Prosody Server on Debian 8 - Printable Version

Prosody Server on Debian 8 - Printable Version

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Prosody Server on Debian 8 - acx12345 - 06-23-2016

Before i start telling, the methodology to configure, prosody server, i will give a brief introduction of what is it exactly.

Prosody is a server, which facilitates instant messenger. Its like Facebook messenger.

Now the big question is why would you set up your own personal messenger? I would say only one reason: Privacy

If you wish to communicate with your friend with highest possible security then XMPP Messenger service is the best. Who uses it? Communication between whistle blowers.

The advantage of having your own XMPP server is that, you are 100% assured that your messages aren't stored along with connection secured with SSL.

Not only this on using an appropriate client like Adium or ChatSecure, you can have OTR (Off the Record) Encryption, which gives you an additional layer of security. So, you have Transport Layer Security and on top of it OTR Encryption, which is another form of End to End Encryption. So you are having 100% peace of mind.

Setting up a prosody server is pretty easy, usually takes at a maximum of 10 mins.

This tutorial is suited for debian and ubuntu systems.

------------------------------------------------------Installation-------------------------------------------------------

First as usual give update packages

Code:
sudo apt-get update

Then install the prosody package

Code:
sudo apt-get install prosody

Confirm the installation of the packages.

Now we need to configure our XMPP Server Installation.

----------------------------------------------Configuration---------------------------------------------------

considering your VPS is associated with domain name "domain.xyz" and your domain points to your VPS on which prosody is setup.

Lets first make our first user for ourself, which in turn will also be the administrator of the XMPP server.

Code:
prosodyctl adduser first@domain.xyz

Now, it will ask for password prompt. Setup the password for your user and reconfirm it.

Now we need to configure our prosody installation.

Code:
nano /etc/prosody/prosody.cfg.lua

After opening this file find the line with admins as shown below and make it look like as shown below

Code:
admins = { "first@domain.xyz" }

Then if you want to allow your friends to join without you approving them, then enable the line below

Code:
allow_registration = true;

Then add the line below to the config file to make your server more stable

Code:
use_libevent = true;

Then find the directive VirtualHost, if you are using a latest version of prosody, then on scrolling down the configuration file you will see a directive as shown below

Code:
VirtualHost "example.com"

Change it to

Code:
VirtualHost "domain.xyz"

Below it you might find another line

Code:
enabled = false

Just delete the above line.

Now save the configuration file and exit.

Now restart the prosody server by giving

Code:
service prosody restart

--------------------------------------Optional Portion-------------------------------------------------

If you wish to setup validated certificate files along with prosody then find the lines below in your prosody.cfg.lua file

Code:
ssl = {

        key = "/etc/prosody/certs/localhost.key";

        certificate = "/etc/prosody/certs/localhost.cert";

}

Update the paths with your certificate file and private key. Then again restart the server after giving a restart as shown above.
Warning, you will need to set appropriate certificate and key permissions for the user prosody or else you will get errors

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, just choose any favourite jabber/XMPP client. Just enter your username as first@domain.xyz and and enter your password. It will get connected instantly.

I hope this tutorial has helped you. If you face any problems, feel free to put in your doubts below.