Telegram - secure, free messaging • Hacker News Board

Telegram - secure, free messaging

#1

Post by macalicious » Mon, Dec 16, 2013, 8:06 AM UTC

Telegram - secure, free messaging
telegram.org

Re: Telegram - secure, free messaging

#2

Post by agilebyte » Mon, Dec 16, 2013, 9:01 AM UTC

Awesome Fallout-style icons.

Re: Telegram - secure, free messaging

#3

Post by conroy » Mon, Dec 16, 2013, 9:04 AM UTC

    The important thing to remember is that all Telegram messages
    are always securely encrypted. The difference between messages
    in Secret Chats and ordinary Telegram messages is in the 
    encryption type: client-client in case of Secret Chats, 
    client-server/server-client for ordinary chats.

Where "securely encrypted" means that the Telegram server has full access to message contents for ordinary chats. All chats should be "Secret Chats", not the other way around.

Re: Telegram - secure, free messaging

#4

Post by thomasfl » Mon, Dec 16, 2013, 9:08 AM UTC

If this get popular and the people behind it can be trusted, this could replace sms and e-mail. The iOS, Android and CLI clients are open source, but I they need to open source the backend too. I also like the idea of giving the noun "telegram" a new meaning.

Re: Telegram - secure, free messaging

#5

Post by gprasanth » Mon, Dec 16, 2013, 9:12 AM UTC

Is HTTPS not secure channel for communication between client-server? What is the reason behind using an entirely different protocol for client-server communication[0] over HTTP?

[0] - http://core.telegram.org/mtproto

Re: Telegram - secure, free messaging

#6

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Dec 16, 2013, 9:13 AM UTC

agilebyte wrote: post #2

Awesome Fallout-style icons.

[deleted]

Re: Telegram - secure, free messaging

#7

Post by na85 » Mon, Dec 16, 2013, 9:15 AM UTC

From their FAQ:

>Q: How secure is Telegram?

>Very secure. We are based on a new protocol, MTProto, built by our own specialists from scratch, with security in mind. At this moment, the biggest security threat to your Telegram messages is your mother reading over your shoulder. We took care of the rest.

Oh good, a bunch of randoms have rolled their own crypto. I stopped reading at this point.

Re: Telegram - secure, free messaging

#8

Post by macalicious » Mon, Dec 16, 2013, 9:16 AM UTC

thomasfl wrote: post #4

If this get popular and the people behind it can be trusted, this could replace sms and e-mail. The iOS, Android and CLI clients are open source, but I they need to open source the backend too. I also like the idea of giving the noun "telegram" a new meaning.

Replacing SMS I can see, since whatsApp/GroupMe/iMessages/whatsoever is already doing so, but replacing e-mail? Why would it replace e-mail in your opinion? I think IM/chats have a completely different purpose compared to e-mail, which unfortunately is often times used wrongly imho.