[tor-dev] Hidden Service authorization UI

Griffin Boyce griffin at cryptolab.net
Mon Nov 10 02:16:40 UTC 2014


On 2014-11-09 15:30, Fabio Pietrosanti - lists wrote:
> On 11/9/14 8:58 PM, Jacob Appelbaum wrote:
>>> For example, it would be interesting if TBB would allow people to
>>> input a password/pubkey upon visiting a protected HS. Protected HSes
>>> can be recognized by looking at the "authentication-required" field 
>>> of
>>> the HS descriptor. Typing your password on the browser is much more
>>> useable than editing a config file.
>> That sounds interesting.
> 
> Also i love this idea but i would suggest to preserve the copy&paste
> self-authenticated URL property of TorHS, also in presence of 
> authorization.

   I'm conflicted about this idea.  Much better for usability ~but~ there 
should be an option for authenticated hidden services that want to *not* 
prompt and instead fail silently if the key isn't in the torrc (or 
x.y.onion url, depending on the design).

   Use case: if someone finds my hidden service url written in my planner 
while traveling across the border, they might visit it to see what it 
contains. If it offers a prompt, then they know it exists and can press 
me for the auth key (perhaps with an M4 carbine).  If there's no prompt 
and the request fails, then perhaps it "used to exist" a long time ago, 
or I wrote down an example URL.

best,
Griffin

-- 
"I believe that usability is a security concern; systems that do
not pay close attention to the human interaction factors involved
risk failing to provide security by failing to attract users."
~Len Sassaman


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