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Chat Quick-Start Guide

Submitted by jpr on Thu, 04/08/2004 - 19:52. |

[phpwiki]
This beta Instant Messaging service is built on top of Jabber/XMPP the IETF instant messaging standard. XMPP supports a global communication network of service providers. GMail as well as many universities support Jabber-based IM. This IM service is part of the global XMPP network, therefore, you can IM people from any of these service providers using your well-known BlazerId-based identity.

These are some quick and dirty instructions for configuring your instant messaging (IM) client software.

* The first step, of course, is to use your BlazerId to [register for your IM account|http://metric.it.uab.edu/im/register]

* The next step is to get chat client software that is capable of using the Jabber Instant Messaging protocol. There are many clients out there, so ultimately it is up to you to pick your favorite one based on available features and platform support. A few that you might start with are:
** [Pandion|http://www.pandion.be/] is an easy to use client that installs easly on Windows platforms; SSL is supported.
** [Exodus|http://exodus.jabberstudio.org/] is another windows client that has a good set of features.
** [Gaim|http://gaim.sourceforge.net/] is a powerful multiplatform chat client that also includes support for reaching MSN, AIM, Yahoo, and ICQ message services.
** [Psi|http://psi.affinix.com/] is another powerful client for windows that many people prefer.
** [A ton of other clients|http://www.jabber.org/software/clients.php] are also available. If you are new to Jabber or Instant Messaging in general, feel free to explore the clients and see which one you like best.

* Once you have your chat account activated and your client software installed, you need to configure it. There are a few basic requirements:
** The main requirement is that you need to know your username, password, and jabber server. These are easy though
*** Your username is based on your BlazerId. It it is in the form of BlazerId@jabber.lab.ac.uab.edu, just replace BlazerId with your real BlazerId and you are set.
*** Your password is also easy. It is the same password that you use with your blazerid account. (Please note, to protect your password across the network, please use the SSL features of your client, the SSL port is 5223.)
*** Finally, some clients reqest you to enter your Jabber server separately. Many will pull it out of your user name above, but if the ask for a separate server, use jabber.lab.ac.uab.edu
** You can safely ignore the rest of the configuration for now. This quick start guide won't cover them.

* The next step is to find someone to chat with. Any other registered user on jabber.lab.ac.uab.edu will have a blazerid-base username like yours. If you know a friend is registered, just request a chat session using their blazerid-based username. If you don't know if they are registered, you can still do the same, but you will get an error message saying no-such user. You could them an email or call/talk to them and ask them to get on-line.

* You can also create chat rooms dynamically. The chat server is conference.lab.ac.uab.edu. Just add this to your client configuration and invite friends to your chat room.

* There are many more things you can do with on-line chat. Feel free to learn more about the features of this chat service [here|http://www.jabber.org/about/overview.php]

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Configuration of the GAIM client using Jabber

Submitted by srividya on Wed, 09/28/2005 - 19:09.

Configuration of the GAIM client using Jabber:

GAIM by default sets the protocol as AIM/ICQ . This protocol requires to be changed to jabber to get it working with the jabber server.

This can be done from the Accounts menu on the GAIM startup page and the user then requires to register for this service.

Once the authentication completes ( Even though this seems to take longer than necessary -- user can cancel this process )
the user can then click on the online tab on the accounts page and see the Buddy list info and get started with messaging:-)

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Details on Psi SSL configuration

Submitted by jpr on Thu, 04/15/2004 - 17:54.

I tried out Psi on Windows. It's able to connect securely when SSL and "allow plain text passwords" are enabled in the account configuration.

Psi does complain about the certificate being invalid, but this is because it doesn't trust DST as a certificate authority. It gives me the option to "proceed anyway", and when I do it completes the secure connection.

The fix to this is to install the DST root chain for Psi, so it will trust DST as a certificate authority. To do this, install [this certificate file|http://lab.ac.uab.edu/docs/im/misc/psi_dst_rootchain.xml] in the "certs" directory under the Psi install dir, eg ''C:\Progam Files\Psi\certs''. You don't need to merge it with the existing rootcert.xml file, just put the new file in the same dir.

When you restart Psi it will now trust DST. You'll still get an SSL error, though this time it will be because the server you are connecting to has the wrong host name in the cert it presents. You're connecting to jabber.lab.ac.uab.edu but the cert is for metric.it.uab.edu.

We'll need to get a new cert for the jabber hostname to resolve this problem. In the mean time, if you're willing to trust me ;) then you can just proceed anyway knowing that metric and jabber.lab are the same box. If you don't want to see this error, you can check "ignore SSL errors" in the account configuration.

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"Plain-text" does not mean "in the clear"

Submitted by jpr on Thu, 04/15/2004 - 18:40.

In case the "allow plain text passwords" comment above throws you off and makes you wonder if you are exposing your password to the world, here's a breif clarification that will hopefully set you at ease.

The passwords are secured by SSL. They are not passed in the clear across the network. In fact, when you use SSL, all your communication (password and conversation) between your jabber client and the jabber server is completely secure from network eaves dropping.

The term "plain-text" here refers to the encoding at the Jabber protocol level. Passwords must be sent in a decode-able format from the jabber client to the jabber server so that the server can use the password to verify it against the LDAP server. Note, this is the same thing that happens when you authenticate to a secure website using your blazerid and password.

So rest assured, your password is not being exposed to the network.

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PSI on mac seems to work

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 04/13/2004 - 20:01.

PSI on mac seems to work. I get a CERT not valid warning but I can connect anyway.

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GAIM & SSL

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 04/13/2004 - 18:07.

I was able to get GAIM & SSL to work once I pointed the "Force Old SSL" port to 5223. The default port was still going to 5222. Hope that helps someone.

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GAIM & CERTS

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 04/13/2004 - 19:52.

I also imported the cert that jpr posted to the TIMGroup to the Mozilla certs as per the chatter on the 'net

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