Re: [Tails-dev] Firefox extension for downloading Tails

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Author: sajolida
Date:  
To: The Tails public development discussion list, giorgio
Subject: Re: [Tails-dev] Firefox extension for downloading Tails
Giorgio Maone wrote:
> Hi everybody.
>
> The blueprint should be enough for me to start hacking a prototype together.
>
> If nobody has suggestions, I'd propose to call the extension with the
> catchy (!) name of "Tails Catcher".
>
> I'd just add that a future version might embed tails developer's key and
> perform OpenPGP authentication itself.


I didn't put that idea on the blueprint so far, for the following reasons:

- OpenPGP for verifying our ISO image is only stronger than SHA256 if
the WoT is used to build strong trust in the signing key. Otherwise, you
might as well get an HTTPS MitM while receiving the key, as much as
while receiving the hash.
- Our past experience with Firegpg [1] taught us that doing GPG inside
of a browser is usually a bad idea. The same might not apply to an ISO
verification but I would check this very carefully before going this way.
- I don't know how portable it would be to do such GPG operations from
inside the browser. Would the user need to have GPG installed on their
Windows or Mac OS X? Would we ship a GPG ourselves? All those options
sounds scary to me :)

Those are the reasons why I'm not convinced by that idea. We might also
want to further discuss the role of the OpenPGP verification in the
broad installation process with UX people. But anyway, that discussion
shouldn't block in any way the first implementation...

[1]:
https://tails.boum.org/doc/encryption_and_privacy/FireGPG_susceptible_to_devastating_attacks/index.en.html

--
sajolida