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posted by
chromas
on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:32PM
from the 6854734946204569446c692020534f6e20746e457243705965540044 dept.
from the 6854734946204569446c692020534f6e20746e457243705965540044 dept.
Submitted via IRC for takyon
Back in January, Skype announced it was testing end-to-end encrypted chat conversations, secured using Signal Protocol by Open Whisper Systems. Now, the feature is available for all users on Skype iOS, Android, Linux, Mac, and Windows Desktop.
There's a bit of a limitation, however: users can only participate in one private conversation per device at a time. The private conversation can be switched to another device, but anything sent and received will be tied to whatever device is currently being used.
Source: The Verge
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Skype Now Offers End-to-End Encrypted Conversations
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(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Wednesday August 22 2018, @04:42PM (2 children)
I understand where you're coming from; I used Skype in its pre-Microsoft incarnation and it worked well. But I respectfully disagree with you: Encrypted conversations are an important and necessary feature for privacy's sake.
But for Skype, that's impossible: Microsoft offering "private, encrypted communication" requires too much suspension of disbelief.
Even if Microsoft Skype conversations are indeed encrypted and not spied on by Skype itself--no way to know--most people are running that Skype under Windows 10, which is a product designed from the ground up to spy on everything you do. No reason they couldn't take all your audio, video, chat, etc. from the app before it's encrypted, and a dark partnership with the NSA as a reason that they might do so. In short, they have motive and opportunity.
The continued popularity of Windows is an indicator that means that many don't care enough about privacy to actually attend to it, but for those who feel uneasy making this decision, using the new "Skype! Totally Privacy Edition" may well help them feel better about themselves while doing nothing substantive.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday August 22 2018, @04:55PM (1 child)
For all of history, communicating across any non-trivial network has always run the risk of interception.
You can still plan a revolution with your neighbor with a string and two yogurt pots. Or encrypt your own packets on your HP calculator before typing them into the evil spy computer OS.
It'd be nice if people stopped feeling oppressed when they have more freedom than anyone before them.
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Wednesday August 22 2018, @05:32PM
The problem with using this kind of observation as justification for a particular communication method without considering other factors is the normal distribution, also known as the bell curve [thefreedictionary.com].
Some of the communication methods will have interception risk at the ends of the bell curve (very low risk) and some will have interception risk at the center (high risk, such as Windows 10 which is designed to intercept and transmit the user's activity to home base).
So, while your statements are arguably true, they are not relevant to the point you seem to be trying to make. A reasonable risk evaluation, on the other hand, is relevant, and recommended. Most people, especially Windows 10 users, are going to be able to use Skype without significant additional risk, but only because their communications are already compromised.
If that doesn't matter to you, then it shouldn't hurt for you to know it.
If it does matter to you, you may want to consider it.