Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

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webfork
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#46 Post by webfork »

I was reluctant to add the program to the database because it requires a phone number, which seems problematic for several reasons. Still, it maintains advantages over many similar tools including license, resource usage, and simplicity so ...

Please vote: https://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=2964

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Midas
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#47 Post by Midas »

I'm still using the mobile Telegram client and finally decided to test the desktop version, only to be hit with a subtle (but not really minor) portability snag. You see, one of the appeals of Telegram is how it syncs your account contents across installs and devices. To do this, Telegram needs to keep user files somewhere on local storage. By delving into settings, the user is confronted with three options for their location, as pictured below.

The first option is obviously system dependent. The more intuitive option being the last, but as it doesn't take user input results in an absolute path and thus is really non-portable. After some searching, a ticket submitted back in 2015 and answered by (a now departed) Telegram "collaborator" suggests that the second option is the right one for portability. Can anyone here please confirm?
You can choose the second option, it is right what you need -- temp dir in app folder.
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Notwithstanding, I (finally, again) upvoted Telegram's database entry, given how it has been such a consistent and fit-to-purpose offer.

Lastly, I just want to recommend F-Droid's mobile build yet again: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.telegram.messenger/.

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JohnTHaller
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#48 Post by JohnTHaller »

Midas wrote: Sat Jul 14, 2018 4:21 amThe first option is obviously system dependent. The more intuitive option being the last, but as it doesn't take user input results in an absolute path and thus is really non-portable. After some searching, a ticket submitted back in 2015 and answered by (a now departed) Telegram "collaborator" suggests that the second option is the right one for portability. Can anyone here please confirm?
I believe this is the case. Note that it will temporarily store them locally.

It's odd that the portable client doesn't set this by default. Unfortunately, there is no way to set it like that by default without a full settings file. And a third party launcher can't adjust the paths due to the settings being encrypted. I have Telegram Portable configured to warn the user about this on first launch.
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Midas
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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#49 Post by Midas »

Thanks for your confirmation JohnTHaller. Much appreciated. 8)

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Re: Telegram down

#50 Post by smaragdus »

One of our server clusters is down, can affect Middle East and Africa + parts of Europe. Working on bringing everyone back online.
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This is a good example what can happen when communication is bound to servers. Tox cannot be taken down (as far as I know).

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Re: Telegram down

#51 Post by webfork »

smaragdus wrote: Sat Oct 13, 2018 2:20 pm This is a good example what can happen when communication is bound to servers. Tox cannot be taken down (as far as I know).
I don't know if Telegram is more durable than Tox, but I can say if the folks behind the Telegram project move on or decide to shut down, that's exactly what will happen. With Tox meanwhile, there's a pretty good chance any one group closing up wouldn't affect the network. Given all the messaging services that have shut down in the last 5 years, that distributed nature is a very compelling feature.

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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#52 Post by Midas »

Cause I believe this marks a whole different approach to social platforms in terms of accountability and transparency, I'm sharing the last message of Telegram's founder via his own channel.
Last week at Telegram was intense -– we’ve been busy polishing the rough spots in our new iOS app (https://t.me/durov/91) and fighting connection issues with little time left for sleep. Yet, there’s no other company in the world I would rather work at. At Telegram, we have the rare freedom to do what our users expect us to do, standing up for their interests.

The recent exodus of WhatsApp founders (https://gu.com/p/8gkhq) is a good example of what you end up with if you sell your company. You can earn some money, but you lose something much more valuable –- your integrity and the ability to continue improving the lives of hundreds of millions of people.

Last week, it became known that WhatsApp has had a backdoor for years –- anybody you had a video call with could potentially read all your messages (http://disq.us/t/376zfhv). Even if there are no more backdoors left (which seems unlikely), WhatsApp has other flaws (slate.com /technology/2018/06/paul-manafort-how-did-fbi-access-whatsapp-messages.html) which make most of the messages sent via the app accessible to third parties.

In the long run, promises given by corporations like Facebook just don't materialize (https://www.independent.co.uk/node/a8563091.html), because these corporations prioritize maximizing profits over serving their users. And that’s what makes Telegram so different –- the only thing that will ever matter to us is your interests.

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Re: Telegram

#53 Post by smaragdus »

Midas wrote: Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:22 am Cause I believe this marks a whole different approach to social platforms in terms of accountability and transparency, I'm sharing the last message of Telegram's founder via his own channel.
Last week at Telegram was intense -– we’ve been busy polishing the rough spots in our new iOS app (https://t.me/durov/91) and fighting connection issues with little time left for sleep. Yet, there’s no other company in the world I would rather work at. At Telegram, we have the rare freedom to do what our users expect us to do, standing up for their interests.

The recent exodus of WhatsApp founders (https://gu.com/p/8gkhq) is a good example of what you end up with if you sell your company. You can earn some money, but you lose something much more valuable –- your integrity and the ability to continue improving the lives of hundreds of millions of people.

Last week, it became known that WhatsApp has had a backdoor for years –- anybody you had a video call with could potentially read all your messages (http://disq.us/t/376zfhv). Even if there are no more backdoors left (which seems unlikely), WhatsApp has other flaws (slate.com /technology/2018/06/paul-manafort-how-did-fbi-access-whatsapp-messages.html) which make most of the messages sent via the app accessible to third parties.

In the long run, promises given by corporations like Facebook just don't materialize (https://www.independent.co.uk/node/a8563091.html), because these corporations prioritize maximizing profits over serving their users. And that’s what makes Telegram so different –- the only thing that will ever matter to us is your interests.
This is pure corporate junk. In short- "My company is the best company", "We work day and night just to please the users", "Other companies are bad but we are good". Just like any other company this one will abuse and betray its users, sooner or later, perhaps in a more innovative, sophisticated way. Making money while abusing the users, selling their data to other corporations or giving it for free to the state agencies, this is the raison d'être of modern corporations and the essence of modern corporatocracy. One must be an irremediable dullard to give credit to such cheap lies.

Telegram keeps all the users' data online so when the service is down the users can see neither their contact lists nor their message history. It seems that all Telegram is keeping off-line is some cache. If someone manages to penetrate Telegram servers they will get all kind of data- phone numbers, contacts, chats, files.

I trust no one and I have no reason to trust Telegram. It has several advantages over other crap messaging services like LINE, Signal, Viber, WhatsApp, Wire, etc,- no requirement to install it on phone first, native Windows version, portable version, no severe bloat, etc, but that is all. Of course I would not send any sensitive information through Telegram. I use it because I communicate with technically illiterate people who would not be able to cope with Tox clients (especially those for phones).

I would not be surprised at all if in the future it comes out that Telegram too was funded by the 3-letter agencies.

Midas, don't be a babe in the woods, don't trust every lie you read online.

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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#54 Post by Midas »

Whoa, comrade, I feel your pain, really do. But in this dark age of unbridled capitalism we have to make do with what is given to us, and you have to agree that a written statement in allegiance to users by a top man is better than what the competition provides -- i.e., nothing.

I have been using Telegram for a couple of years now and I have never felt betrayed by it. The convenience of having a single streamlined app work both on mobile and desktop is unbeatable in my book and worth every cent of the price one pays for it... ;)

Some related light reading for your fancy: https://betanews.com/2018/10/08/privacy-paradox/.

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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#55 Post by webfork »

Telegram evidently got 3 million new users after a brief Facebook messenger outage. If true, it's interesting to see how small a push people needed to switch platforms.

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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#56 Post by freakazoid »

I'm testing Telegram and I'm trying to figure out how to join a group from a t.me link.

How do you do this with Telegram Portable?
is it stealth? ;)

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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#57 Post by webfork »

freakazoid wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 10:57 am I'm testing Telegram and I'm trying to figure out how to join a group from a t.me link.

How do you do this with Telegram Portable?
The links include the channel name so https://t.me/VideoShare is just "VideoShare". You can search for that like any username.

I was unable to figure out how to use the invites without associating the "TG" links with Telegram. Not very private.

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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#58 Post by Midas »

webfork wrote: I was unable to figure out how to use the invites without associating the "TG" links with Telegram. Not very private.

Don't these links work if you keep Telegram running in the background? When I close my portable Telegram Desktop window, it hides in the system tray but most functions are still available, including linking.

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"Open link" button works for me and the association only becomes permanent if you tick "Remember my choice for tg links".

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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#59 Post by bitcoin »

webfork wrote: Wed May 30, 2018 10:24 am I was reluctant to add the program to the database because it requires a phone number, which seems problematic for several reasons. Still, it maintains advantages over many similar tools including license, resource usage, and simplicity so ...

Please vote: https://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=2964
yeah, i don't like this

i tried to get a Google Voice number to sign up for Telegram and they require an actual phone number too, lol

i see where 200 million phone numbers linked to Facebook accts were leaked recently

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Re: Telegram - cross platform, secure chat

#60 Post by webfork »

Midas wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 2:06 am Don't these links work if you keep Telegram running in the background?
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. Something in-program seems ideal.

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