The overall process is to get the source code, install the required tools
and libraries to compile the code, and then run qmake and make.
Linux
There is a
script
to install the software required for building the software and
another
script that contains the commands to compile. Both of these are currently
tested on Debian by our CI/CD environment, and these are what create the
official Linux releases.
MacOS
To install Signet's build dependencies first install
Brew
Install the libraries (brew install qt5 libgcrypt libgpg-error zlib)
Compile the client (/usr/local/opt/qt5/bin/qmake client/client.pro; make)
(optional) Copy the .app file to the desktop (cp -r signet.app ~/Desktop)
Windows
First install MSYS2. MSYS2 will provide
a build environment and a package manager to download Signet's dependencies.
Once MSYS2 is installed...
launch the MSYS2/MinGW-64 shell and install the libraries
This will build Signet.exe in the release subdirectory. This executable
should be self contained and you can copy it anywhere and run it.
Read directly from a backup file
If your Signet is lost or not easily accessible, it is possible to read
directly from a backup file to access your data. While reading from a backup
the Signet user interface functions very similarly to when a device is
connected. The main differences are that there is no ability to type your data
and the data is read only.
Start the Signet client and click "File -> Open"
Locate the Signet backup file you want to read. It will have the
extension "sdb" which is short for "Signet DataBase". For
automated backups the default location is in a subdirectory of your documents
folder called "SignetBackups". If the file is opened successfuly
you will see a message on the top of the main window indicating which file is
open.
To access your data you must unlock the database your your master
password as you would if a device was connected. While reading from the
database file the client will ignore the presence of a Signet device. When
you are done accessing your data you can click "File->Close" and
the client will return to it's default device oriented mode.
Recovering from a failed firmware update
When updating Signet's firmware if Signet's connection to the host computer
is interrupted the Signet will stop functioning. At this time the only way to
recover from a partial firmware update is to load the firmware by switching
the Signet into bootloader mode which requires chaning a DIP switch position
on the Signet circuit board. The recovery steps are as follows:
Download the latest DFU firmware binary from the firmware DFU
directory
Get "dfu-util"
On GNU/Linux you can get it from your distribution's package manager.
On MacOS it can be installed by brew
with the command: brew install dfu-util
On Windows you can download and unzip the latest release
archive
Select "STM32 Bootloader" from the main pulldown menu
Click the "Install driver button"
Install firmware by running the following command, replacing
"<firmware version>" with the DFU firmware version you
downloaded. Due to a timing issue the command will fail some of the time. Try
multiple times if necessary until the no errors are reported.
On MacOS and GNU/Linux: sudo dfu-util -a 0 -s 0x8000000 -D signet-<firmware version>.dfu
On Windows: dfu-util -a 0 -s 0x8000000 -D signet-<firmware version>.dfu
Disconnect the device and move the DIP switch position back to the middle
position.
Unlocking a computer with Signet
When you need to unlock or login to a PC the Signet client is not available
yet. The Signet firmware contains a feature however that allows it to type
passwords before the client is run. Each password that can be accessed in this
way is stored in a so called “password slot”. You should be aware the using
this feature will allow anyone who get access to your Signet to discover these
passwords. Despite this risk using password slots can still be a safer choice
than using short or easily guessable passwords to systems.
Storing passwords in password slots
One you have unlocked your Signet go to the "Device -> Password
slots" menu. A dialog will open that will show the password slots and
allow you to edit them. The name for each slot is only for reference when
editing and you will need to remember the slot numbers for each password to use
the feature.
Typing a password in a password slot
Ensure that the password slots feature is active. The password slots
feature is active any time when the client is not running which will should
be the case when unlocking a PC.
Press the Signet device button repeatedly to change the password slot
selection. Your Signet will output a response character for each press to
indicate which slot is selected. You can tell which slot is selected by
observing how many response characters have been typed.
Type the password from the selected slot by long pressing the device
button.
Note, to type the password correctly your signet will first erase the
selection feedback characters by generating backspace characters. If you don't
perform a long press after an idle time of several seconds the selection
feedback characters will automatically be erased allowing you to attempt a
selection again.
Updating your Signet's firmware
Some Signet client features depend on the latest firmware and occasionaly
new firmware releases fix device bugs. To update signet firmware you will need
to download the latest firmware file and use the client to upload the new
firmware.
Download the latest firmare binary here.
Download the highest numbered file with the extension ".sfw". You
can also download the corresponding ".sfw.sig" file to verify the
firmare's GPG signature. See the downloads page
for more information on the GPG signature files.
Open the Signet client and unlock the device
Select the menu option "Device->Backup to file" and save
your encrypted password database to a file.
Select the menu option "Device->Update Firmware" and select
the firmware file you downloaded
Carefully long press the Signet device button to start the firmware
update. If the device is inadvertantly disconnected during the update you
will need to perform a manual firmware update.
Once the firmware update completes you device should restart with the
new firmware enabled. You can verify the firmware update by clicking on
"Help->About"
Using Signet's browser plugins
Install the Signet browser plugin for your browser:
Firefox
Chrome
Once you have installed the browser plugin a small Signet icon should
appear on your browser that will change its appearance depending on which
actions are available:
The icon is gray if the Signet client is not running or your Signet is
locked.
The icon is black if the Signet client is running and your Signet is
unlocked, but there is no action available other than to foregrownd the
client.
The icon is black with a yellow dot if the plugin associates the
website with stored information, but cannot find a login form on the
current page. You can then click on the icon to select a specific account
in the client. This action will foreground the client to the specified
account, and then use the Signet client as you would normally.
The icon is black with a green dot if the plugin recognizes the website
and can autofill a username and password for one or more accounts. Each
account is listed in two different sections in the menu. A click in the
"Show in client" section will select the account in the client.
A click in the "Login" section will request login and password
data from the client to fill in the login form in order to log you into
the website. When requesting a login you will need to press the device
button before the plugin will log you in.