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So, what's the most convenient way to IM with end-to-end encryption? I don't like the idea of it being possible for an intermediate to scan through my private m
by udp 15y ago
So, what's the most convenient way to IM with end-to-end encryption? I don't like the idea of it being possible for an intermediate to scan through my private messages.
- 18pfsmt 15y agoI would suggest using an XMPP-based service, and then using a client like Pidgin with an Off The Record (OTR) plugin.
- hamidpalo 15y agoOTR has nothing to do with encryption. All it says is "pretty please don't save my conversation." The only way for fully encrypted conversations is to use a plugin that encrypts messages themselves, or use an ecrypted P2P IM network.
- jeltz 15y agoOTR is all about encryption, it is a plugin which encrypts the messages themselves. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-Record_Messaging https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-Record_Messaging
- eurleif 15y agoI think the GP was thinking of Google Talk's feature to disable logging, which is also called 'off the record'.
- burgerbrain 15y agoHe was not: "using a client like Pidgin with an Off The Record (OTR) plugin."
- buu700 15y agoWhat are you on about? OTR is pretty robust encryption. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-Record_Messaging http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-Record_Messaging
- bryanl 15y agohttp://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr/ http://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr/ the OTR protocol mentioned in the parent does provide encryption.
- hamidpalo 15y agoThere seems to be some confusion about the XMPP definition of OTR as defined in XEP-0136 which does not mention encryption (http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0136.html#otr http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0136.html#otr) and the colloquial use of OTR which apparently means "encrypted IM." AFAIK there is no defined standard or agreed-upon XMPP extension for the latter. I should have clarified this in the original comment.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- eurleif 15y ago>AFAIK there is no defined standard or agreed-upon XMPP extension for the latter. The standard is here: http://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr/Protocol-v2-3.1.0.html http://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr/Protocol-v2-3.1.0.html It doesn't need an XMPP extension because it's defined in terms messages, so it works with any IM protocol.
- jb55 15y agoIt's kind of sad that most IM clients do not provide OTR out of the box, I would use it all the time but unfortunately most people do not use pidgin or Adium.
- pirateking 15y agoMessages in OS X Mountain Lion will support end-to-end encryption by default (for messages sent through iMessage)[1]. [1] http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/features.html#messages http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/features.html#mess...
- apawloski 15y agoThis pretty surprising. Given the industry standard with mining similar communications I'm surprised that Apple gave up a gigantic pool of user information like that.
- batista 15y agoApple is not an advertising company. They have also made other similar moves to the same effect.
- apawloski 15y agoNot to call you out, but what other moves are you thinking of (legitimately curious)?
- pirateking 15y agoApple almost always puts respect for the end user (the paying customer) as one of its highest priorities. Off the top of my head, some examples would be: not forcing users to enter license keys for software, dropping DRM from iTunes, blocking third-party cookies by default, and their refusal to allow the carriers to pollute the iPhone with their preloaded software. Now I just wish they would make it easy for me to set DuckDuckGo as my default search engine in Safari.
- batista 15y agoWell, off the top of my head: 1) The "third party cookies block" championed by Safari for one. 2) Refusing to let the publishers get user info without the user opting in first (there was big hoopla about that from the publisher's end): http://counternotions.com/2011/02/16/stores/ http://counternotions.com/2011/02/16/stores/
- tomjen3 15y agoThere is a plugin for pidgin that will allow you to send encrypted messages. Though it requires that both parties have installed it.
- Bloodwine 15y agoFor anybody that is interested, it is called "Off-the-Record Messaging" and you can get the plugin at http://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr/ http://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr/
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- 7952 15y agoPossibly Skype? It does have end to end encryption but this is hard to validate independently.
- zotz 15y agoSkype is owned by Microsoft.
- nextparadigms 15y agoSkype? No: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/29/microsoft_skype/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/29/microsoft_skype/
- drchaos 15y agoWell I for one hope they roll out this "feature" in Skype too, ASAP. I've been preaching to (some of) my buddies for years now why it is not a good idea to rely on a closed, centralized platform for communication, but they keep on telling me that Skype is just "so convenient" and they "don't need anything else". Making Skype less convenient (by means of censorship) would mean that open and decentralized alternatives like XMPP get more attention, and that's a good thing IMHO.
- 7952 15y agoOf course its a bad idea to rely on a closed platform. Except that the majority of people rely on closed platforms (Windows and iOS) to communicate all the time. MS could prohibit pirate bay links on windows using the automatic update system; but they probably wont't. You have to use software that people are actually comfortable with and operate within that ecosystem. At the moment Skype may well be the best bet. Try finding another piece of software that has end to end encryption and is widely adopted by non-geek's.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- nextparadigms 15y agoRetroshare, I believe: http://retroshare.sourceforge.net/ http://retroshare.sourceforge.net/
- johnchristopher 15y agoWASTE was pretty cool and hip but it seems to have been dead for years. From wikipedia: WASTE is a decentralized chat, instant messaging and file sharing program and protocol. It behaves similarly to a virtual private network by connecting to a group of trusted computers, as determined by the users. * Secured through the trade of RSA public keys, allowing for safe and secure communication and data transfer with trusted hosts. * WASTE can obfuscate its protocol, making it difficult to detect that WASTE is being used. * WASTE has a "Saturate" feature which adds random traffic, making traffic analysis more difficult. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WASTE_again http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WASTE_again edit: Added relevant details
- 18pfsmt 15y agoPort forwarding is still a frustration when dealing with your non-tech friends. It took me 3 months to push my brother to set it up right. Now I'm trying to convince him to setup milkfish[1] on his router, so I can save mobile minutes, but I continue to fail. [1]http://wiki.milkfish.org.sipwerk.com/index.php?n=TheMilkfish.Idea http://wiki.milkfish.org.sipwerk.com/index.php?n=TheMilkfish...