[Politics] Surveillance self defense

[thewronghands]

Hello, Internet! Several of my friends have installed Signal (hi!) and thanked me for the recommendation. I thought I'd link again. Also, those of you tending to your digital footprints may appreciate the EFF's Surveillance Self Defense project. They have tutorials customized to LGBTQ youths, Mac users, activists and protesters, journalism

Comments

[perspicuity]

i made a point of making my last product for my last contract as cryptographically opaque as i could, with a proper off the shelf vetted library. nobody is exploiting that software, unless the client screws up/breaks it :D

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[thewronghands]

Awesome; thanks!

[altamira16]

I have seen Signal mentioned a lot lately. I just installed it. Signal wanted to replace my default SMS app. Will I still be able to SMS with people not using Signal using the Signal app?

[etcet]

likewise

i found what i believe is the answer on signal's support page/knowledge base - http://support.whispersystems.org/hc/en-us/articles/212535528-Who-can-I-message-

signal to signal = yes & secure
signal to non-signal = yes but non-secure

[thewronghands]

This is correct!

[thewronghands]

Yes, totally. Your conversations with other Signal users, and your local on-device storage, will be encrypted. Your conversations with the rest of the world will not be encrypted.

[docstrange]

Good on you, and good on them for waking up to the scary aspects of an overreaching surveillance state. I hope you also advise these new converts to signal security and personal self-defense that, if they are concerned about an overreaching government's ability to spy on them and motivate violence only when it's not "their side" in control, they should read some more history.

[thewronghands]

I am totally cheered every time I see the little message that tells me that another contact has installed it and our conversations will now be encrypted.

[caladri]

Yes. This. It has been gnawing at me intensely as I see people deploy privacy technologies they turned their noses up at a week ago. Especially when the people whose communications are spied on and are getting them targeted for deportation, arrest, or murder, will not likely see their situations changed a year from now compared to a year ago.

[scarybaldguy]

Just installed Signal myself. Thanks for the recce.

[thewronghands]

Hope you like it!

[jadia]

I heard that whatsapp also encrypts.  Why signal vs whatsapp? Is it because signal is still sms instead of data?

[rhiannonstone]

I'm thinking of using WhatApp as well, since several members of my polycule use Windows phones and Signal isn't available for that currently. It's my understanding that it uses the Signal protocol: https://whispersystems.org/blog/whatsapp-complete/.