a new super-secure messenger program has been released, which runs on linux and windows platforms
PSST is an open source messaging system, which allows super secure communication between two computers.. PSST is an answer to the current threats to private communication by govs worldwide.. Total surveillance as the solution to prevent terrorist attacks – stupid! Encryption has been used thousands of years ago and will never disappear. There is always a way to go for privacy.
PSST is a new way..
from their website netforth.sourceforge.net/psst/:
There are times when you want to be sure that no one can listen to your online conversations. Whether exchanging credit card numbers, or discussing sensitive corporate material, or sharing delicate personal information, you need to be sure of your privacy.
Most chat and instant messaging programs route your communications through central servers, and/or relay your messages in plain text for all to see.
Add to this the recent spate of new laws authorising governments all over the world to monitor your personal communication, and you’ll realise the chilling truth – your privacy is under greater threat than ever before.
Enter PSST… With PSST, your private messages don’t go through any server – they are peer to peer, direct from your PC to the PC of the person you’re talking to. Also, they’re encrypted, meaning that nobody without a lot of expensive resources can eavesdrop on you. All encryption is handled automatically in the background, so you don’t have to mess around with complicated keys and so forth.
PSST is rough-n-ready – a very basic console-based program, yet mindlessly easy to use.
You just type in the hostname or IP address of whoever you want to talk to, and you’re connected. Speak Freely. British users can breathe easy as well. Since the encryption keys are randomly generated and securely exchanged, and not stored, you are outside the reach of the Regulation of Investigative Powers Act – you can’t hand over any keys if you don’t have access to them yourself !!
PSST is not guaranteed to be absolutely secure. But it is a major pain for anyone to compromise your privacy. It would require military-grade supercomputers to crack the 128-bit block encryption, and even then, you would have to be regarded as important enough to justify the use of major supercomputer resources for what would be a major investigation project..
The fact that keys are randomly generated with every session makes cracking even harder. You can feel safe that no private company will be able to crack the codes. Even the US military would suffer major difficulty, and would find it easier to break into your home or office and install keyboard/screen loggers, or park TEMPEST vans outside.
If you want to feel safer, then always run PSST from a cheap laptop that you have in your possession at all times, and encase the laptop within a Faraday cage, and/or from within a TEMPEST-shielded room, and/or have nearby a source of strong EMR white/brown noise, and/or change your physical location frequently. This will make it much harder for anyone trying to TEMPEST you.
You deserve the ability to communicate privately.
It’s a basic human right.