Safe Instant Messaging

[Kevin Brown]

  On 3/22/2013 2:11 PM, Derek Trotter wrote:
> On 03/15/2013 10:08 PM, Michael Butash wrote:
>> I won't use skype for the same reason.  I'd held off for x years 
>> they've existed, and was going to make one finally as a client used 
>> it for official and non im, but soon as microsoft bought them, I 
>> wrote them off.
>>
>> Microsoft will not say no if the government tells them to (antitrust, 
>> anyone?).  Blackberry did this in india actually making the news 
>> forced to give up access to a foreign government, but no news here as 
>> they already do.  They'll have your cell or wired isp give up raw 
>> bitstreams of your traffic with or without a subpoena if they're that 
>> interested.
>
> I was reminded of this when  I read an article today in The Register 
> about Canonical working with the Chinese government to produce a 
> version of ubuntu customized for China.
> From 
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/22/china_makes_linux_os_with_canonical_help/
>
> Because the software is open source it's unlikely that any backdoors 
> could be added into the Ubuntu OS without the global Linux community 
> taking notice.
>
> This contrasts with Skype, which is available in a Chinese-flavour 
> that spies on its users and logs information about them talking or 
> making phone calls about sensitive subjects to the repressive state. 
> The software is delivered as a partnership between local company TOM 
> Online and Microsoft 
> <http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-08/skypes-been-hijacked-in-china-and-microsoft-is-o-dot-k-dot-with-it>.
>
>
Being open source doesn't prevent an application from doing what Skype 
does. Especially if you are talking to someone else's server. I use 
Apache for my stuff, no user coming to a site I build has any idea what 
Apache is doing with the request they are making. I could very easily 
make the server report to the FBI for any connection to "questionable" 
material and no one would be the wiser. Same thing with any software 
that needs an intermediary to work (IM, web browsing, email, etc...).