93ea9862c87f44d904ed46c383f6f395afcb082d;hp=419ceb8b7a416c78d54ca97e4f0cec581cb52589;hpb=06f54b07e67f27977600a6e6ed18200ff46ad946;p=elisp%2Fepg.git diff --git a/README b/README index 419ceb8..9fdf6d7 100644 --- a/README +++ b/README @@ -1,39 +1,57 @@ * What's this? -EasyPG is yet another GnuPG interface for Emacs. It consists of two -parts: transparent file encryption utility and easy-to-use elisp -library to interact with GnuPG. +EasyPG is yet another GnuPG interface for Emacs. It consists of two parts: + +- "The EasyPG Assistant" which provides basic GUI of GnuPG +- "The EasyPG Library" which enables use of various features of GnuPG + +NOTE: EasyPG is neither a fork nor a re-implementation of Gnus/PGG. * Requirements -** GNU Emacs 21.4 or later -** XEmacs 21.4 or later -** GnuPG 1.4.3 or later +** GNU Emacs 21.4 or XEmacs 21.4 + +** GnuPG 1.4.3 * Quick start -(0) Put (require 'epg-file) in your ~/.emacs.el +** Installation + + $ ./configure + $ sudo make install + +Add the following line to your ~/.emacs + + (require 'epa-setup) + +Then you can browse your keyring by `M-x epa-list-keys'. In addition, +you can do some cryptographic operations on dired. + + M-x dired + (mark some files) + : e (or M-x epg-dired-do-encrypt) + (select recipients and click [OK]) -(1) Restart emacs +* Security consideration -(2) C-x C-f ~/test.gpg +There are security pitfalls around Emacs. -* Advantages over other competitors +** Passphrase may leak to a temporary file. -** EasyPG avoides potential security flaws of Emacs. +`call-process-region' writes data in region to a temporary file. +The EasyPG Library does not use `call-process-region' to communicate with a gpg +subprocess. -*** `call-process-region' writes data in region to a temporary file. -PGG and gpg.el use `call-process-region' to communicate with a -subprocess "gpg". So, your passphrases may leak to the filesystem. +** Passphrase may be stolen from a core file. -*** There is no way to clear strings safely. -To prevent passphrases from been stealing from cores, `read-passwd' -function clears passphrase strings by `(fillarray string 0)'. -However, it is not enough. Emacs does compaction of small strings in -GC sweep phase. If GC happens before `fillarray', passphrase strings -may be copied elsewhere in the memory. PGG and gpg.el enables -passphrase caching by default. +If Emacs crashes and dumps core, Lisp strings in memory are also +dumped within the core file. `read-passwd' function clears passphrase +strings by `(fillarray string 0)'. However, Emacs performs compaction +in gc_sweep phase. If GC happens before `fillarray', passphrase +strings may be moved elsewhere in memory. Therefore, passphrase +caching in elisp is generally a bad idea. -** Most GnuPG features are accessible from Emacs -As the name says, EasyPG is inspired by GPGME (GnuPG Made Easy), and -the API is close to GPGME. \ No newline at end of file +The EasyPG Library dares to disable passphrase caching. Fortunately, +there is more secure way to cache passphrases - use gpg-agent. Elisp +programs can set `epg-context-passphrase-callback' to cache user's +passphrases, it is not recommended though.