[ls15]

> Feel like XY Problem - there's probably a simpler, better solution for a slightly more specific (or even just attempted-to-be-specified-at-all) problem statement.

Problem:

Share content between two random devices without having to install an app, having to share the content with a third party or having to have a verified (by third party) identity.

Or alternatively, what's a quick way to share a file with a random person that I meet on the street without unnecessary friction or leaving unnecessary traces.

What's the best solution for this?

[feross]

https://wormhole.app

Disclosure: I built this

[tauwauwau]

Where is the file stored, I looked at the security-design page and it says hat it's uploaded to Backblaze and there's some reference to torrent creation, I'm not sure I get it

[Renaud]

And I thank you for it! I’ve been pushing it to anyone who has a need and I use it myself to safely exchange files across machines that are behind vpns and firewalls at work.

It’s pretty fast too!

My only comment is that I wished there was a way to choose to keep the files a couple more days (had the issue with sending files to my nephew who couldn’t get them straight away and then the link expired once he was able to use it, after class, the next day).

But 24h is probably the sweet spot.

[stavros]

Does this use the Magic Wormhole protocol?

[ignoramous]

Not really: https://archive.is/OFN8x#selection-569.0-569.12

[jckahn]

I’m building a serverless, ephemeral, private chat app that you could accomplish this with: https://chitchatter.im/

[ignoramous]

This is super neat!

[jckahn]

Thank you! I just wrote up how it works: https://dev.to/jeremyckahn/taking-the-power-back-with-web-me...

[vineyardmike]

> alternatively, what's a quick way to share a file with a random person that I meet on the street without unnecessary friction or leaving unnecessary traces.

There’s a lot of things that cumulatively make this hard. Some of them are “social” more than technical, and some are technically hard because of society. But importantly, people have made webpages that just p2p link two devices (eg wormhole).

Generally, no one wants to be the third party to facilitate anonymous, easy content sharing. Because people do bad things with such power. Due to the way most people consume the internet, everything is behind NATs and we’ve exhausted the IP(4) space, so p2p is pretty hard, but doable especially with a signaling server. It’s really hard to leave no trace because again, no one wants to be anonymous really, and pseudonymous tools like BitTorrent still leave subtle traces in the DHT.

> What's the best solution for this?

First, define “unnecessary”. But then…

Probably to change your criteria. I’ve never been in or can imagine a (legal and good for society) situation where I needed truly anonymous file sharing, without any ability to install anything, at a moments notice.

If you’re eg sharing with a journalist, you can take time to install software, or host content for download, or upload content to them, even if you needed to be anonymous.

If you need to it be on the street in a moment, no time for an app, you can probably just share an email or Google drive link.

If you can’t install anything, and you can’t use a 3rd party server, you should just hand them an SD card with the content. You already need to be in person to exchange public keys and hashes and whatnot.

The only true use case I can imagine needing so many anonymous protections is to share… bad media files that shouldn’t be shared with people who want them.

> Share content between two random devices

Easy… Dropbox, SFTP, torrents, USB drive etc

> without having to install an app

You’re limited to built in tools only. So either trust SMS or email, or use a browser. Either way, you need a third party server to relay the content or the software (email server, or server to host a webpage et ).

You can use Dropbox etc, you can use web torrent. You can email. USB drive.

> without having to share the content with a third party

Ok… less tools already available, you can still use webtorrent but you’ll need to exchange the magnet link and the content hashed would be in a DHT. Sorta a 3rd party but you can minimize actual content leak.

Knowing I’d the server (or other party) is logging a lot of data is question you might not be able to know.

Also a usb drive.

> having to have a verified (by third party) identity

I wouldn’t host a service without identities but at this point you have options already in the p2p space. IPFS, web torrent, p2p chat services, DAT, a bunch of things exist.

I don’t think the use case of this project is to share clipboard data with a VM. Especially not if you’re hosting the VM yourself (“clipboard access” implies you’re using the host). That’s an option in the readme BUT… why do all that? You don’t really need encrypted traffic, or identities, etc.

This project is probably for learning purposes of the developer, which is great, but I don’t know what actually use case I’d find for it is.

[mihanentalpo]

Hello! Creator of cryptobard.io here :)

> I don’t think the use case of this project is to share clipboard data with a VM. Especially not if you’re hosting the VM yourself (“clipboard access” implies you’re using the host). That’s an option in the readme BUT… why do all that? You don’t really need encrypted traffic, or identities, etc.

I have several years experience of working with contractor, who gave us access to their infrastructure by giving remote access to terminal windows server on VMWare Horizon. And there was NO clipboard sharing, files sending or folders mounting features enabled. We couldn't install any software, and user account (and all the machine) regulary was wiped and reinstalled from ground (on weekly basis). So, this service was created exactly for this situation.

Encryption is needed because of data passed into and out of VM is sensitive (passwords, logfiles, partial DB dumps), and my co-workers sometimes used insecure services, like cl1p.net for the same purpose. So, I written this tool in my free time :)

I'll add this explanation to README, as for me it looked obvious :)

[Eleison23]

https://xkcd.com/949/