[Cap]

HackForum's XMPP Instant Messenger for Mac OS (Adium)

Download: https://adium.im/
Alternative Download: http://nightly.adium.im/?repo_branch=adium-adium-1.5.10

Introduction:

As we all know, Omniscient has officially released an instant messaging feature to allow us to communicate in a secure manner to other users. In xadamxk's post, which can be found HERE, he goes into phenomenal depth on how to set up your XMPP client and begin chatting securely with other users. The example client he used was Pidgin (Windows). However, you could use it on a Mac OS, but it is extremely difficult to compile and set up. The user friendly alternative is Adium, which is a great XMPP client for the Mac OS. By the end of this tutorial, you should know how to set up your account on Adium, add a contact, and engage in an OTR encrypted chat.

I’m going to assume that we all know how to install an application on a Mac. So I won’t go through that part. If you really need help with this part, just let me know.

Setting up Adium:

1. After you install Adium, go ahead and open up the application. You should be presented with your buddy list.
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s21.postimg.org/ujgjrko3r/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_12_59_57_PM.png[/img]

2. Now lets set up our account. This is the part that took me the longest, but once you figure it out, it is extremely simple. Up on the menu bar, go to File > Add Account > XMPP (Jabber).
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s27.postimg.org/436o3ul4z/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_1_02_14_PM.png[/img]

3. You’ll be presented with a window named Edit Account. Notice how it says Jabber ID? You don’t actually need a Jabber account for it to work, this is where you input your HackForums ID and domain. For example, mine is: [email protected]
For password, put in the password that was generated during the initial HackForums XMPP setup.
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s17.postimg.org/ro69mva33/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_1_15_19_PM.png[/img]

4. Next, lets click the Personal tab. In this window, you can input your alias, so mine would be l Flawless l. You could also upload your forum avatar under the icon option.
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s24.postimg.org/bxmfagkcl/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_1_17_00_PM.png[/img]

5. Leave the Options tab as is. Now onto Privacy. Under Encryption, lets set up to encrypt chats automatically since it is required to send messages through HF. When you are all set, click OK.
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s30.postimg.org/k5brqj1dd/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_1_19_28_PM.png[/img]

6. Now lets connect! Go to File > Connect: [email protected].
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s16.postimg.org/3u0rvsxpx/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_5_11_42_PM.png[/img]

If all went through, you should be presented with this window:
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s14.postimg.org/5r32acsgh/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_1_21_32_PM.png[/img]

7. As previously stated, HackForums requires that all users install the OTR (off-the-record) plugin. Luckily for us if we are using Adium on our Mac, this comes pre-installed, we just need to set it up. So lets go to Adium > Preferences > Advanced Tab > Encryption. Now, make sure your account is selected in the drop-down menu, and click the Generate button. You should then be presented with a Fingerprint that is 40 characters long. The fingerprint is unique for the selected account. You can regenerate at any time if you need to. This will be used for our verification later.
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s28.postimg.org/adllf4pct/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_1_36_36_PM.png[/img]

Add Contact:

1. Lets add our first contact! Go up to the menu bar and select Contact > Add Contact.
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s28.postimg.org/bu3l41pwd/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_5_48_40_PM.png[/img]

2. From there, for Contact Type, select XMPP. For Jabber ID, input the [email protected]. And for Alias, put their HackForums username. You can also create your own groups to categorize users. I’m sticking with buddies. Now click Add and wait for them to add you.
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s27.postimg.org/xw6s9u7pf/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_5_49_17_PM.png[/img]

Initializing Encrypted Chat:

1. To actually have an encrypted chat with a user, open that user up in a chat window by double clicking their name on your buddy list. For this example, I will be using someone that volunteered. Whenever you chat with someone, you have a bunch of icons above the chat window. The one we are interested in is the Lock button.
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s22.postimg.org/5yxmqrvmp/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_5_20_45_PM.png[/img]

2. Lets go ahead and click that and then select Initiate Encrypted OTR Chat.
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s21.postimg.org/qy2r8r6yv/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_3_56_01_PM.png[/img]

3. The Lock icon should now be locked. After you click the button, you will be asked to verify their fingerprint to assure that the user is who they say they are. That’s the initial verification. So go ahead and click Accept.
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s17.postimg.org/90ymcc1xr/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_3_59_05_PM.png[/img]

4. If we click that Lock again, we will see a Verify button.
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s29.postimg.org/beksejfl3/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_4_15_26_PM.png[/img]

5. Click that and you will be displayed with this window:
Screenshot (Click to View)[img]http://s21.postimg.org/7f2rd4xl3/Screen_Shot_2014_11_23_at_4_15_39_PM.png[/img]

Pidgin has the ability to use the HackForums Secret Verification built into the application. Unfortunately for us, we don’t have that built in option. The way we can verify with somebody is to have you and the other person get your fingerprint IDs (the one we generated earlier) and private message each other your fingerprints on HackForums. Once you both received the fingerprint IDs, you can finally click Yes since they are now verified. It’s to make sure that you are chatting who you should be.

Error Reporting:
If you encounter any errors at all during this tutorial, please post exactly what the error says so I can do my best to assist.

Conclusion:
I’m still very new to this Adium application on the Mac, but I’ll do my best to answer your questions. Adium is similar to the Pidgin application, but with a few different pros and cons. The pro is that we have the OTR already with it, and the con being we don’t have the ability to use the secret message in the application.

Once again, I will be happy to answer any questions related to Adium and XMPP as best as I can. For everything else, please refer to xadamxk's post HERE.

Troubleshooting:

A recent complaint was that some users couldn't get Adium to connect; they would receive the SSL Handshake error. After updating their operating system, it worked fine.

OS Version Problems
- OS 10.7.5

[Cap]

The guide looks damn good man, I'll add it to my thread!

Thank you very much! I'm glad you like it!

[Fish]

thanks for this guide but. when i follow the first part like add my account and password i did that all right. then it won't seem to connect. i added my account put my password put the encryption on and it won't connect.

[Cap]

thanks for this guide but. when i follow the first part like add my account and password i did that all right. then it won't seem to connect. i added my account put my password put the encryption on and it won't connect.

What is the error? What does it say when you try to connect? Could you possibly post a screenshot?

[Fish]

https://gyazo.com/6f99fef0daa2cf963b50f9d48498beb3

SSL Handshake Failed is the error

[Cap]

https://gyazo.com/6f99fef0daa2cf963b50f9d48498beb3

SSL Handshake Failed is the error

Do you have the most recent version of Adium? The SSL Handshake error simply means that the TLS isn't up to date.

[Fish]

Do you have the most recent version of Adium? The SSL Handshake error simply means that the TLS isn't up to date.

i just downloads it today. version 1.5.10. how do i update TLS?

[Cap]

i just downloads it today. version 1.5.10. how do i update TLS?

Real quick, will you go to File > [email protected] > Edit Account > Options tab. Could you name off everything that is filled in and what checkboxes are checked?

[Fish]

https://gyazo.com/1766df1862d921f29960f0cad130ed79

file transfer proxys:proxy.eu.jabber.org

resource: (my computers name)

port: 5222

display custom emoticons: CHECKED

do strict certificate checks: CHECKED

presence subscribtions: Ask what To Do

[Cap]

Alright and last thing, what OS version do you have?

[Fish]

i have version 10.7.5 its an old one i think that might be why

[Cap]

i have version 10.7.5 its an old one i think that might be why

That may be it. I'm currently running 10.10.1. Try checking the checkbox that says: Force old-style SSL under the Options tab.

[Fish]

nope does not work… that sucks i need to update my computer now. BUTTTT my computer has an error when it updates lol.

[Cap]

nope does not work… that sucks i need to update my computer now. BUTTTT my computer has an error when it updates lol.

Yeah, updating may be the key, if it allows you to. I was reading previous error logs with Adium and there have been problems with OS 10.6-10.8.

Edit
Try using Port: 5223.

[Fish]

now it goes to initializing stream (25%) then back to the old error then it connects again then back to the stream.