Crypto for Grandmothers
This document doesn't assume any previous knowledge or skills in encryption. The only assumptions are:
A buddy of yours [has most probably read Crypto with Granny and] wishes to establish secure communication with you
You and your buddy are already communicating with each other via any of the instant-messaging services supported by the Pidgin software (Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc. Click here for a list)
Your computer is running Microsoft Windows (or Linux, which is unlikely if you're reading this ;) ). If you have a Mac, installing Pidgin is hard (yet possible)
You understand that although this document tries to make things as simple as possible, you can still do it wrong (mainly the bit about authentication) and the false security you'll have in that case can lead to sad consequences, so let's assume that you do read this page carefully :)
Download and install Pidgin
Download and install OTR
Configure your account
Configure OTR
Authenticate with your buddy (the important part)
[optional] Configure nice-to-have options
to be continued...