Client Configurations for LES DUMMIES

Introduction

Reliable source of stats and keys is fundamental to safe and reliable remailing.
After you just installed your favorite new client, read the docs, you pressed the buttons or you let time do its work:
your keyrings got updated.
Let us make it clear: they probably got ruined.
Because the pingers referenced from 'out of the box' were probably obsolete:
they link to offline or unmaintained keyrings which in turn loaded your keyring with obsolete and dead keys:
a tribute to the memory of remops along the years
but nothing usable
perhaps something dangerous because they would compete with genuine keys
Replacing in your client the links to dead pingers by links to operational sources of stats/keys is the first step to avoid endless frustration and mail loss.

The different types of stats and keys

You can understand that Cpunk and Mixmaster are different animals:
      they have keys which look different
      the messages sent look different
      those things don't mix and you understand that
           (actually, they do: it is called hybrid remailers, transparent-remixing and so forth)
           (but let us not make you confused, and let us keep things simple)
So: Cpunk Stats are about Cpunk (Cypherpunk) remailers, and Mix Stats about Mix (Mixmaster) remailers.

You can also understand the difference between .txt and .html, (plaintext and prettier)

I just have to add that a new way to display data, more complete, has been ironed out and called V2,
and you will get the whole picture: there are 8 different kinds of direct stats, (besides 'Chain' Stats),
like in Frog's Main Page.

The problem is that not every client understands every kind of stats:
   some will not understand anything but 'V1 Mix .html'
   while others will be happier with 'V2 Cpunk .txt'
Names are more or less normalized, but that 'less' hurts:
   you better remember what kind of stats data your client requires,
   rather than the specific name used by this specific pinger
        'V2 Mix .html' is here to stay longer than 'MyMixSta2.html'.

It is even worse with PGP keys:
   there is no normalization at all about pure-RSA, pure-DSS and RSA+DSS keyrings.
And about mix keys, which generally require 2 files, it is all too easy to put or miss an extra 't' in the name...

Bottom line: you will have to:
   remember the type of stats and keys your client requires
   choose a pinger (check that he holds what you are looking for)
   collect the name and location of the desired item, directly from a place like All Pingers's or 'competitors'.

The Clients

The pages available from here will give you
     - for your favorite Client
     - for each of the essential configuration screens

     - a 'ScreenShot' for a global vision
     - a 'Text' part which you will be able to copy-paste into your client

JBN1	Jack B. Nymble 1.3.6
JBN2	Jack B. Nymble 2.1.4
QS	QuickSilver
PI	Private Idaho

JBN2 Quicker Start.

If it is a first-time JBN2 install, you might enjoy the JBN2 Quickstart.

Client Configurations for LES DUMMIES

Introduction

The different types of stats and keys

The Clients

JBN2 Quicker Start.

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