I think the real question should be is there possibly a back door on your mobile os of choice, because it won't matter what app you use if your os is already capable of capturing that data system wide.
Ask a hacker: Top four anti-surveillance apps
21–30 of 45 posts
Re: Ask a hacker: Top four anti-surveillance apps
#22No iOS suggestions?
A secure text messaging app I like and use is Threema (http://threema.ch/en/index.html). All servers are allegedly located in switzerland. The app uses public-private-key end-to-end encryption.
You can exchange keys locally via QR code and it is available for both Android and iOS.
You can still sync your phonebook in whatsapp style. It's a good compromise between being secure and being pragmatic to me.
However, it's not open source, so you still have to trust the app (and the OS) not to send out your private key.
Re: Ask a hacker: Top four anti-surveillance apps
#23No iOS suggestions?
iOS versions of RedPhone and TextSecure are currently in development.
Re: Ask a hacker: Top four anti-surveillance apps
#24No iOS suggestions?
If you're jailbroken (which you probably should consider if privacy is a concern), FirewallIP is the reason I still haven't switched to Android: http://yllier.webs.com/firewall.html
Can you expand on why one should jailbreak? Any other jailbroken app suggestions? I was under the impression that jailbreaking also opened you up to be hacked and made the phone less secure.
Re: Ask a hacker: Top four anti-surveillance apps
#25I remember the time, about 6 or 7 years ago when I've asked in front of the whole class to the associate professor of the security course, whether building a text messages encryption app would have been a good idea as project for the course. The answer was a smickering "only a drug dealer would be interested in such a thing". oh man, that hurt... if I only knew a valid point against the "I've got nothing to hide" arg…
I've got nothing to hide Got a handy link to that or similar arguments?
I keep this one bookmarked, for exactly that reason:
Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have 'Nothing to Hide'
http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Privacy-Matters-Even-if/127...
The problem seems to be, to me it's so obvious that it matters even if you have "nothing to hide", that whenever someone confronts me with that argument I'm a bit dumbfounded :)
Re: Ask a hacker: Top four anti-surveillance apps
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've got nothing to hide Got a handy link to that or similar arguments?
I keep this one bookmarked, for exactly that reason: Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have 'Nothing to Hide' http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Privacy-Matters-Even-if/127... The problem seems to be, to me it's so obvious that it matters even if you have "nothing to hide", that whenever someone confronts me with that argument I'm a bit dumbfounded :)
Your link is broken, but this one works: http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Privacy-Matters-Even-if/127...;
Re: Ask a hacker: Top four anti-surveillance apps
#27No iOS suggestions?
A secure text messaging app I like and use is Threema ( http://threema.ch/en/index.html ). All servers are allegedly located in switzerland. The app uses public-private-key end-to-end encryption. You can exchange keys locally via QR code and it is available for both Android and iOS. You can still sync your phonebook in whatsapp style. It's a good compromise between being secure and being pragmatic to me. However, it'…
> it's not open source, so you still have to trust the app (and the OS) not to send out your private key.
Or that it actually implements encryption correctly.
Closed source is really not an option. Let's get it right this time.
Re: Ask a hacker: Top four anti-surveillance apps
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
I keep this one bookmarked, for exactly that reason: Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have 'Nothing to Hide' http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Privacy-Matters-Even-if/127... The problem seems to be, to me it's so obvious that it matters even if you have "nothing to hide", that whenever someone confronts me with that argument I'm a bit dumbfounded :)
Your link is broken, but this one works: http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Privacy-Matters-Even-if/127... ;
Fixed mine. Yours is broken in the same way :) Some weird escaping/encoding quirk going on there that seems to be caused by the trailing slash.
Re: Ask a hacker: Top four anti-surveillance apps
#29I remember the time, about 6 or 7 years ago when I've asked in front of the whole class to the associate professor of the security course, whether building a text messages encryption app would have been a good idea as project for the course. The answer was a smickering "only a drug dealer would be interested in such a thing". oh man, that hurt... if I only knew a valid point against the "I've got nothing to hide" arg…
I've got nothing to hide Got a handy link to that or similar arguments?
The essay is totally worth reading: gives probably the best definition of privacy I've seen and covers a good amount of use cases. http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/07/privacy_and_th...
Re: Ask a hacker: Top four anti-surveillance apps
#30If you have an Android phone, I'd recommend getting an Open Source ROM (so you can verify it is secure) and removing as much proprietary software as possible. I'd also use Firefox as Chrome for Android isn't Open Source (even though Chromium, Blink, etc are).
This suggestion comes up a lot, and yet isn't practical. I can read and write code, like many, but haven't the time or inclination (and arguably skill) to "verify it is secure". I can however watch what an app sends over the wire, which applies as much to proprietary as it does to open source software. How do you go about verifying an arbitrary app is secure?
You can trust that there are a lot more developer eyes on open source software than proprietary software. You personally may not be able to verify every piece of software you have, but if you run free/open software, you know it's theoretically possible to discover vulnerabilities, and that you'll find out eventually if those security holes are found. In the worst case, you can hire a security professional to personally audit a program that is particularly important to you or your business.
You have no such options with closed software.