Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

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webfork
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#61 Post by webfork »

bitcoin wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 5:11 pm i tried to get a Google Voice number to sign up for Telegram and they require an actual phone number too, lol
It's not ideal. I'm not sure why so many secure messengers insist on Phone number functionality. I guess it's one way to avoid getting bombarded by loads of free/anon accounts to harass someone with? I think there are other ways to handle that.
bitcoin wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 5:11 pm i see where 200 million phone numbers linked to Facebook accts were leaked recently
Yeah Facebook and security is like oil and water.

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Midas
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#62 Post by Midas »

webfork wrote: Yes but I assume it's restricted to whether or not TG links are associated with the program, which isn't as stealth as I'd prefer.

Not true if the launcher cleans up after itself -- I haven't really checked, though... :|

webfork wrote: Yeah Facebook and security is like oil and water.

OT, but apropos...
Not everyone will use access to your personal life in your interest, however. Fraudsters might use your date of birth to impersonate you while they commit a crime; companies might use your tastes to lure you into a bad deal; enemies might use your darkest fears to threaten and extort you. People who don’t have your best interest at heart will exploit your data to further their own agenda. Privacy matters because the lack of it gives others power over you.

bitcoin
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#63 Post by bitcoin »

webfork wrote: Sun Sep 08, 2019 10:25 am
bitcoin wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 5:11 pm i tried to get a Google Voice number to sign up for Telegram and they require an actual phone number too, lol
It's not ideal. I'm not sure why so many secure messengers insist on Phone number functionality. I guess it's one way to avoid getting bombarded by loads of free/anon accounts to harass someone with? I think there are other ways to handle that.
i saw on another site about Telegram, supposedly its to reduce spam

Rudy5
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#64 Post by Rudy5 »

Telegram on first launch creates couple of registry keys

Code: Select all

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TelegramDesktop

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\tg

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\tdesktop.tg

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\RegisteredApplications
"Telegram Desktop"="SOFTWARE\\TelegramDesktop\\Capabilities"

But if you delete them it won't create them again. So, i guess it's stealth

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Midas
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#65 Post by Midas »

Thanks for the info, Rudy5 -- I confirmed the presence of those.

FYI, they integrate the portable with Windows shell capabilities, like running Telegram to lauch ".tg" links.

BTW, although launched back in 2016, Telegraph (https://telegra.ph/) -- which looks like a bare-bones Medium -- just came to my knowledge...


My test post is at https://telegra.ph/Testing-01-31-4...

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webfork
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#66 Post by webfork »

This doesn't really affect Telegram Desktop users, which runs on a platform that has a blurry relationship with location awareness (laptops don't often come with GPS or connection to cell towers), but Telegram mobile users might be interested in a potential privacy issue discussed over at Ars. That program doesn't really need your location anyhow, so disabling this feature inside the app or at the OS level shouldn't be an issue.

freakazoid
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#67 Post by freakazoid »

Just a FYI to make sure you login every once in awhile to prevent Telegram from deleting your account and having to register a new account all over again.

I didn't know that Telegram removes inactive accounts. I believe the default inactive period is six months, but you can change this to a maximum of one year in the client's settings.
is it stealth? ;)

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Midas
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#68 Post by Midas »

As the resident Telegram fanboi, allow me do a little proselytizing on its behalf... :roll:

The problem stems from a feature called People Nearby. By default, it’s turned off. When users enable it, their geographic distance is shown to other people who have it turned on and are in (or are spoofing) the same geographic region. When People Nearby is used as designed, it’s a useful feature with few if any privacy concerns. After all, a notification that someone is 1 kilometer or 600 meters away still leaves stalkers guessing where, precisely, you are.

[...]

By using just three different locations and measuring the corresponding distance reported by People Nearby, he is able to pinpoint a user’s precise location.


My highlight above -- although I wouldn't dream of denying awareness of one's tools vulnerabilities isn't always a good thing. But the procedure explained is basic triangulation, it's how any navigation device establishes a location and so it's not specific of Telegram.

This being said, let's have the other party sound out...

In the first week of January, Telegram surpassed 500 million monthly active users. After that it kept growing: 25 million new users joined Telegram in the last 72 hours alone. These new users came from across the globe -– 38% from Asia, 27% from Europe, 21% from Latin America and 8% from MENA.

[...]

People no longer want to exchange their privacy for free services. They no longer want to be held hostage by tech monopolies that seem to think they can get away with anything as long as their apps have a critical mass of users.

With half a billion active users and accelerating growth, Telegram has become the largest refuge for those seeking a communication platform committed to privacy and security. We take this responsibility very seriously. We won't let you down.

Those of you who have used Telegram for the last several years know we've been consistent both when it comes to defending private data and to improving our apps. For those of you who just joined and are wondering what Telegram stands for, I'd like to quote my post from 2018 (https://telegram.org/blog/200-million):

You -– our users -– have been and will always be our only priority. Unlike other popular apps, Telegram doesn’t have shareholders or advertisers to report to. We don't do deals with marketers, data miners or government agencies. Since the day we launched in August 2013 we haven't disclosed a single byte of our users' private data to third parties.

Coming from a guy who moved to Germany from it's native country to escape the long arm of the Russian state when it became hell-bent on breaching his platform's privacy -- that has to be worth something, IMHO...

thepiney
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#69 Post by thepiney »

I'll admit, I'm kind of torn on this subject after the events of the last week. I wholeheartedly agree that a secure and private platform is needed to protect freedoms around the world really, but with people using these platforms to setup/plan insurrection and/or violent actions....

The stuff I've been reading about the false security of Parlor and how that data was being downloaded for use of evidence discovery. Data showing users locations during the events of Jan. 6th and geolocation and/or other embedded data of pictures and videos that were previously recorded are a bit scary, but under the circumstances, I'm not sure if I agree or disagree with that info being extracted.

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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#70 Post by Midas »

And... this just in: at least 10 different heads-of-state now maintain verified Telegram accounts, prompting an official comment from Durov.

We are honored that political leaders, as well as numerous public organizations (https://t.me/corona/22), rely on Telegram to combat misinformation and spread awareness about important issues in their societies.

Unlike other networks, Telegram doesn't use nontransparent algorithms to decide whether a subscriber will see content they subscribed to or not. As a result, Telegram channels are the only direct way for opinion leaders to reliably connect with their audiences.

By removing the manipulative algorithms that have become synonymous with 2010s technology platforms, Telegram channels restore transparency and integrity to public "one-to-many" communication.

And also:
Telegram was the most downloaded non-gaming app worldwide for January 2021 with more than 63 million installs, 3.8 times its downloads in January 2020. [...] App download estimates are from Sensor Tower’s Store Intelligence platform.

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rbon
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#71 Post by rbon »

Topic update:
Telegram Desktop rel. 2.6.1 has been released on February 24, 2021
• Telegram Desktop web site: https://desktop.telegram.org/
• GitHub project page: https://github.com/telegramdesktop/tdesktop
• GitHub direct download portable 32 bit: https://github.com/telegramdesktop/tdes ... .2.6.1.zip
• GitHub direct download portable 64 bit: https://github.com/telegramdesktop/tdes ... .2.6.1.zip
• Softpedia: https://www.softpedia.com/get/PORTABLE- ... ktop.shtml

Changelog in rel 2.6.1
• Fix time formatting in links.
• Fix copy QR code in night mode.
• Fix invite link sharing without a comment.
• Fix crash in link editing on Linux.

Full changelog: https://desktop.telegram.org/changelog?setln=en
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots. So far, the universe is winning." - Rick Cook.

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giulia
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#72 Post by giulia »

hi
the portable version released by portableapps is not stealth at all
there are several registry keys left
have you checked?
thanks

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rbon
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#73 Post by rbon »

giulia wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:17 am hi
the portable version released by portableapps is not stealth at all
there are several registry keys left
Telegram Desktop Portable 2.7.4 Rev 2 released at April 29, 2021
• Telegram Portable: https://portableapps.com/news/2021-04-2 ... 2-released

Changelog in Rev 2
Rev 2
This update removes two registry keys that Telegram now adds.
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots. So far, the universe is winning." - Rick Cook.

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Midas
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#74 Post by Midas »

BTW, Durov (Telegram's founder) posted this last Wednesday:
Really excited about the recently launched web versions of Telegram -- https://webk.telegram.org and https://webz.telegram.org 🎉

They are light years ahead of what any other social media service has to offer on the web: fast, slick, fluid, light, feature-rich. To make them 100% complete in features, we are currently testing a functional version of web-based video calls internally, which will be added soon. WebK and WebZ are by far the most cross-platform versions of Telegram we shipped so far -- you can instantly access your chats from both mobile and desktop directly from your web browser. No downloads, no installs.

bitcoin
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#75 Post by bitcoin »

thepiney wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:13 am I'll admit, I'm kind of torn on this subject after the events of the last week. I wholeheartedly agree that a secure and private platform is needed to protect freedoms around the world really, but with people using these platforms to setup/plan insurrection and/or violent actions....
yeah that insurrection was terrifying, they almost took over the capitol. We might have had to have a govt in exile.

Luckily antifa and BLM dont have access to these kind of platforms and even if they did i'm sure the FBI and DOJ would be right on it

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