A BBC investigation reveals that Microsoft is permanently banning Palestinians in the U.S. and other countries who use Skype to call relatives in Gaza.

  • bbbbbbbbbbb
    link
    667 months ago

    You have to trust someone with these communications, there is no free communication beyond face to face

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      327 months ago

      Matrix (federated) or Briar (multi-modal P2P) are both good options for getting rid of dependency on central organizations.

      • @Aux
        link
        57 months ago

        You’re assuming that people in Gaza have consistent access to the internet. The beauty of Skype is that you can call a landline through it.

    • knightly the Sneptaur
      link
      fedilink
      22
      edit-2
      7 months ago

      Unless you build your own, you have to trust your ISP to move packets, but you don’t have to rely on any third party services or give them your personal info to use social media.

      Fully decentralized, open-source, and encrypted social networks exist. The only servers needed are your computer and the computers of the friends you communicate with. (See: Retroshare )

      They’re just never going to get big because small, personal friend-to-friend networks can’t compete with the network effects of centralized media and a never-ending torrent of dopamine on tap.

      • @Aux
        link
        37 months ago

        From my comment above:

        You’re assuming that people in Gaza have consistent access to the internet. The beauty of Skype is that you can call a landline through it.

      • @Aux
        link
        27 months ago

        How do you call a landline number in a war zone through a matrix server?

        • @theunknownmuncher
          link
          1
          edit-2
          7 months ago

          I was simply responding to the comment:

          You have to trust someone with these communications, there is no free communication beyond face to face

          the oh-so-clever smart alecks saying “whaddabout ISPs???” forgot about 2-way radio and meshnets

        • @9tr6gyp3
          link
          197 months ago

          Wait until you find out about internet service providers

          • knightly the Sneptaur
            link
            fedilink
            147 months ago

            You can have more than one dumb pipe to push bits through, but if the ISP can read your network traffic then you have bigger problems than a single-point-of-failure.

            • @9tr6gyp3
              link
              27 months ago

              Do you have more than one ISP?

              • knightly the Sneptaur
                link
                fedilink
                57 months ago

                I’m very lucky in that regard. Not only do we have a local ISP and mobile service from a national carrier, but the electric co-op that provides our power just ran 2.5Gb/s fiber through the neighborhood and lets members use 200Mb/s on it for free.

              • @Aux
                link
                37 months ago

                Who doesn’t?

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            27 months ago

            For the most part the ISP doesn’t have a way to know you are using VoIP to contact people in a particular country (unless you are using a VoIP service owned by the ISP of course).

        • sunzu
          link
          fedilink
          27 months ago

          Threema is what signal should have been.

          But I ain’t got in me to start forcing people again lol

          Signal it is until it is proven untrustworthy

          • @Zachariah
            link
            37 months ago

            Yeah, they’re both good (still).

            features Threema Signal
            price $5 / 5€ Free
            account creation phone number optional phone number required
        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          57 months ago

          They didn’t fuck up, they made a design choice about the scope of the app. Are they also fucking up by not blurring the messages on screen? After all someone could be looking over your shoulder without you realizing it. Maybe Signal should ship with spyglasses.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            77 months ago

            You’re absolutely right and it’s insane I keep coming across these wild takes from people that clearly don’t understand technology

          • Flying Squid
            link
            -17 months ago

            I’m not sure why you think anyone would want a messenger that touts itself for its encryption to not encrypt things.

              • Flying Squid
                link
                -37 months ago

                Then it’s weird they are fixing it now. Why aren’t they insisting this doesn’t need to be dealt with because it was a feature, not a bug?

                • @[email protected]
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  77 months ago

                  It’s weird that apps sometimes change scope and add features that users want? Ones that contributers already did most of the work for?

                  Why aren’t they insisting this doesn’t need to be dealt with because it was a feature, not a bug?

                  That was literally what they have been saying this whole fucking time.

                  “The database key was never intended to be a secret. At-rest encryption is not something that Signal Desktop is currently trying to provide or has ever claimed to provide,” responded the Signal employee.

                  • Flying Squid
                    link
                    -17 months ago

                    Did they make an intentional design choice which users should have been okay with like you said the first time or is this a feature users wanted? It can’t be both.

                • subignition
                  link
                  fedilink
                  17 months ago

                  It’s really fucking annoying how relentlessly you pick fights with people these days. Wish you’d chill out dude.

                  • Flying Squid
                    link
                    -17 months ago

                    Or I’m just speaking my mind and you don’t agree.

                    And aren’t you picking as fight with me right now?

        • cum
          link
          fedilink
          English
          37 months ago

          Damn that’s bad, and Signal’s response was even worse. They knew about it in 2018, for 6 years.

          • sunzu
            link
            fedilink
            -17 months ago

            I always felt like signal is there more to satisfy a niche so people feel like their whatsapp is good enough.

            Leadership makes some odd chocies IMHO

          • Flying Squid
            link
            07 months ago

            That wouldn’t shock me, but he was right that Signal was not addressing a known vulnerability. In fact, denying that it even was a vulnerability.

            For what it’s worth, I trust Telegram even less than Signal. And at least Signal seems to be finally doing something about the problem.

    • cum
      link
      fedilink
      English
      77 months ago

      Not true at all lol, have you heard of peer-to-peer?

    • @grue
      link
      English
      47 months ago

      This is what net neutrality and anti-trust laws are for.

    • themeatbridge
      link
      -27 months ago

      This is exactly what they want you to believe.