SSL Help

Why is SSL important?:
Without SSL everything sent to or from a muck is in plaintext, meaning passwords and activity. In order to keep the information safe, SSL secures your connection to the muck server. When everyone uses SSL, it means information transferred to or from the muck will be secure for the most part. If only some people used it, and others didn't it could expose plaintext information. In order to respect everyone's information, communications, and privacy SSL is a good practice to implement. Not just on mucks but when you transmit / receive email or visit a webpage. Example when a URL contains https:// AP only accepts SSL connections. In order to connect via SSL you need to use a compatible client (See getting started) Or you'll need to configure your system to connect in a special way.

The encrypted port is at ap.dipterous.org, port 8889.

= Introduction = ap will be moving to 100% SSL connections on 03/15/19. This means clients which do not support SSL will need to be upgraded, connected using an encryption gateway, or switched to a newer client. The web client always uses SSL.

The upgrade is being done because using unencrypted connections means anyone - telecom companies, coffee shops, airports, school, your neighbor, etc - can eavesdrop on what you do or say on ap. Essentially, when you are not using an unencrypted connection, everything you type could in theory be seen by anyone. While some people claim not to be bothered by this, most would rather communications remain private. As ap has always been on the forefront of privacy and security, this is the next logical step. We've had an SSL port long before most MUCKs supported it.

A lot of thought went into making this decision. It was not going to move forward unless viable workarounds were provided for essentially everyone on the MUCK. With that said, the sections below detail workarounds for your specific platform(s), if your current clients do not support encryption.

== Windows ==
For Windows, the best option is BeipMU. This client is updated very frequently and the developers are extremely responsive. If you have windows 10, it is also available in the Windows Store for free. Just connect to port 8889 and indicate it is encrypted, and you're set.

Trebuchet Tk also supports SSL if you install the tcltls package. You may need to use the ActiveState TCL/TK Free Version interpreter and then use its Teapot package manager to install TLS. Other TCL/TK distributions may or may not have TLS support.

If you feel you are unable to switch to BeipMU or turn on Trebuchet encryption, you can use the Websocket gateway program Morticon wrote. Information is available in +read 6. It basically works like this:

* Download the ZIP file and extract in C:\ap or similar. URL is not provided here to prevent non-SD downloads.
* Run ap.bat. The command window must remain up the whole time you are on ap. It is safe to minimize the window.
* Connect your existing muck client to 127.0.0.1 port 8888.
* Done!

Even if you switch to BeipMU, you may still find the gateway program useful because it can handle bad/flaky connections.

If you really don't want to use the gateway program, you can try https://www.stunnel.org/ or https://nmap.org/ (for the ncat tool which comes with nmap). With either, the configuration works like this:

* When installing nmap, you should tell it not to install npcap, a packet sniffer. It's unnecessary and in theory could be a security risk. Stunnel does not have this issue.
* Nikon created a step-by-step guide to getting Stunnel working on Windows with ap. The screenshots show MushClient but any other client on Windows will work too.
* The remote host to connect to is ap.dipterous.org, port 8889 SSL.
* The local port should be 8888.
* Your MUCK client should connect to 127.0.0.1 port 8888.
For ncat in particular, this command should work:

* ncat -k -l localhost 8888 --sh-exec "ncat --ssl ap.dipterous.org 8889"

== Linux ==
Linux has multiple good options:

* Run BeipMU in WINE
* Download and manually compile the latest TinyFugue. It may also exist in package format for your distribution. Connect to port 8889 with -x to indicate encryption.
* KildClient supports encryption.
* Trebuchet Tk also supports SSL if you install the tcltls package. It should be available through your package manager, just like Tcl and Tk, which you need to run Trebuchet in the first place. On Mageia, the three packages are called `tcl`, `tk` and `tcltls`; in Debian, it's `tcl-tls` instead. So if you have Ubuntu or Mint, try `sudo apt-get install tcl tk tcl-tls` from the command line. Once you have it, look in the New World/Edit World dialog you can open from the File menu: on the third line, next to the port field, there's a checkbox labeled "encrypted port". Tick that and you should be good to go.
* You can also use ncat or stunnel, as detailed in the Windows section. Use your package manager to download it.
* If you connect to us via raw telnet, you can use the openssl to connect instead.
* Type: openssl s_client -connect ap.dipterous.org:8889

To set up a systemd service that will start a ncat-based SSL redirector when you log in with your user account. Copy the following into the file `~/.config/systemd/user/ap.service`

{{{ # ap.service
[Unit]
Description=ap SSL redirector
[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/ncat -k -l 8888 -e '/usr/bin/ncat --ssl-verify ap.dipterous.org 8889'
Restart=always
[Install]
WantedBy=basic.target
}}}

Now, enable the service by running the following commands in your shell: {{{ systemctl --user enable ap.service systemctl --user start ap.service }}}

At this point, change your client's settings to point to `localhost` instead of `ap.dipterous.org`, and new connections made to `localhost` will be sent on to the muck using SSL/TLS.

== MacOS ==
MacOS users can try Atlantis. A new version is in the works, and a beta version is available here. There is also a discussion on version 2.0 (PacketDancer is the program author).

If your current client does NOT currently support encryption (such as Savitar), you are strongly encouraged to email the developers and nicely ask for the support to get added.

UPDATE: Savitar has a thread going for version 2.0 improvements. If you use this client, please comment on it to reinforce that SSL is an important feature.

You may also be able to run BeipMU under WINE.

If you're comfortable with the commandline, you can download and manually compile the latest TinyFugue similar to the Linux instructions. You will have to enable SSL support.

MacOS users may be able to use Homebrew to install nmap (for ncat) or stunnel and then follow the Windows directions for those tools above.

== Android ==
Android users currently have no known clients in the Play store which directly support SSL. Users are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED to email program authors to add the support (try emailing dan@happygoatstudios.com if you use Blowtorch and want SSL). In the meantime, users can either use the web client or a proxy/tunneling program that will tunnel the connection from the existing client.

Android users can also try installing TinTin++ under Termux. (Use the `#ssl` command instead of `#session`.)

Some proxy/tunneling apps to allow using your existing client include (use at your own risk):

* TLS/SSL Tunnel (known to work with SD)
* Open the app
* Create a new tunnel, call it ap
* Connect to ap.dipterous.org:8889
* Local port 8888
* Don't touch the Root-Certificate field
* Make sure the first two checkboxes below are checked.
* You can try checking the third checkbox for extra security, but if it doesn't work then uncheck it.
* Hit save, then connect.
* In your MUCK client (Mukluk, Blowtorch, etc) edit your ap world. Set the host to 127.0.0.1 and the port to 8888.
* Connect your MUCK client. It should now work.
* Please note that if you move your phone across cells or different wifi networks, you may lose your connection. If this happens, close the connection in TLS/SSL Tunnel, and close then reopen the app. Reconnect to the ap tunnel and then reconnect in your MUCK client.
* SSLDroid
* You can install nmap in Termux and use the ncat directions under the Windows section.
* These will work similar to the Windows stunnel/ncat setup.

If none of these options appeal and you are comfortable installing apps outside of the play store, an older MUCK client that supports encryption can be found at http://downloadapk.net/down_MuClient.html . Please note this app is essentially unsupported and may stop working at any time. IMPORTANT NOTE: Do NOT use the version found on the Amazon App Store. It is full of ads and was hijacked by someone.

== iPhone / iPad ==
The MUDRammer client supports SSL.

== Other Platforms ==
If you use other platforms (Amiga, C64, Apple II, VT terminal, teletype, etc) to access ap and encryption is not natively supported, your best bet is to run stunnel or ncat on a supported system such as Linux, and have your older platform connect to ap via the local end of the SSL tunnel instead. Follow the instructions in the Windows section for hints.