Finally, after some weeks of fixing additional issues and adapting part of the code to particularities found in Linux, we are proud to announce the release of the Linux version of Whisher. It is available from our download page, and is a self-installing package (.sh), which just has to be run under non-root privileges.

One difference we could not avoid in respect to the Windows and Mac versions is that key security cannot be guaranteed, as some WiFi drivers will report the currently applied encryption key in cleartext, thus making enforcement of buddies-only or private sharing modes difficult, if the user is mainly sharing in public mode. Thus, with the Linux client, you will only be able to synchronize the keys of your buddies, not keys from those sharing in public mode. We realize this can be a limitation, but we have to guarantee the safety of all users on all platforms.

This is a first release, and thus has not been so extensively tested as its counterparts, so we will appreciate feedback and suggestions from the community, via this blog, or even better, on our forums, where topics can be organized and followed up on easier. Enjoy!

WPBFAQ (Will Probably Be Frequently Asked Questions)

Q. Why is Whisher not open source?

A. We chose not to release in open source for a number of reasons, but mainly it is to keep the consistency of the client, as it will be tightly integrated into the Whisher platform and web services, to protect a number of code libraries we have licensed, and to avoid as much as possible the chance of having ‘rogue’ clients that could compromise the security of our users. We do welcome all suggestions, bug reports and criticism you can throw at us though!

Q. Why an installer?

A. We realize there are many hard-core command-line users out there, but we chose to make it easier to install for Linux newcomers on mainstream distributions.

Q. What privileges does Whisher run under?

A. It has to be run under normal user privileges, not as root.

Q. Does it have any dependencies?

A. Yes, you may need to install Network Manager if you find the WiFi part of Whisher is not working. Some if not most main distributions already package this, so you probably won’t have to worry. If you need to download it, the version that has been tested to work with Whisher can be found here [FTP].