Jitsi runs on most common operative systems, and requires little encryption knowledge to set up secure calls. The interface is easy to use. Jitsi is in principle compatible with several protocols, including SIP, XMPP or Google Talk, but encrypted video calls may be in practice problematic with most protocol providers.
The webRTC based Jitsi Meet—also libre software, Apache License—is a remarkable solution (see the end of the post). Privacy is of primary importance to the project, and the software was used, e.g., to communicate with Edward Snowden during the Libre Planet 2016 keynote.
Installation on Debian
While the official documentation provide informations about Jitsi installation on Debian, the user is confusingly directed towards a repository containing several packages. Those packages are suggested to be installed before adding Jitsi's repository.
Instead of directly downloading and installing each package (and related dependencies), the easiest way to proceed for installation, is to simply add to following repository to
/etc/apt/sources.list:deb http://download.jitsi.org/deb unstable/To avoid the GPG error warning, add the gpg key to your keyring:
# wget -qO - https://download.jitsi.org/nightly/deb/unstable/archive.key | apt-key add -Optionally install Jitsi Meet (see more details below, though):
# apt-get install jitsi-meetInstall jitsi client:
# apt-get install jitsiLaunch Jitsi and login with your supported account.
At the following
apt-get update there may be a warning for a duplicate Jitsi repository. To solve it, simply comment out the one added manually in /etc/apt/sources.list.Issues
I got a `ICE failed' error probably depending on the protocol (Google Talk, XMPP, SIP) providers tested. According to the FAQ page, the problem may be solved by using an ippi account. Still, I could establish a secure OTR chat also with Google Talk and XMPP.
While on a secure chat with both ends authenticated through a Google Talk account, some instant message arrived unencrypted if, besides Jitsi, also the Google Talk Firefox plug-in was running at the same time. This is potentially compromising and would deserve more investigation. However, when Jitsi was the only active client on my desktop, the messages always arrived encrypted. Hence, as a general rule, while a secure chat is active it is advisable to close all Google Talk clients other than Jitsi.
I also encountered some graphical issues in Debian 8 'Jessie' using gnome. These are not serious enough to prevent the use of Jitsi, but still a bit annoying.
- First, when sending the secret question to authenticate the other user during a secure (OTR) chat connection, the window would not scroll down, preventing the expected secret answer to be written (I just left it blank).
- Second, when minimizing the window, it does not open again simply by clicking on the relative gnome activity bar icon. Need to right-click on the bar icon and choose 'jitsi' to open the window again.
- Third, a jitsi icon stays on a desktop corner (see below). Clicking on it has no action.
Jitsi Meet - Web Conferences
An istance of Jitsi Meet is also provided at https://meet.jit.si/, no installation required (if using Debian Iceweasel browser, note that Jitsi Meet needs version ≥ 40). It is based on the webRTC protocol and allows many functionalities, among which conference video calls, instant messaging, screen sharing, document sharing (Etherpad) and live streaming. More information about how to configure a new Jitsi Meet instance can be found at the project webpage.It is a great solution to invite people to video call through a libre, secure and performing software without requiring any account creation nor software installation, apart from having a browser supporting the webRTC protocol such as Firefox, Chromium or Opera.
Ref: jitsi github, jitsi docs
