xtrendence/filedrop

Grade: 89%. COMP3006 coursework. An encrypted file sharing application that leverages web sockets to allow users to send and receive files.

FileDrop

Based on GitHub Release downloads and DockerHub pulls.

Disclaimer

This was made as the coursework for my COMP3006 university module. The requirements were to develop a responsive and interactive web application that uses web sockets, Node.js, and PouchDB or MongoDB as its server-side database. This project got 89/100.

What is FileDrop?

FileDrop is an application that allows for encrypted file sharing between two users through the use of web sockets.

How does it work?

You download the application for the operating system you use from the Releases section, and run the app. Once you can see the IP and port of the server, it means it's working. You can then use any device on the same network to navigate to that IP and port. From there, you can choose a username and log in. Devices that are logged in would be able to see each other. At this point, you can ask for another client's permission to send them a file, or manually whitelist a client so they can send you a file whenever they wish.

How can I host the server without using the Electron app?

Electron apps are big, no arguments there. You can simply download the source code (or ManualServer.zip from the Releases section), open a terminal in the same directory as the package.json file, run npm install followed by npm start. Alternatively, you can use the Docker image (further instructions can be found in the README on DockerHub).

How does the encryption work?

First and foremost, all encryption is done on the client-side so that the server doesn't need to be trusted. This also increases performance as encryption is a resource-intensive task, and by distributing the workload between clients, the server can transfer files as fast as possible. When the page first loads, an RSA public/private key pair is generated and stored in the browser's local storage. The public key is then broadcasted to other clients. When the user chooses a file and clicks on the upload button, the file is split into chunks of 256KB. A 256-bit AES key is then generated, and the public RSA key of the client the user is sending the file to is used to encrypt the AES key. The AES key is then used to symmetrically encrypt each chunk before sending it to the server. The encrypted AES key is sent with the encrypted chunk data as well. The other client then uses their private key to decrypt the AES key, which they can use to decrypt the chunk data. Once all the chunks have been received, they're put together to form the original file, which is then downloaded to the client's device.

What does the app look like?

Login Page

Application Page

Attributions

Resource	URL
Mockup Devices	Device Shots
Login Background	BG Jar
Main Background	SVG Backgrounds
Font Awesome	Font Awesome
Jest	NPM
CORS	NPM
EJS	NPM
Express	NPM
Jest	NPM
Nodemon	NPM
PouchDB	NPM
Socket.IO	NPM
Socket.IO Client	NPM
SuperTest	NPM
CryptoJS	NPM
Forge	NPM
Puppeteer	NPM
Electron	NPM
Electron Builder	NPM
Electron Local Shortcut	NPM

filedrop's Issues

Upload button shouldn't be visible unless a file is selected.

After logging out, socket events are duplicated.

Windows app doesn't work past V.1.0.1.

Two users can have the same username as the validation check is case sensitive.

Logging out, disconnecting from the socket, and then reconnecting causes a login as "null".

macos installation error

running big sur. Getting following error :
A JavaScript error occurred in the main process
Uncaught Exception:
Error: dlopen(/Applications/FileDrop.app/Contents/Resources/app/node_modules/leveldown/build/Release/leveldown.node, 1): no suitable image found. Did find:
/Applications/FileDrop.app/Contents/Resources/app/node_modules/leveldown/build/Release/leveldown.node: mach-o, but wrong architecture
/Applications/FileDrop.app/Contents/Resources/app/node_modules/leveldown/build/Release/leveldown.node: mach-o, but wrong architecture
at process.func [as dlopen] (node:electron/js2c/asar_bundle:5:1800)
at Object.Module._extensions..node (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1199:18)
at Object.func [as .node] (node:electron/js2c/asar_bundle:5:1800)
at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:988:32)
at Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:829:12)
at Function.c._load (node:electron/js2c/asar_bundle:5:13331)
at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1012:19)
at require (node:internal/modules/cjs/helpers:94:18)
at load (/Applications/FileDrop.app/Contents/Resources/app/node_modules/node-gyp-build/index.js:20:10)
at Object. (/Applications/FileDrop.app/Contents/Resources/app/node_modules/leveldown/binding.js:1:43)

Feature request: History of sent files

Hi, is it possible to save some sort of history for the files that were sent to a certain user?

The DBManager "fetch()" and "save()" methods throw errors.

Feature request: Upload multiple files at one

Hi, it would be useful to add support to upload multiple files at once.

FileDrop Fails to Load when Reverse Proxied

I set up FileDrop with Docker and used Traefik to act as a Reverse Proxy to https (443). Unfortunately, FileDrop fails to fully load due to a check looking to get the port number:

utils.js:20

Uncaught (in promise) TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'replace')
    at getPort (utils.js:20)
    at getIP (utils.js:13)
    at HTMLDocument.<anonymous> (main.js:40)
getPort @ utils.js:20
getIP @ utils.js:13
(anonymous) @ main.js:40 

If I access FileDrop directly with the unproxied port number, FileDrop loads.

Windows install error

Hello, please see the error snipped. Any suggestions? Installing on a Windows 10 Pro 64bit machine.

The server can't find the Forge worker.

unusable on MacOS

Hi tried several times between two Macs running Big Sur.
First time using encryption, getting an undefined file with zero octets.
Using without encryption, nothing happens in destination's download folder.
No OS firewall running on machines, lulu in one and little snitch on destination, but not getting any alert and server says file transfer successful...

It's difficult to tell whether the client is connected to the server or not.

Making the connection status a different color would fix this.

Clients aren't reconnected properly when the server is restarted.

Clients connect to the socket, but don't reregister with the ConnectionManager.

ChunkReader cannot access its class methods.

Using arrow functions would fix this.

The Electron app's database doesn't work.

Dockerfile and Docker image

It would help a lot if you could at least add a Dockerfile, and at best also a Docker image :)

If you can produce and maintain a Dockerfile, I can make a PR to have GitHub automatically compile it and send it to DockerHub (you'll need to provide a password as a GitHub secret, but it's not complicated).
You can then select platforms for which you want to make your software available (amd64, arm, etc).