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Heml.is, New Encrypted Messaging Service From Brokep of the Pirate Bay
First time accepted submitter freddej writes "Heml.is ("secret" in Swedish), is a new peer encrypted messaging service from some of the guys behind TPB and Flattr. They describe it as this: 'Our focus is your privacy so we are building everything from software to company structure to protect that. The others are focused on maximizing profit.' So if you agree on the mantra that 'if you're not paying, you're the product' then you might want to check them out."
Caveats: they are begging for money and there is no mention whether this will be Free Software or some kind of proprietary service (in which case, how can you really trust it?). It looks more likely it will be a closed application/service: "We're building a message app where no one can listen in, not even us. We would rather close down the service before letting anyone in ... [what will codes unlock?] It will give you access to extended features of Heml.is like sending image messages and other stuff in the future. Pre-register username will let you register your username before the app is released."
Sorry but I threw out all of my iOS/Android devices when Snowden blew that whistle.
Predicted this. First of many products that will try to offer security in lieu of ads after the Snowden leaks. I feel smart today. It's funding faster than a kickstarter... this gives me a page to refresh today instead of the dislikes on that Miley Cyrus video - good times that one.
Without going all "conspiracy theory" here, what if this is part of a secret arrangement with the secret police for each of the founders to get out of secret jail avoid the secret prosecution and additional secret jail time?
To paraphrase Admiral Ackbar, this could be an elaborate ruse. Realistically though? Its an excellent idea to cash in on the concept of the right to privacy.
- Nec Impar Pluribus, or so I'm told.
Many clients already support OTR: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-Record_Messaging#Native
Many clients have plugins for OTR: http://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr/
When you try to eradicate anything and fail you only succeed in make it stronger and more menacing.
It's true in medicine with antibiotics and bacteria, it's true in nature with mosquitoes and the various failed attempts to defeat their spread of malaria.
Skype was born from the technology to evade detection and network filtering (Kazaa).
First time I fire up Skype I couldn't believe the complexity of the networking it got into.
A close friend, who worked in networking with me, un-installed it immediately as it looked like a trojan at the network layer.
TPB people have learned some very hard lessons about evasion, law and staying alive online under extreme hostilities.
It'll be interesting to see what the next "Skype" will be and this could be either it, or one more step towards it.
That takes more effort, targeting you more specifically. Very different from always on dragnet slurping up everyones communication all the time.
I agree 100 per cent. And I must add that all these so called crypto or secure apps that don't hide the fact of connections are absolutely unsafe. If the FSB (KGB, Russian equivalent of NSA) can compile my contact list they can just torture the content out of them. There is a specific Russian term - "rectothermal cryptoanalyzer" (meaning the hot soldering iron to suspect's anus).
BTW: Hemlis is suspicious because the usernames must be preregistered. The really secure app should have no any central server for the registration info. The admins of such server can be too easily tortured to disclose or stop everything.