• According to the following site, Telegra

    From August Abolins@2:460/58 to Charles Pierson on Sun Sep 13 04:40:11 2020
    Hi Nil,

    I only learned about Telegram itself by seeing discussions about this gateway. I myself am more familiar with a program called GroupMe, which I only learned of because it was used by players in mmorpg games I used to play.

    According to the following site, Telegram usage by monthly active users is pretty low: https://www.statista.com/statistics/350461/mobile-messenger-app-usage-usa/


    --- tg2fido.pl
    * Origin: Telegram to fido gate by Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/58)
  • From August Abolins@2:460/58 to Charles Pierson on Sun Sep 13 04:42:11 2020
    Hi Nil,

    I only learned about Telegram itself by seeing discussions about this gateway. I myself am more familiar with a program called GroupMe, which I only learned of because it was used by players in mmorpg games I used to play.

    Oh.. and I forgot to ask, is Telegram the only one among the other messenger apps that is open-source?


    --- tg2fido.pl
    * Origin: Telegram to fido gate by Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/58)
  • From Charles Pierson@2:460/58 to August Abolins on Sun Sep 13 04:43:11 2020
    Oh.. and I forgot to ask, is Telegram the only one among the other messenger apps that is open-source?

    That is possible.


    --- tg2fido.pl
    * Origin: Telegram to fido gate by Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/58)
  • From Nil Alexandrov@2:5015/46 to August Abolins on Sun Sep 13 05:14:44 2020
    Hello, August!

    Sunday September 13 2020 04:42, from August Abolins -> Charles Pierson:

    Oh.. and I forgot to ask, is Telegram the only one among the other messenger apps that is open-source?

    It's actually a bit tricky. Telegram demonstrates transparency and provides the source code, though nobody knows for sure whether the app in the store is built from the sources without any patches.

    A bit of a history. Russian government asked Telegram to share the cryptographic keys. Telegram rejected to cooperate and stated that end-to-end cryptography does not have such centralized keys to decrypt the whole traffic. There was a court order to block Telegram in Russia and all ISPs added some traffic filters. All those IP filters caused a lot of troubles to non-Telegram services hosted on AWS and other platforms. It was a long war and Telegram traffic was always able to sneak behind all those filters. Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram emigrated from Russia.

    This year something happened and Durov started writing kinda stupid articles, bitching about miserable live in the US including healthcare, police, education system and taxation. Recently he was talking shit about Apple and Google 30% app store commission and how cruel they are. Anyway, suddenly Russian government has removed the ban and Telegram was unblocked in Russia. It was sort of weird way of resolving the issue, because the legal case against Telegram was not dropped, but it was government direct order to unblock. It definitely shows Durov cooperation.

    Best Regards, Nil
    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5
    * Origin: -=NIL BBS=- (2:5015/46)
  • From August Abolins@2:221/1.58 to Nil Alexandrov on Sun Sep 13 00:43:00 2020
    Hello Nil!

    ** On Sunday 13.09.20 - 05:14, Nil Alexandrov wrote to August Abolins:

    Oh.. and I forgot to ask, is Telegram the only one among
    the other messenger apps that is open-source?

    It's actually a bit tricky. Telegram demonstrates
    transparency and provides the source code, though nobody
    knows for sure whether the app in the store is built from
    the sources without any patches.

    That is absolutely right. No one is fooled by the claim that
    it is open-source and yet only have available the compiled
    apps to install.

    It is not much different with the sources for linux code. Not
    everyone even would know what to look for to identify
    nefarious bits of code. Users just fetch the applications and
    the updates, compile, and go.


    A bit of a history. Russian government asked Telegram to
    share the cryptographic keys. Telegram rejected to
    cooperate..

    Yes, I read about that just prior to your post. But I didn't
    know that Russia removed the ban *this year*. I suppose Stas
    wouldn't have dared to operate Telegram while it being banned.
    Good to know that he has freedom to use it now.


    Pavel Durov.. Recently he was talking shit about Apple
    and Google 30% app store commission and how cruel they
    are.

    Hmmmm. Yeah, Why would he *need* to do that? :/


    Anyway, suddenly Russian government has removed the
    ban and Telegram was unblocked in Russia.

    Yes.. very suspect. If the Durov's have emmigrated, why would
    they need to *now* cower to the Russian gov't? Is it because
    of threats and pressure to their families who they left behind
    or something?


    ... but it was government direct order to unblock. It
    definitely shows Durov cooperation.

    Yes. Suspicious.

    So, do you think that the secret-chats feature is not so
    secret?



    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.46
    * Origin: (2:221/1.58)
  • From Nil Alexandrov@2:5015/46 to August Abolins on Sun Sep 13 18:35:48 2020
    Hello, August!

    Sunday September 13 2020 00:43, from August Abolins -> Nil Alexandrov:

    That is absolutely right. No one is fooled by the claim that
    it is open-source and yet only have available the compiled
    apps to install.

    You can compile yourself and install an .apk file on your Android device, though on iOS it's not possible at all (without a developer license or limited to emulation only).

    It is not much different with the sources for linux code. Not
    everyone even would know what to look for to identify
    nefarious bits of code. Users just fetch the applications and
    the updates, compile, and go.

    At least you have choices. LFS (Linux From Scratch) project is what you are looking for.

    Pavel Durov.. Recently he was talking shit about Apple
    and Google 30% app store commission and how cruel they
    are.
    Hmmmm. Yeah, Why would he *need* to do that? :/

    Another reason for him to hate the US and big US high-tech companies is the shutdown of the Telegram TON cryptocurrency project. You cannot just bring in something that will be out of the government control and regulations and big high-tech companies have been always cooperating.

    Yes.. very suspect. If the Durov's have emmigrated, why would
    they need to *now* cower to the Russian gov't? Is it because
    of threats and pressure to their families who they left behind
    or something?

    I guess he is a grown up man now, finally realized that pee against the wind is not the way to go.

    ... but it was government direct order to unblock. It
    definitely shows Durov cooperation.
    Yes. Suspicious.
    So, do you think that the secret-chats feature is not so
    secret?

    Any government will not freely allows popular way of communication be lack of a backdoor for monitoring, period.

    Best Regards, Nil
    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5
    * Origin: -=NIL BBS=- (2:5015/46)
  • From Stas Mishchenkov@2:460/5858 to August Abolins on Sun Sep 13 22:12:34 2020
    Hi, August!

    13 сен 20 04:42, August Abolins -> Charles Pierson:

    Oh.. and I forgot to ask, is Telegram the only one among the other messenger apps that is open-source?

    They say that Viber also has free bots ...

    Have nice nights.
    Stas Mishchenkov.

    --- Стыдно бывает только за то, что помнишь. Алкоголь.
    * Origin: Lame Users Breeding. Simferopol, Crimea. (2:460/5858)
  • From Stas Mishchenkov@2:460/5858 to August Abolins on Sun Sep 13 22:39:10 2020
    Hi, August!

    Yes, I read about that just prior to your post. But I didn't
    know that Russia removed the ban *this year*. I suppose Stas
    wouldn't have dared to operate Telegram while it being banned.
    Good to know that he has freedom to use it now.

    These are stereotypes - "Russian vodka, balalaika, bears ..." Nothing like this happens here. What is such a ban? Everything works and worked for me. Especially when you consider that formally, for Crimeans, most of the Internet resources are closed by their owners, mind you, and not by Russian officials. Even our children know how to get around these prohibitions.

    Well, you made me fun, honestly. ;)

    Have nice nights.
    Stas Mishchenkov.

    --- Муж без жены - как дуб без дятла.
    * Origin: Lame Users Breeding. Simferopol, Crimea. (2:460/5858)
  • From Charles Pierson@2:460/58 to Stas Mishchenkov on Sun Sep 13 22:49:11 2020
    Answering a msg from Stas Mishchenkov:
    Hi, August!

    Yes, I read about that just prior to your post. But I didn't
    know that Russia removed the ban *this year*. I suppose Stas
    wouldn't have dared to operate Telegram while it being banned.
    Good to know that he has freedom to use it now.

    These are stereotypes - "Russian vodka, balalaika, bears ..." Nothing like this happens here. What is such a ban? Everything works and worked for me. Especially when you consider that formally, for Crimeans, most of the Internet resources are closed by their owners, mind you, and not by Russian officials. Even our children know how to get around these prohibitions.

    Well, you made me fun, honestly. ;)

    Have nice nights.
    Stas Mishchenkov.

    Much like the President here threatening to ban the TikTok app my granddaughters seem to love so well. They can try, but people will find their own way.


    --- tg2fido.pl
    * Origin: Telegram to fido gate by Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/58)
  • From Stas Mishchenkov@2:460/5858 to Charles Pierson on Sun Sep 13 23:00:48 2020
    Hi, Charles!

    13 сен 20 22:49, Charles Pierson -> Stas Mishchenkov:

    Much like the President here threatening to ban the TikTok app my granddaughters seem to love so well. They can try, but people will
    find their own way.

    My son is eleven years old. When I banned some sites on the router, hi hacked the Wi-Fi of the neighbors. ;)

    Have nice nights.
    Stas Mishchenkov.

    --- Коньки и ласты - что суждено отбросить, того уже не склеишь...
    * Origin: Lame Users Breeding. Simferopol, Crimea. (2:460/5858)
  • From August Abolins@2:221/1.58 to Stas Mishchenkov on Sun Sep 13 17:39:00 2020
    Hello Stas!

    ** On Sunday 13.09.20 - 23:00, Stas Mishchenkov wrote to Charles Pierson:

    My son is eleven years old. When I banned some sites on
    the router, hi hacked the Wi-Fi of the neighbors. ;)

    He was probably watching you VERY closely!

    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.46
    * Origin: (2:221/1.58)
  • From August Abolins@2:221/1.58 to Charles Pierson on Sun Sep 13 17:49:00 2020
    Hello Charles!

    ** On Sunday 13.09.20 - 22:49, Charles Pierson wrote to Stas Mishchenkov:

    Much like the President here threatening to ban the
    TikTok app my granddaughters seem to love so well. They
    can try, but people will find their own way.

    Yes.. people will just be driven underground to get around the
    bans.

    But if tiktok is known to scrape private information from the
    phones that it is being used on, that's not so great. It is
    sad that young people are willing to give up privacy for the
    sake of dancing on a teeny tiny screen.

    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.46
    * Origin: (2:221/1.58)
  • From August Abolins@2:221/1.58 to Stas Mishchenkov on Sun Sep 13 17:55:00 2020
    Hello Stas!

    ** On Sunday 13.09.20 - 22:39, Stas Mishchenkov wrote to August Abolins:

    These are stereotypes - "Russian vodka, balalaika, bears
    ..." Nothing like this happens here. What is such a ban?
    Everything works and worked for me. Especially when you
    consider that formally, for Crimeans, most of the
    Internet resources are closed by their owners, mind you,
    and not by Russian officials. Even our children know how
    to get around these prohibitions.

    The reports of a ban from the gov't is not a stereotype. It's
    just bad media reporting, I guess. Maybe the truth gets lost
    in translation.

    There is probably more to the story about Telegram (the
    backdoors, encryption, etc) that we will probably never learn
    all about.


    Well, you made me fun, honestly. ;)

    You mean I made you laugh? OK then.

    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.46
    * Origin: (2:221/1.58)
  • From August Abolins@2:221/1.58 to Nil Alexandrov on Sun Sep 13 18:09:00 2020
    Hello Nil!

    ** On Sunday 13.09.20 - 18:35, Nil Alexandrov wrote to August Abolins:

    You can compile yourself and install an .apk file on your
    Android device, though on iOS it's not possible at all
    (without a developer license or limited to emulation
    only).

    Nice. So, if your compiled version matches in size and
    checksum, then we can be confident that the ready-made version
    is legit?


    Yes. Suspicious.
    So, do you think that the secret-chats feature is not so
    secret?

    Any government will not freely allows popular way of
    communication be lack of a backdoor for monitoring,
    period.

    Hmmm.. maybe there is a backdoor to the backdoor? <g>

    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.46
    * Origin: (2:221/1.58)
  • From Nil Alexandrov@2:5015/46 to August Abolins on Mon Sep 14 02:34:02 2020
    Hello, August!

    Sunday September 13 2020 18:09, from August Abolins -> Nil Alexandrov:

    You can compile yourself and install an .apk file on your
    Android device, though on iOS it's not possible at all
    (without a developer license or limited to emulation
    only).

    Nice. So, if your compiled version matches in size and
    checksum, then we can be confident that the ready-made version
    is legit?

    Not that easy. First, there might be variance in environment and compile and libraries versions so that the result binary differs. On top of that the app has to be sign and stuff. I am not a mobile developer but suspect that you just cannot do the binary comparison here.

    Any government will not freely allows popular way of
    communication be lack of a backdoor for monitoring,
    period.
    Hmmm.. maybe there is a backdoor to the backdoor? <g>

    It is called cooperation, not the blackdoor.

    Best Regards, Nil
    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5
    * Origin: -=NIL BBS=- (2:5015/46)
  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to Stas Mishchenkov on Sun Sep 13 15:30:00 2020
    Stas Mishchenkov wrote to Charles Pierson <=-

    My son is eleven years old. When I banned some sites on the router, hi hacked the Wi-Fi of the neighbors. ;)

    My neighbor's router credentials are admin/password. Not too hard to
    figure out.

    The kids have learned to use the cell networks on their phone to get
    around our wifi parental controls. I've told both of the kids that I
    reserve the right to inspect their phones and for us to discuss any
    inappropriate content in a non-judgemental manner. It might be time
    for that nuclear option.



    ... Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
    --- MultiMail/XT v0.52
    * Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)
  • From Daryl Stout@1:19/33 to August Abolins on Sun Sep 13 10:26:00 2020
    August,

    According to the following site, Telegram usage by monthly active users
    is pretty low: https://www.statista.com/statistics/350461/mobile-messenger-app-usage-us a/

    I used to use the Telegram utility on a ham radio net, but since I'm no longer part of the net, I no longer use it.

    Daryl, WX4QZ

    ... If you hear an Onion Ring, please answer it.
    === MultiMail/Win v0.52
    --- SBBSecho 3.11-Win32
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (1:19/33)
  • From Nil Alexandrov@2:5015/46 to Daryl Stout on Mon Sep 14 19:55:42 2020
    Hello, Daryl!

    Sunday September 13 2020 10:26, from Daryl Stout -> August Abolins:

    I used to use the Telegram utility

    Pardon? You said utility? Though we are talking about telegram app here.

    on a ham radio net, but since I'm no longer part of the net, I no
    longer use it.

    Don't see the connection between Telegram and your ham network. Does your HAM club use the Telegram for group texting sort of?

    Me personally, I'm on and off HAM operator.

    Daryl, WX4QZ

    !73 DE KC1GSH

    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5
    * Origin: -=NIL BBS=- (2:5015/46)
  • From Brother Rabbit@2:460/58.10 to August Abolins on Wed Sep 16 11:19:12 2020
    Hi, August!

    13 сен 20 17:39, August Abolins -> Stas Mishchenkov:

    My son is eleven years old. When I banned some sites on
    the router, hi hacked the Wi-Fi of the neighbors. ;)

    He was probably watching you VERY closely!

    Of course, he learned from me. However, he still had to figure out that he could take the Internet elsewhere.

    Have nice nights.
    Brother Rabbit.

    --- Свободная баба должна показывать сиськи. Замужняя не должна,но тоже вправе
    * Origin: Lame Users Breeding. Simferopol, Crimea. (2:460/58.10)
  • From Brother Rabbit@2:460/58.10 to August Abolins on Wed Sep 16 11:20:58 2020
    Hi, August!

    13 сен 20 17:55, August Abolins -> Stas Mishchenkov:

    The reports of a ban from the gov't is not a stereotype.

    We have no such thing as a government ban. It's just that some dumb officials try too hard to show their loyalty.

    Some blockages do exist, but these are drug sites and other child pornography. I would still hack all this on my router, but only more accurately and playfully.

    It's just bad media reporting, I guess.

    It's not news at all that the media loves to turn a fly into an elephant.

    Maybe the truth gets lost in translation.

    Yes. The language barrier makes one speak in simple sentences and sometimes because of this the subtle meaning of what is said is lost. I'm not even talking about the difficulty of understanding ideomatisms. (It's raining cats and dogs). :)


    Have nice nights.
    Brother Rabbit.

    --- Свободная баба должна показывать сиськи. Замужняя не должна,но тоже вправе
    * Origin: Lame Users Breeding. Simferopol, Crimea. (2:460/58.10)
  • From Daryl Stout@1:19/33 to Nil Alexandrov on Tue Sep 15 01:07:00 2020
    Nil,

    I used to use the Telegram utility

    Pardon? You said utility? Though we are talking about telegram app
    here.

    It may be. I had it on the desktop, but can't remember if I had it on
    the smartphone.

    Don't see the connection between Telegram and your ham network. Does
    your HAM club use the Telegram for group texting sort of?

    Actually, yes...that's how the Net Controls communicated with each other during a net.

    Me personally, I'm on and off HAM operator.

    Daryl, WX4QZ

    !73 DE KC1GSH

    Good to see another hamming BBS User. <G>

    Daryl

    ... I hate 4 letter words...cook, wash, dust, iron, work.
    === MultiMail/Win v0.52
    --- SBBSecho 3.11-Win32
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (1:19/33)
  • From Nil Alexandrov@2:5015/46 to Daryl Stout on Wed Sep 16 19:16:04 2020
    Hello, Daryl!

    Tuesday September 15 2020 01:07, from Daryl Stout -> Nil Alexandrov:

    Me personally, I'm on and off HAM operator.
    Daryl, WX4QZ
    !73 DE KC1GSH
    Good to see another hamming BBS User. <G>

    You're welcome to the *amateur_radio* Fidonet echo where you can specifically find folks with BBS/Fido and HAM overlap.

    Best Regards, Nil
    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5
    * Origin: -=NIL BBS=- (2:5015/46)
  • From Daryl Stout@1:19/33 to Nil Alexandrov on Thu Sep 17 08:26:00 2020
    You're welcome to the *amateur_radio* Fidonet echo where you can specifically find folks with BBS/Fido and HAM overlap.

    I think I have it on the BBS, but I don't post any bulletins from
    W1AW or Newsline or callsign updates, as I think that's already being
    done. But, if the moderator doesn't mind, I can add those to that.

    Daryl, WX4QZ

    ... I'm Droopy Of Borg. You know what?? You're about to be assimilated.
    === MultiMail/Win v0.52
    --- SBBSecho 3.11-Win32
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (1:19/33)