So will someone please tell me where to get one of these encrypted messaging apps??!! ASAP, por favor!

I don't even know what the hell they are talking about.

Hey, I have a VPN and keep it on all the time. Does that mean I'm set? As a matter of fact, I think I have more than one.
Heck, I can't keep up with what all this stuff is called, let alone what it does.

I'd be no where were it not for all you young whipper-snappers!

…will only protect you while specifically using them. A VPN will cover ALLof your internet interactions.

Last edited Wed Dec 4, 2024, 02:23 PM - Edit history (1)

VPNs create a secure, encrypted "tunnel" betwen two endpoints. With a commercial VPN such as ExpressVPN, one endpoint is your device and the other is on an ExpressVPN server. Once your traffic leaves that tunnel, it's longer hidden by the VPN.

A VPN won't encrypt traffic end-to-end between the message sender and recipient. For that you'll need a secure messaging app.

There's a reason why the feds are recommending that people who are concerned with message security use secure message apps rather than a VPN.

On edit:

BTW, ExpressVPN posted an article last month comparing/recommending two secure messaging apps:

https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/signal-vs-telegram-which-messaging-app-is-better/?srsltid=AfmBOooXkvj4yFskGXj60kzso79cjapDc8RVfoL_ulDZzuDRgxh7mMGs

PC Magazine reviewed secure messaging apps this month.

It encrypts on my device then unencrypts when on the internet then encrypted then unencrypted at this end?

Not really how it works

but many people apparently use 3rd party messaging apps due to wanting other types of features, customizable layouts, and a better "look and feel".

Here is PC Magazine's list of some 3rd party ones that offer encryption - The Best Private Messaging Apps for 2024

Some are often talked about like "WhatsApp" (which is a Meta product) and "Telegram".

What's scary to me is that many of the RW loons use apps like Telegram.

Android to android is.

Apple keeps playing childish games when it comes to texting between the two.

They both want everyone only in their own ecosystems.

might be a better option for texting non-secure users.

As an example, my husband, son, bil, and I all use Signal, and that’s the bulk of my texting. My husband (working in tech) uses Signal with all his work colleagues. If I want to text my friend who refuses to get Signal, we just use iMessages.

my wife texted me to pick up a package of celery. What interest can China possibly have in shit like that?

Is China going to mess with my HEB grocery delivery later today?

I don't encrypt my grocery lists, I just write them in cursive. Nobody (including me) can read my cursive.

Does that say "celery"? Or "yellow-cake uranium ore"?

The fun is just starting.

Because I did get a couple of texts about it.

I could no longer receive SMS messages from my online accounts and to charge my phone now I have to turn it off and plug it in to a charger.

Privacy & Internet security are a myth in the 21st Century.

Apple to Apple and Google to Google texts are encrypted but messages from one to another are vulnerable, even with the new "RCS" protocol for richer content.

Signal is my alternative of choice, since WhatsApp is owned by Meta, i.e. Zuck, and I don't trust him as far as I can fart INTO THE WIND.

It also does video conferencing, and is not run by ogres; rather, by privacy advocates.

Do you trust Zuck, or someone with the colorful name Moxie Marlinspike?

Marlinspike every time.

because certainly, that has become a means for communications between campaign staff and/or candidates (particularly among the younger ones who look at you if you are crazy if you say "email" ).

sensitive data that the Chinese would love to have.

I believe that they only targeted big shots of some importance, obviously unknown to me.

just connecting dots.

BTW, congrats on 143,000 posts. 🎉🎁🎈

Well before I retired from the feds, I had (required) a serious of encrypted blackberries (and some of my coworkers eventually got iPhones and/or iPads similarly encrypted). Our laptops had special OS images with approved software, that were encrypted (along with encryption of the BIOS of the machine and a HSPD-12 PIV card was required in a card reader when logging in). When connecting to the network remotely, it was done through a special VPN. We even had Ironkeys (encrypted drives) for USB stick file transfers.

So at least the federal government has been at it for awhile.

And thanks regarding the 143K! I knew I was getting close but MIRT and posting here hastens it along!

Time flies when you're having fun.

and thanks for being a DU "bouncer"

Trolls be gone.

trolls have been particularly obnoxious so it's been great to work with the huge team going 24/7 with disposal!!!

of the info I share with my family (over Signal), linking it to my phone number could provide bad actors with some usable data. We all generally do not think enough about the personal info we share online. And don’t get me started on passwords .