This section of the manual deals with how to use Pryvit Professional to share information
safely.
Assume that someone has privatized a set of files and has posted them to hidden places
on the Internet. Examples:
A department in a company distributes information periodically to its employees.
A teacher circulates assignments to a class.
A magazine invites paid subscriptions to an electronic edition.
Let's assume that the author / distributor of the information has already let
the right people know that the information is (or will become) available. This notice can be handled in
any accustomed way -- face to face, mass e-mail, posting on a web site. The only difference is that the notice
includes the identifier (that ten digit telephone-like number) of the computer that will be used to share
access. Computer IDs need not be secret, so it is easy to include that extra piece of information.
With Pryvit, the next step is for each of the intended recipients (department employees,
students in a class, etc.) to identify themselves and the computers that they will use. The open hand icon on
the Pryvit Professional toolbar launches the dialog and creates the request. The
request takes the form of a simple little file as in this example:
All security systems have their weaknesses. The vulnerability in Pryvit sharing is in
the handling of this little request file. If it is kept secure, the rest is easy. The safest way is to hand
the file directly to the person who will supply the information. The next best is for the information author
/ distributor to maintain a secure web page into which the requesting party can copy / paste the little request file.
A low security method is to e-mail it; that's okay only when the information is of less value than the costs
to a hacker to intercept both the request and the response, and to decipher from the request how to use the
response.
In the sharing stage, the author / distributor sorts through the requests, decides
who shall receive the files, and sends out to each one a special version of the reconstitution file that
will work on the recipient's computer (and on no other computer).
If the sharing is to be repeated, the same request file may be used over and over
again. In very high security situations, it may be advisable to renew the requests periodically, provided the
request file may be conveyed in a way that does not compromise security. (Face-to-face is best.)
What if there are to be ongoing two-way communications? Once the author / distributor
has a request file, she can transmit a request file very easily to the person who sent the first request.
Can you guess how?
