Sending and receiving files

Securely sending and receiving files is the primary purpose with which we build Velamnis.

In order to understand how this works, we need to cover a few concepts first.

Velamnis account

Your Velamnis account is your identity on the network and contains the keys which allow you to encrypt and decrypt data. Anytime you use Velamnis, you are logged in with an account, which can be either claimed or unclaimed. For the purpose of this article, think of your Velamnis account as of your ID card or passport. For more information, see Understanding and managing your Velamnis account

Your account is not visible to the party you are sending to or receiving from files, unless you have them added as a trusted contact. For more information, see <contacts page goes here>

Sending address

In order to be able to send and receive files using the network, Sending addresses must be used. For the purpose of this article, think of Sending addresses as of phone numbers. You can have multiple Sending addresses and the sender doesn't know or need to know any information about the owner.

When a Velamnis user wants to send or receive files, they must exchange a Sending address with the counterparty. The Sending address is always shared by the recipient. It is impossible to send files to someone without knowing one of their Sending addresses.

You may generate a Sending address anytime, as well as delete it anytime. If a Sending address is deleted, then nobody may send files to it anymore. 

Sending addresses are random and have a default expiration of 7 days but can be renewed. Velamnis Blue users may generate custom Sending addresses for free and may set a custom expiry. Certain Sending addresses are reserved or available for certain prices. For more information on custom Sending addresses, see <custom sending addresses page goes here>.

The Sending addresses can only contain numbers and uppercase letters and must have a length of 9 characters. To reduce the chance of confusion when sharing Sending addresses, the generated addresses as well as the custom addresses may not contain the letters D, G, I, O or the number 0.

Encryption algorithm

All data leaving your device is encrypted and may only be decrypted by its intended recipient on their device. This is the so-called End to End Encryption.

By default, Velamnis will use the best encryption algorithms available, which are 256 bit AES-GCM (Advanced Encryption Standard with Galois/Counter Mode) and 4096 bit RSA-OAEP (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman with Optimal asymmetric encryption padding). Velamnis Blue users may choose other encryption algorithms and parameters, should they wish so.

The data you are sending is encrypted within your browser's memory and sent on the network only after being encrypted. On the recipient's side, the encrypted data is downloaded and decrypted within the browser memory before being offered for local download. This ensures that there is no possibility for interception of the plain data.

Steps to send and receive files

In order to exchange files, follow these steps:

• The recipient should choose a Sending address, or generate a new one.

• The recipient must share this address with the sender. This address does not constitute a secret, but it is recommended to share it through non-public channels, for example, e-mail, phone, SMS, Instant Messaging, etc.
• The sender will then input the Sending address on the Send files page. The system will validate the address and enable the upload control. If you are getting a validation error, check with the recipient that the address is valid.
• Select the files for upload.