3 ms·

Moxie introduced http://www.convergence.io/ http://www.convergence.io/ a while ago now (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N4sb-SEpcg https://www.youtube.com/watc

by sparkie 13y ago

Moxie introduced http://www.convergence.io/ http://www.convergence.io/ a while ago now (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N4sb-SEpcg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N4sb-SEpcg), which could offer significant advantages over the PKI if it became widely adopted. Although it's not an end-all solution to identity, it's a step in the right direction (using web-of-trust ideas).

jedbrown 13y ago
So convergence.io is only available over HTTP, yet it offers the plugin for download. It seems an ironically bad practice to install security software over an untrusted connection. Meanwhile, https://convergence.io https://convergence.io yields a certificate for whispersystems.org and is in fact the https://whispersystems.org/ https://whispersystems.org/ main page (nothing to do with convergence.io). There appears to be no secure way to obtain Moxie's plugin (it is not available from mozilla.org, though a fork is available, based on this repo: https://github.com/mk-fg/convergence https://github.com/mk-fg/convergence). My understanding is that more recently, Moxie has been focusing on http://tack.io http://tack.io which offers improved security without overturning the CA model.
- sparkie 13y ago
  I'm not sure what would be more ironic, this, or it delivering a "secure" download over the protocol it intends to replace for not providing sufficient security guarantees. The other irony is that a self-signed cert is basically as good as any CA issued cert with Convergence on, if only there were a secure way to bootstrap it. Perhaps a secure way to obtain it would be to email Moxie using GPG and ask him to send you a copy, but as you suggest, it appears to be unmaintained aside from the fork anyway, so it isn't much more than research material for now. I hadn't heard of Tack yet, but that also appears to have a lack of activity.
hyaline9 13y ago
Unfortunately this project seems to have stalled; according to https://github.com/moxie0/Convergence https://github.com/moxie0/Convergence the code hasn't seen significant updates since 2011. A similar more up-to-date alternative is Perspectives: http://perspectives-project.org/ http://perspectives-project.org/
sparkie 13y ago
@hyaline9, you're shadow-banned for some reason, people without showdead on will not see your replies, and we can't reply to you. I'd probably make a new account given that it was only created recently. On perepectives: Convergence is actually based on perspectives with some improvements regarding privacy and latency (which are discussed in the youtube video). Are you aware if any of those improvements have been adopted into perspectives or not?

by sparkie 13y ago

jedbrown 13y ago

So convergence.io is only available over HTTP, yet it offers the plugin for download. It seems an ironically bad practice to install security software over an untrusted connection. Meanwhile, https://convergence.io https://convergence.io yields a certificate for whispersystems.org and is in fact the https://whispersystems.org/ https://whispersystems.org/ main page (nothing to do with convergence.io). There appears to be no secure way to obtain Moxie's plugin (it is not available from mozilla.org, though a fork is available, based on this repo: https://github.com/mk-fg/convergence https://github.com/mk-fg/convergence). My understanding is that more recently, Moxie has been focusing on http://tack.io http://tack.io which offers improved security without overturning the CA model.

sparkie 13y ago
I'm not sure what would be more ironic, this, or it delivering a "secure" download over the protocol it intends to replace for not providing sufficient security guarantees. The other irony is that a self-signed cert is basically as good as any CA issued cert with Convergence on, if only there were a secure way to bootstrap it. Perhaps a secure way to obtain it would be to email Moxie using GPG and ask him to send you a copy, but as you suggest, it appears to be unmaintained aside from the fork anyway, so it isn't much more than research material for now. I hadn't heard of Tack yet, but that also appears to have a lack of activity.

hyaline9 13y ago

Unfortunately this project seems to have stalled; according to https://github.com/moxie0/Convergence https://github.com/moxie0/Convergence the code hasn't seen significant updates since 2011. A similar more up-to-date alternative is Perspectives: http://perspectives-project.org/ http://perspectives-project.org/

sparkie 13y ago

@hyaline9, you're shadow-banned for some reason, people without showdead on will not see your replies, and we can't reply to you. I'd probably make a new account given that it was only created recently. On perepectives: Convergence is actually based on perspectives with some improvements regarding privacy and latency (which are discussed in the youtube video). Are you aware if any of those improvements have been adopted into perspectives or not?