Idea: Namecoin eMail

phelix
Posts: 1634
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:59 am

Idea: Namecoin eMail

Post by phelix »

1.) register an eMail account at some random free eMail hoster
2.) include the address in an ID
3.) send encrypted and signed mails "to an ID"
4.) only mails signed by an id are considered valid
5.) user should only need to deal with IDs, never with actual eMail addresses

Advantages:
* inherent key handling
* possibility to add spam prevention measures via proof of burn, wot
* one can switch mail hosters easily
* can use existing infrastructure (in contrast to bitmessage)

Implementation via Thunderbird plugin, standalone software, local eMail relay?
nx.bit - some namecoin stats
nf.bit - shortcut to this forum

johnc
Posts: 89
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 10:03 am

Re: Idea: Namecoin eMail

Post by johnc »

can nmcontrol theoretically sign/encrypt messages? that' would be great.

cassini
Posts: 336
Joined: Sun May 26, 2013 6:36 pm

Re: Idea: Namecoin eMail

Post by cassini »

phelix wrote:Implementation via Thunderbird plugin, standalone software, local eMail relay?
Using the wire protocol (no need to run a namecoin client)
or via RPCs (requires running a namecoin client)
or maybe even PoW-secured API?

biolizard89
Posts: 2001
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2012 6:25 am
os: linux

Re: Idea: Namecoin eMail

Post by biolizard89 »

Seems like most of this proposal could be implemented via a Namecoin id/ add-on to something like EnigMail.
Jeremy Rand, Lead Namecoin Application Engineer
NameID: id/jeremy
DyName: Dynamic DNS update client for .bit domains.

Donations: BTC 1EcUWRa9H6ZuWPkF3BDj6k4k1vCgv41ab8 ; NMC NFqbaS7ReiQ9MBmsowwcDSmp4iDznjmEh5

domob
Posts: 1129
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 11:27 am
Contact:

Re: Idea: Namecoin eMail

Post by domob »

biolizard89 wrote:Seems like most of this proposal could be implemented via a Namecoin id/ add-on to something like EnigMail.
Yes, that's something I would also love to see. Unfortunately, the Enigmail developers did not like the idea when I brought it up some time ago - so it has not much chances of being eventually merged in. (Not even "just" key handling via id/.)

Their argument was that Enigmail is supposed to be a front-end for GnuPG, and thus they only support things that are in GnuPG (with a UI added). GnuPG, on the other hand, is an implementation of the respective RFC. Thus, in effect, they said that we would need to get id/ into OpenPGP itself in order to be officially supported by Enigmail. I do not know how realistic that is (maybe it actually is), neither do I know how much effort it would be to maintain a fork of Enigmail.
BTC: 1domobKsPZ5cWk2kXssD8p8ES1qffGUCm | NMC: NCdomobcmcmVdxC5yxMitojQ4tvAtv99pY
BM-GtQnWM3vcdorfqpKXsmfHQ4rVYPG5pKS
Use your Namecoin identity as OpenID: https://nameid.org/

biolizard89
Posts: 2001
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2012 6:25 am
os: linux

Re: Idea: Namecoin eMail

Post by biolizard89 »

domob wrote:
biolizard89 wrote:Seems like most of this proposal could be implemented via a Namecoin id/ add-on to something like EnigMail.
Yes, that's something I would also love to see. Unfortunately, the Enigmail developers did not like the idea when I brought it up some time ago - so it has not much chances of being eventually merged in. (Not even "just" key handling via id/.)

Their argument was that Enigmail is supposed to be a front-end for GnuPG, and thus they only support things that are in GnuPG (with a UI added). GnuPG, on the other hand, is an implementation of the respective RFC. Thus, in effect, they said that we would need to get id/ into OpenPGP itself in order to be officially supported by Enigmail. I do not know how realistic that is (maybe it actually is), neither do I know how much effort it would be to maintain a fork of Enigmail.
How is retrieving keys from keyservers handled in Enigmail? Is that code actually part of GPG? If it's part of GPG, then yes, I think id/ support would need to be added to GPG. If not, then I don't follow the logic of the Enigmail devs.
Jeremy Rand, Lead Namecoin Application Engineer
NameID: id/jeremy
DyName: Dynamic DNS update client for .bit domains.

Donations: BTC 1EcUWRa9H6ZuWPkF3BDj6k4k1vCgv41ab8 ; NMC NFqbaS7ReiQ9MBmsowwcDSmp4iDznjmEh5

phelix
Posts: 1634
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:59 am

Re: Idea: Namecoin eMail

Post by phelix »

johnc wrote:can nmcontrol theoretically sign/encrypt messages? that' would be great.
You mean like the satoshi client? NMControl does not usually handle private or public keys.

The signing/encryption part should be easy to implement (Bitcointalk: Encrypt/decrypt arbitrary text using bitcoin keys!)
nx.bit - some namecoin stats
nf.bit - shortcut to this forum

kresp0
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 5:40 pm
os: linux

Re: Idea: Namecoin eMail

Post by kresp0 »

biolizard89 wrote:How is retrieving keys from keyservers handled in Enigmail? Is that code actually part of GPG?
Yes

biolizard89
Posts: 2001
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2012 6:25 am
os: linux

Re: Idea: Namecoin eMail

Post by biolizard89 »

kresp0 wrote:
biolizard89 wrote:How is retrieving keys from keyservers handled in Enigmail? Is that code actually part of GPG?
Yes
Thanks for that info. So it sounds like adding id/ to GPG would be the logical step. Maybe there would be a way to have NMControl follow the keyserver protocol, so that GPG doesn't need changes itself?
Jeremy Rand, Lead Namecoin Application Engineer
NameID: id/jeremy
DyName: Dynamic DNS update client for .bit domains.

Donations: BTC 1EcUWRa9H6ZuWPkF3BDj6k4k1vCgv41ab8 ; NMC NFqbaS7ReiQ9MBmsowwcDSmp4iDznjmEh5

kresp0
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 5:40 pm
os: linux

Re: Idea: Namecoin eMail

Post by kresp0 »

biolizard89 wrote:Thanks for that info. So it sounds like adding id/ to GPG would be the logical step. Maybe there would be a way to have NMControl follow the keyserver protocol, so that GPG doesn't need changes itself?
I guess that it may be possible to have an id/ keyserver to retrieve keys. When someone ask for a key, the server would search, download and verify the key based on the blockchain information and then upload it to the client.

But, what about submitting a key to the server? The server would verify and store the key, sure. But how is that reflected on the blockchain? A write operation has some cost. Who pays it? Maybe some rich namecoiner could afford to sponsor a server. Or the MIT Digital Currency Initiative, as they (MIT) also have a nice PGP keyserver :roll:

Another problem submitting keys is where to store them. If I verify your identity and key fingerprint and sign your key, where on the blockchain should that information go? Should that information be on the blockchain at all? The keyserver cannot touch id/user as they do not have the private key. Maybe the server should create another identity to put there a link and fingerprint to the received signed keys?

After 2 minutes of thought, I think that a id/ keyserver which acts like a normal gpg keyserver but also just read the information on the blockchain could be useful enough. In the example before, the server would verify and upload the keys to the rest of normal keyservers. It may also scan the whole blockchain and upload the valid keys to the public keyservers if they are not already there.

Post Reply