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Getting started

Read the following and you'll be able to set up your own CryptoBox within half an hour.

It's pretty straight forward as we're always trying to make things as easy as possible for you.

Step by Step

  1. You need:
    • an old computer (remove the dust first)
    • this PC needs a network card and a CD drive
    • a medium to store your files on (e.g. a harddisk)
    • we will call this PC from now on CryptoBox-PC
  2. You don't need:
    • a monitor, keyboard and mouse (with one exception, see below).
    • deeper knowledge of cryptography or server administration
  3. Download the latest version of the CryptoBox live-CD from CodeCoop. It's an ~100MB iso-image.
  4. Burn the iso-image onto a CD.
  5. Connect the CryptoBox-PC to your local area network.
  6. Configure the CryptoBox-PC, so that it can boot the live-CD. Therefore you may have to enter the BIOS and configure the CD-ROM as boot device.
  7. Put the burned CryptoBox live-CD into the CD drive and start the CryptoBox-PC.
  8. Now go to your current desktop computer which must be connected to the same network as the CryptoBox-PC is and point your browser to http://192.168.0.23.

Now, if you see a website similar to the screenshots you're ready. :) Congratulations! Otherwise check the last steps again and take a look in the caveats section below.

Follow this link for further user documentation. There you'll find a detailed desription, how to work with the CryptoBox.

Some sites of your brand new CryptoBox require an administrative password. The default is admin as username _and_ as password. For your own sake change this as soon as possible (under "Preferences" -> "Users").

Hints

  • The CryptoBox has an integrated help system. Enable it by clicking on the top-right help icon. It displays some useful tips. You can disable it again, as soon as you know how things work.
  • The CryptoBox-PC should at least have a 200MHz CPU and 64MB RAM (rule of thumb: bought after 1997)
  • Every modern PC system should work as a CryptoBox-PC. Try to get one with low energy consumption, there is not much CPU performance necessary.
  • The data storage media can be an internal harddisk or any external drive.
  • You can change external drives while the !CryptoBox-PC is running or even leave it running without a connected drive at all.
  • The "drive" may also be a USB-stick, firewire-disk, flash-drive, MMC/SD-card, MP3-player or a digital camera.
  • If you are going to buy a new harddisk and are using a very, very old PC as CryptoBox, please keep in mind that it probably cannot handle current disk sizes!

Caveats

  • Some old PCs are not able to boot from CD drives. In this case you cannot use it as CryptoBox.
  • If you want to change the default boot device but don't know what a BIOS is, ask somebody for help! It doesn't hurt. ;)
  • To configure the BIOS, you need a keyboard and a monitor. But this has to be done only once.
  • Don't forget to connect your PC to your local area network! Also don't forget to connect your desktop computer to the same network, if it isn't yet.
  • Make sure your desktop computer has a 192.168.0.x IP address (at least for the first configuration). If this says nothing to you, again ask somebody for help!
  • If you're unsure about the network, you can also try to connect the CryptoBox-PC and your desktop computer directly with a crossover network cable.

Move on to further user documentation.

Or go back to user documentation overview.