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authorLars Magne Ingebrigtsen2014-11-24 18:29:47 +0100
committerLars Magne Ingebrigtsen2014-11-24 18:30:01 +0100
commite22f5c07d8bf514283221f337afb1ef7ca1cd2b8 (patch)
tree91196adce8b26025e3179d371c382043d8b4d04c /doc/lispref
parentb3b0b0971db990a39d1bf521a5c9dc604111ea89 (diff)
downloademacs-e22f5c07d8bf514283221f337afb1ef7ca1cd2b8.tar.gz
emacs-e22f5c07d8bf514283221f337afb1ef7ca1cd2b8.zip
Moved the Network Security Manager to the Emacs manual
* misc.texi (Gnus Summary Buffer): Moved the Network Security Manager stuff here from the lispref manual.
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/lispref')
-rw-r--r--doc/lispref/ChangeLog2
-rw-r--r--doc/lispref/elisp.texi1
-rw-r--r--doc/lispref/processes.texi103
3 files changed, 2 insertions, 104 deletions
diff --git a/doc/lispref/ChangeLog b/doc/lispref/ChangeLog
index 57c5c65a96a..b0da266d53a 100644
--- a/doc/lispref/ChangeLog
+++ b/doc/lispref/ChangeLog
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
3 * processes.texi (Network Security): Made into its own section and 3 * processes.texi (Network Security): Made into its own section and
4 fleshed out. 4 fleshed out.
5 (Network Security): Mention more NSM variables. 5 (Network Security): Mention more NSM variables.
6 (Processes): Moved the Network Security Manager stuff to the Emacs
7 manual.
6 8
72014-11-23 Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org> 92014-11-23 Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org>
8 10
diff --git a/doc/lispref/elisp.texi b/doc/lispref/elisp.texi
index 754140e587c..fa665da34a4 100644
--- a/doc/lispref/elisp.texi
+++ b/doc/lispref/elisp.texi
@@ -1299,7 +1299,6 @@ Processes
1299* System Processes:: Accessing other processes running on your system. 1299* System Processes:: Accessing other processes running on your system.
1300* Transaction Queues:: Transaction-based communication with subprocesses. 1300* Transaction Queues:: Transaction-based communication with subprocesses.
1301* Network:: Opening network connections. 1301* Network:: Opening network connections.
1302* Network Security:: Managing the network security.
1303* Network Servers:: Network servers let Emacs accept net connections. 1302* Network Servers:: Network servers let Emacs accept net connections.
1304* Datagrams:: UDP network connections. 1303* Datagrams:: UDP network connections.
1305* Low-Level Network:: Lower-level but more general function 1304* Low-Level Network:: Lower-level but more general function
diff --git a/doc/lispref/processes.texi b/doc/lispref/processes.texi
index c93288f2028..0952cc15f03 100644
--- a/doc/lispref/processes.texi
+++ b/doc/lispref/processes.texi
@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@ Processes}.
52* System Processes:: Accessing other processes running on your system. 52* System Processes:: Accessing other processes running on your system.
53* Transaction Queues:: Transaction-based communication with subprocesses. 53* Transaction Queues:: Transaction-based communication with subprocesses.
54* Network:: Opening network connections. 54* Network:: Opening network connections.
55* Network Security:: Managing the network security.
56* Network Servers:: Network servers let Emacs accept net connections. 55* Network Servers:: Network servers let Emacs accept net connections.
57* Datagrams:: UDP network connections. 56* Datagrams:: UDP network connections.
58* Low-Level Network:: Lower-level but more general function 57* Low-Level Network:: Lower-level but more general function
@@ -2074,108 +2073,6 @@ The connection type: @samp{plain} or @samp{tls}.
2074@end defun 2073@end defun
2075 2074
2076 2075
2077@node Network Security
2078@section Network Security
2079@cindex Network Security Manager
2080@cindex encryption
2081@cindex SSL
2082@cindex TLS
2083@cindex STARTTLS
2084
2085After establishing a network connection, the connection is then passed
2086on to the Network Security Manager (@acronym{NSM}).
2087
2088@vindex network-security-level
2089The @code{network-security-level} variable determines the security
2090level. If this is @code{low}, no security checks are performed.
2091
2092If this variable is @code{medium} (which is the default), a number of
2093checks will be performed. If the @acronym{NSM} determines that the
2094network connection might be unsafe, the user is made aware of this,
2095and the @acronym{NSM} will ask the user what to do about the network
2096connection.
2097
2098The user is given the choice of registering a permanent security
2099exception, a temporary one, or whether to refuse the connection
2100entirely.
2101
2102Below is a list of the checks done on the @code{medium} level.
2103
2104@table @asis
2105
2106@item unable to verify a @acronym{TLS} certificate
2107If the connection is a @acronym{TLS}, @acronym{SSL} or
2108@acronym{STARTTLS} connection, the @acronym{NSM} will check whether
2109the certificate used to establish the identity of the server we're
2110connecting to can be verified.
2111
2112While an invalid certificate is often the cause for concern (there may
2113be a Man-in-the-Middle hijacking your network connection and stealing
2114your password), there may be valid reasons for going ahead with the
2115connection anyway.
2116
2117For instance, the server may be using a self-signed certificate, or
2118the certificate may have expired. It's up to the user to determine
2119whether it's acceptable to continue the connection.
2120
2121@item a self-signed certificate has changed
2122If you've previously accepted a self-signed certificate, but it has
2123now changed, that either means that the server has just changed the
2124certificate, or this might mean that the network connection has been
2125hijacked.
2126
2127@item previously encrypted connection now unencrypted
2128If the connection is unencrypted, but it was encrypted in previous
2129sessions, this might mean that there is a proxy between you and the
2130server that strips away @acronym{STARTTLS} announcements, leaving the
2131connection unencrypted. This is usually very suspicious.
2132
2133@item talking to an unencrypted service when sending a password
2134When connecting to an @acronym{IMAP} or @acronym{POP3} server, these
2135should usually be encrypted, because it's common to send passwords
2136over these connections. Similarly, if you're sending email via
2137@acronym{SMTP} that requires a password, you usually want that
2138connection to be encrypted. If the connection isn't encrypted, the
2139@acronym{NSM} will warn you.
2140
2141@end table
2142
2143If @code{network-security-level} is @code{high}, the following checks
2144will be made:
2145
2146@table @asis
2147@item a validated certificate changes the public key
2148Servers change their keys occasionally, and that is normally nothing
2149to be concerned about. However, if you are worried that your network
2150connections are being hijacked by agencies who have access to pliable
2151Certificate Authorities that issue new certificates for third-party
2152services, you may want to keep track of these changes.
2153@end table
2154
2155Finally, if @code{network-security-level} is @code{paranoid}, you will
2156also be notified the first time the @acronym{NSM} sees any new
2157certificate. This will allow you to inspect all the certificates from
2158all the connections that Emacs makes.
2159
2160The following additional variables can be used to control
2161@acronym{NSM} details.
2162
2163@table @code
2164@item nsm-settings-file
2165@vindex nsm-settings-file
2166The @acronym{NSM} stores details on the connections in this file. It
2167defaults to @file{~/.emacs.d/network-security.data}.
2168
2169@item nsm-save-host-names
2170@vindex nsm-save-host-names
2171By default, host names will not be saved per non-@code{STARTTLS}
2172connection. Instead a host/port hash is used to identify connections.
2173This means that one can't casually read the settings file to see what
2174servers the user has connected to. If this variable is @code{t}, host
2175names will be saved in the file, too.
2176@end table
2177
2178
2179@node Network Servers 2076@node Network Servers
2180@section Network Servers 2077@section Network Servers
2181@cindex network servers 2078@cindex network servers