Cryptocat
July 28th, 2012Out of my 4 DHS interrogations in the past 3 weeks, it’s the first time I’m asked about Cryptocat crypto and my passport is confiscated.
From what I’ve read so far, Cryptocat looks interesting, mainly because it might be usable by regular computer users.
Cryptogon is read by many people with multiple propellers in their beanie caps. If any of you guys have concerns about what you see here, please let us know:
Web chat client with client-side cryptography.
https://crypto.cat – http://xdtfje3c46d2dnjd.onion
Experimental software: Don’t trust with your life! Peer review appreciated.Cryptocat lets you instantly set up secure conversations. It aims to be an open source encrypted and private alternative to other services such as Facebook chat.
I like that these reasonable caveats are displayed to prospective users on the About page:
What Cryptocat Doesn’t Do
While Cryptocat aims to offer strongly encrypted, private Instant Messaging, it’s important to note what Cryptocat does not protect you against:
Cryptocat does not anonymize you: While your communications are encrypted, your identity can still be traced since Cryptocat does not mask your IP address. For anonymization, we highly recommend using Tor. Cryptocat even offers a Tor Hidden Service at xdtfje3c46d2dnjd.onion.
Cryptocat does not protect against key loggers: Your messages are encrypted as they go through the wire, but that doesn’t mean that your keyboard is necessarily safe. Cryptocat does not protect against hardware or software key loggers which might be snooping on your keyboard strokes and sending them to an undesired third party.
Cryptocat does not protect against untrustworthy people: Parties you’re conversing with may still leak your messages without your knowledge. Cryptocat aims to make sure that only the parties you’re talking to get your messages, but that doesn’t mean these parties are necessarily trustworthy.
Via: Cryptocat:
Cryptocat Adventure! from Nadim Kobeissi on Vimeo.
Chat with privacy.
Converse with your friends, partners and co-workers in privately and securely, in an instant messaging environment that offers encryption without sacrificing accessibility.
Cryptocat is a new, free, open experiment that aims to let you do just that. [sic]
Related:
Interview with Nadim Kobeissi, Creator of Cryptocat
‘This Cute Chat Site Could Save Your Life and Help Overthrow Your Government’
…for what it’s worth, there’s this from http://cryptome.org/2012/07/chile-comments.htm
“– At least 4 crypto.cat chats were intercepted and transcribed. (Feb 2012)“