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Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests

latimes.com

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Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests

#551

Post by loxs »

moltar wrote: post #525
loxs wrote: post #518

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Come on... I don't believe this. My whole extended family below 90 is using actively some varying portion of these: Viber (most used), WhatsApp, Facebook messenger. They are mostly spread in Turkey, Bulgaria and (to a lesser extend) the rest of Europe and some in the US. Grandmas use Viber regularly to share pics of their great-grandchildren with their first cousins (other grandmas). They send holiday wishes, news et…

I’m from Eastern Europe myself. Yes older folks have accounts, but they aren’t active users. They wouldn’t join groups. They wouldn’t vote in the app. My parents in law are a testament to that. They too have all of those apps, yet they can’t even tell the difference between WhatsApp and Viber. We ask them to call us on WhatsApp and they’ll try to call on viber or Skype and then wonder why we are not answering and if…

Maybe not the 85-90 year olds, but 65-70 year olds (my parents) are very politically active.

Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests

#552

Post by myth_drannon »

knolax wrote: post #377
myth_drannon wrote: post #59

There was also a very large Telegram channel where they were doxing riot police members that were participating in attacks on demonstrators. It was extremely efficient infowar since it was their home addresses, family photos, wife's cellphone number...

Wow what a shitty thing to do.

If your teenage son was arrested for nor other reason than walking on the street and then was tortured. Wouldn't you want to punish the perpetrators? But you can't in Belarus. The only way is to call their wives and mothers and tell them the husband/son is a monster.

Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests

#553

Post by Marsymars »

stilisstuk wrote: post #549
Marsymars wrote: post #548

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I kind of see you point about non-secret chats. I don't really make that distinction, I think it's harmful to have E2E as optional, and only use platforms than have either mandatory E2E encryption (Signal, WhatsApp), or no E2E encryption (SMS, email). If you have an in-person conversation with me in confidence, that doesn't grant you any additional powers to make me forget details of the conversation. > Personally:…

> If you won't use Signal, I'm going to force a downgrade to SMS or email, and then you get even worse security and privacy. Or we will set up e2e encrypted telegram. Or not talk. > What if I have a very good memory, and follow conversations by writing up their details You saying that you remember I said something, even took a screenshot vs you can prove I said something, is a big difference. If I am doing a snowden,…

Sorry, I just can't agree with your take. You're fundamentally trying to use technology to restrict rather than enable use cases, and doing so in ways that aren't actually robust to your use cases and threat models.

Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests

#554

Post by sam_lowry_ »

maqp wrote: post #444
sam_lowry_ wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And proxies. Telegram has great proxy support and virtually anyone can install their own MTProxy in 5 min. A multitude of proxies, shadow optic cables over the border and a bit of whitelisting from the government to allow payment processing made Telegram invincible.

Where is their MTProxy tutorial?

https://github.com/TelegramMessenger/MTProxy

Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests

#555

Post by deathtrader666 »

maqp wrote: post #388
ffpip wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love telegram. Great UI, feels natural to use it. And SO MANY features, it's hard to keep up. Unlimited storage helps too.

When you realize end-to-end encryption is a necessary property of all features, you realize Telegram lacks even basic things like desktop clients, syncable chats, and group chats. Not so feature rich anymore ;)

Telegram has desktop clients, syncable chats, and groups chats since ages..

Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests

#556

Post by BTCOG »

maqp wrote: post #422
BTCOG wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Telegram polls are anonymous. Messages are encrypted.

Telegram knows who you are because you register with your phone number. Telegram group messages are not end-to-end encrypted. Telegram desktop messages are not end-to-end encrypted. Telegram's messages are never end-to-end encrypted by default. Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time.

I never replied as you simply restated plainly obvious information about Telegram. I'm intimately familiar with, and would not trust Bruce Schneier. It's not my first day in cryptography.

What you've counterpointed doesn't exactly negate what I said. There are no Belarus state controlled or regionally located Telegram servers. I fully understand and take that risk that server side code is manipulable, and I also fully know they are able to edit open conversations from the server and this has been done. Still a better alternative to choose a foreign state adversarial network these days and to choose E2E and do as best you can to use a throwaway number than to choose something that's been gamed by your own state, for fun and for profit to eavesdrop all conversations out of the gate, or use backdoored WhatsApp. Choose all throwaway, blend in, and don't talk too much.

Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests

#557

Post by ffpip »

maqp wrote: post #449
Arubis wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My recollection (can someone verify?) is that Telegram continues to function in limited-connectivity environments, making it a good fit for situations where a state actor is limiting network access.

There isn't magic that hides list of server IP-addresses from state entities with access to clients source where it's listed https://github.com/zhukov/webogram/blob/c5fc5107cad2a476a03d... .

and it works? Unlike signal in Belarus right now?

What do you have against Telegram? Do you have a competing app, or are you concerned about security?

Everybody (atleast on HN) knows it is not e2ee. They don't use it for security. They know Signal is more secure. Telegram has insane features.

I use Telegram for unlimited file sharing, pirating movies not available in my country, bots. nothing personal

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