Privacy Blog

"Friends don’t let friends get spied on.' – Richard Stallman, President of the Free Software Foundation and longtime advocate of privacy in technology.

Telephone Security

Leave a comment

Sophisticated Banking Malware Targets Android Users

Android smartphones have become a popular target for criminal hackers looking to steal personal information and break into bank accounts. Now, researchers at the Slovakian security firm ESET say they’ve discovered a new strain of malicious Android software called Spy.Agent.SI that could be particularly dangerous to users. The malware, targeting 20 of the largest banks in New Zealand, Australia, and Turkey, locks up the device’s screen unless users give up […]

Continue Reading →

Leave a comment

British Spies can Legally Hack PCs and Phones, say the British Spies’ Overseers

Blighty’s spying nerve center GCHQ has a license to hack computers and devices at will, a UK intelligence oversight court has ruled. The judgment was handed down on Friday after Privacy International and seven ISPs launched a legal challenge against the agency’s hacking operations – operations that were laid bare by documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. During the case, GCHQ officially admitted infiltrating PCs and mobiles for the […]

Continue Reading →

1 Comment

Now in Pubic Beta, Zyptonite is Like Skype only Much More Private

Finnish startup Zyptonite has launched the first public beta of its real-time communications app, also called Zyptonite, which it believes will challenge industry giants such as Skype and FaceTime with increased privacy and better reliability. Zyptonite uses encrypted peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture with no servers storing your communications, making Zyptonite faster, more resilient, and more private than communication routed through servers. The service includes calling and multiparty conferencing with video, audio, […]

Continue Reading →

Leave a comment

Signal: An Easy-to-Use Phone Crypto App for the Desktop

Open Whisper Systems today launched an open beta version of its free encryption app Signal as an app in Google’s Chrome web store, the first step in bringing its encrypted messaging and calling functions to the desktop. For now the desktop app only links with Signal accounts registered on an Android device, and only supports text-based messaging, not voice. However, the company says a desktop version that synchs with iOS […]

Continue Reading →

Leave a comment

Easily Create Disposable Phone Numbers and Email Addresses

A new mobile app called Shuffle has launched a simple utility that lets you create additional, disposable phone numbers you can use to call or text as well as receive voicemail through, right from your iPhone. Shuffle allows anyone with an iPhone (an Android version is promised) to have a second or even a third telephone number and email address. The new number and address can be either temporary or long-term. […]

Continue Reading →

Leave a comment

MegaChat: a Browser-Based, Encrypted Voice and Video Chat App

MegaChat claims to be a secure alternative to Skype, offering browser-based voice and video chat. The application is now available although the first release seems to have a few remaining bugs. The producing company’s background has been controversial, at best. Flamboyant CEO Kim Dotcom (an obvious pseudonym) started with Megaupload. He was soon arrested by New Zealand authorities for encouraging copyright violations. Charges were later dropped. He has since added […]

Continue Reading →

Leave a comment

NSA Documents Show that the Agency can Grab All Skype Traffic

Skype used to have a reputation as a safe and secure voice communications tool. Sadly, that is no longer true. A National Security Agency document published this week by the German news magazine Der Spiegel from the trove provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden shows that the agency has full access to voice, video, text messaging, and file sharing from targeted individuals over Microsoft’s Skype service. The access, mandated […]

Continue Reading →

Leave a comment

Ooma is now Available at the Lowest Price Ever

I fired the local telephone company years ago. I replaced the old-fashioned telephone service with a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephone that connects to the Internet router in my home. There are no telephone lines connected to my house. The VoIP system works well, providing crystal-clear voice calls and also works perfectly with security alarms, FAX machines, and more. I am especially pleased that Ooma offers secure, encrypted phone […]

Continue Reading →