Sometimes we want better-than-firewall security for things. For instance:| changelog.complete.org
What is Filespooler? Filespooler lets you request the remote execution of programs, including stdin and environment. It can use tools such as S3, Dropbox, Syncthing, NNCP, ssh, UUCP, USB drives, CDs, etc. as transport; basically, a filesystem is the network for Filespooler. Filespooler is particularly suited to distributed and Asynchronous Communication. Filespooler is a tool in the Unix tradition of “do one thing and do it well.” It is designed to integrate nicely with decoders (to handl...| www.complete.org
LoRa radios are very long-range (multiple miles/km) using small antennas and very low power. In exchange for this, they give up speed; the longest-range LoRa modes operate at only around 300bps. My lorapipe program aims to provide some nice Unixy interfaces to LoRa. See also XBee SX; those radios are similar, but offer hardware meshing and some additional nice properties. I have written quite a bit about LoRa; see my blog series about LoRa.| www.complete.org
Anything that uses encryption to keep content away from spying eyes. End-to-end encryption is the best, because there need be no trusted intermediary. Some software projects are always fully end-to-end encrypted. Examples include NNCP, Syncthing, Yggdrasil, and Gemini. For more on encryption, see: OpenPGP tools: GnuPG (GPG) Sequoia PGP Age (Encryption) signify (not encryption, but cryptographic authentication) Links to this note Encrypting Filespooler Jobs With Age Like the process described ...| www.complete.org
Email is one of the most common examples of Asynchronous Communication people are familiar with today. It is a store-and-forward approach which is tolerant of temporary disruptions to services and supports multiple hops. Email is also a distributed system, supporting many different servers and providers. However, market forces have caused Google and Microsoft to have an outsized influence on email, and their algorithms and policies make it increasingly difficult for independent mail servers t...| www.complete.org
I sometimes see people read about NNCP and wonder “This sounds great! But… what can I do with it?” This page aims to answer those questions. Either before or after reading this page, you might find these three pages useful: NNCP NNCP Concepts Getting Started with NNCP Asynchronous Communication A Quick Word on Background NNCP frees you from the tyranny of online. Compared to something like ssh, with NNCP, you trade latency for reliability and flexibility.| www.complete.org
“Airgap” refers to a computer (or network) that is physically disconnected from a larger network and the Internet. This word originated in the pre-wifi days, when there was literally air between machines; that is, no connecting communication cables. Nowadays, it also refers to a lack of radio (wifi or otherwise) communication. That is, it is complete physical isolation. Airgapped systems are often desirable in situations where Computer Security is important. For instance:| www.complete.org
A mobile phone operating system based on the Linux kernel. You can do some interesting stuff on it with Termux. Links to this note NNCP on Android To use NNCP on Android, we need a way to build and run it. The easiest option for that is Termux. Building an Asynchronous, Internet-Optional Instant Messaging System I loaded up this title with buzzwords. The basic idea is that IM systems shouldn’t have to only use the Internet.| www.complete.org
GnuPG (also known by its command name, gpg) is a tool primarily for public key Encryption and cryptographic authentication. Homepage: https://www.gnupg.org There is a lot of material about GnuPG out there, so I won’t be duplicating it all here. But, I do have some more unique contributions for those familiar with GnuPG: There are alternatives to gpg/gpgv that may be useful in some cases: Age (Encryption) for encryption and signify for authentication.| www.complete.org
“OK,” you’re probably thinking. “John, you talk a lot about things like Gopher and personal radios, and now you want to talk about building a reliable network out of… USB drives?” Well, yes. In fact, I’ve already done it. What is sneakernet? Normally, “sneakernet” is a sort of tongue-in-cheek reference to using disconnected storage to transport data or messages. By “disconnect storage” I mean anything like CD-ROMs, hard drives, SD cards, USB drives, and so forth.| www.complete.org