Encrypted Messaging App Signal Appears To Be Blocked in China (cnbc.com) 31
Encrypted messaging app Signal has stopped working in China and is now only accessible via a virtual private network (VPN). From a report: China blocks many foreign apps and services including those from Facebook and Google. But Signal had previously not been barred by the so-called Great Firewall. Signal claims to be end-to-end encrypted, meaning the company itself nor any outsiders can view the contents of messages between a sender and the intended recipient. This also means authorities cannot snoop on messages. CNBC tested Signal on three different devices and messages did not go through, suggesting it has been blocked by authorities. The app was still available for download via Apple's China App Store.
Re: (Score:1)
Perhaps other countries should block TikTok.
On the contrary, we should be knocking down the obstructions, make blocking impossible, or at least impractical.
Re: Other countries to block.. (Score:2)
The services aren't blocked. China, like many countries, insists on the services being in their country and abide by their laws, and Google and Facebook decided not to.
The Great Firewall is there to enforce the local laws, and it's working, for the most part.
Great (Score:1)
Article doesn't mention signal proxy support (Score:5, Informative)
As at the following link: https://signal.org/blog/help-i... [signal.org]
Act as a proxy
If you want to help by running a proxy, to get started you only need the following:
A server with ports 80 and 443 available.
A domain name (or subdomain) that points to the server’s IP address.
The proxy is extremely lightweight. An inexpensive and tiny VPS can easily handle hundreds of concurrent users. Here’s how to make it work:
SSH into the server. ./init-certificate.sh
Install Docker, Docker Compose, and git:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install docker docker-compose git
Clone the Signal TLS Proxy repository:
git clone https://github.com/signalapp/S... [github.com]
Enter the repo directory:
cd Signal-TLS-Proxy
Run the helper script that configures and provisions a TLS certificate from Let’s Encrypt:
sudo
You will be prompted to enter the domain or subdomain that is pointing to this server’s IP address.
Use Docker Compose to launch the proxy:
sudo docker-compose up --detach
Your proxy is now running! You can share your proxy with friends and family using this URL format: https://signal.tube/# [signal.tube]
The latest beta release of the Android app is registered to handle links from signal.tube. The app can automatically configure proxy support when you tap on a link from any other app. This step happens before any web request is made, so even if a censor tries to block that domain it won’t accomplish anything.
You can also manually configure proxy information in your Signal Settings too.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Signal is open source [github.com], so anybody can download it, compile their own and then upload a new version that defaults to a proxy. Basically, "You can't stop the Signal Mal".
Good luck to China on this one.
Re: Article doesn't mention signal proxy support (Score:2)
Yeah, like that'll make any difference at all... (it won't)
Good News (Score:5, Insightful)
If all China can do is block it, then that is good news for Signal.
They would much rather intercept and analyze, if they could.
Re: Good News (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, but it gives the Thought Police in China another win. Jin Ping and the CCP are such a weenies.
Re: Good News (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
If all China can do is block it, then that is good news for Signal.
They would much rather intercept and analyze, if they could.
Risk vs. reward.
Allowing the potential "dissenting voices" to be broadcast and heard, may not ultimately be worth the perceived risk and threat if said government couldn't possibly intercept and analyze to an effective level.
So the easy answer, is to simply block it all.
Re: Good News (Score:2)
WhatsApp works fine in China, so I'm not sure what that tells you.
Signal seems to too, but I think the fa mentioned that the messages don't get to the recipients, and the rest of the world is still asleep, so time will tell. No, I'm not using a vpn.
Would it be quicker to post daily (Score:3)
What apps are not blocked in China?
Re: Would it be quicker to post daily (Score:2)
WhatsApp for one. I used zoom once without any issue. Skype works fine. Gotomeeting too.
StarLink (Score:3)
Won't be long before we're able to air drop Raspberry PI Zero's with the OS installed and a StarLink account active to bypass China's little firewall.
Re: StarLink (Score:2)
Depending on how often you did it and how mobile you were when doing it, it may be a solution for some journalists. Definitely not ideal for an average user.
Re: StarLink (Score:2)
Re: StarLink (Score:1)
Re: StarLink (Score:2)
Nobody (read, very few) here gives a shit about western apps and services. They'll happily accept your Pis though. It's only interesting to foreigners.
Censorship Circumvention (Score:2)
Re: Censorship Circumvention (Score:2)
Aren't you thinking Tor. And no it's not working anymore or at least the blast time I tried. There are similar solutions that still work but I won't mention. It's like wack-a-mole.
Re: (Score:3)
Encrypted Client Hello (ECH) may make blocking such domains more difficult in th
Sadly, Signal is centralized (Score:2)
There are some big problems:
-The client is associated with a phone number - privacy risk
-The user is limited to only the official client app
-You must have Google play services installed on Android, side loading is possible, but complicated - major privacy risk
-You are limited to using the client only on supported platforms, which have the power to enforce their own terms of service and ban you if you say or do anything they disagree with
To me, the Whisper Systems protocol was designed to be a product with a
claims to be (Score:2)
The alleged journalists at CNBC claim that "Signal claims to be end-to-end encrypted".
Nooo, I'm not saying they aren't journalists. I'm just reporting their claim, taking no position on whether it's true or not. Really, who knows?
Wfm (Score:1)
And, anyway, nobody here other than foreigners gives a shit about signal, so I'm not entirely sure why anybody else would. Unless you just want to force your world view onto them.
WhatsApp, Skype, gotomeeting, all work too.
Re: (Score:2)
Same ol' nonsense response to anyone who provides evidence and/or an alternative opinion. It's tiresome.
I am in China and chatted with a couple of people on signal without using a VPN. I use Skype regularly, as well as WhatsApp and gotomeeting, all without a VPN.
So, I call BS on all these claims. If there's anything wrong, it's more than likely just a localised issue.