In this section you will read about how to become a customer of BitDust. We have developed an easy to use application for Windows, Mac and Linux. We provide maximum flexibility to customers within the settings section in the application.
You can download the application from the homepage or directly from the GitHub. Choose the correct application for your Operating System and install it.
Once you have installed BitDust on your local machine you need to choose an idenity. You can pick any identity, but it must consist out of a minimum of 3 characters and a maximum of 20 characters. Only use lowercase numbers and letters. There is no need to provide any kind of private information when you set-up an identity. Once you have chosen an identity you will go through the onboarding process.
The BitDust application will encrypt all data you store on the network using your private key. This also includes when you chat with other trusted contacts/friends. All data is encrypted using your private key and nobody can access your files but you or the contacts you shared data with. This includes your suppliers. It is therefore important to back up your private key. If you forgot to back up your private key you can also go to the settings menu and click "Backup key". STORE YOUR PRIVATE KEY ON A SECURE AND SAFE PLACE. Your private key and your identity name enables you to recover your account.
When you went through the onboarding process you land on the filemanagement section. This section within the BitDust application enables you to upload, download, delete and share files. Since data is encrypted, compressed and placed with your suppliers the time to upload a file can be longer then you are used to with other centralized solutions. However it is still within reasonable boundaries.
When you click on the item "Chat" in the upper section of the BitDust application you can search for friends and add them. Once added you can start chatting with each other fully encrypted and secure. NOTE: You must both be online in order to send and receive messages. We are working on the ability for offline chat.
Once you added a friend you can share files with him/her. NOTE: When you share a file with a friend it is required that you are both online. Your friend must receive the location of the file and the key that is used to encrypt the file you want to share. We believe that a direct handover of keys between contacts is the safest way of making sure your files are protected. We are working on the ability for offline sharing. In addition the key that you share is derived from your master key (the private key you backed up). BitDust will never share your master key when you share a file, but always a key that is derived from your masterkey.
In the case you have uploaded files or a friend has shared files with you, you will have the ability to download them. On default the folder the downloaded files are stored in is "Users.bitdust". In the settings section of the application you change the folder where you store your downloaded files.
In the settings page you can see the space in MB you have available within BitDust. Since we are still in an Alpha version we have limited the space that is available for every customer. At our discretion we can increase the available space per customer. We envision that the BitDust token will enable you to rent out more space at your suppliers in the form of Gigabyte Hours. However we have not developed that yet. For now bear with us and new updates will come.
Congratulations! You have run through the necessary steps to become a customer and join the BitDust network.