Apple Pay Cash leads Consumer Reports’ first payment service test

Peer-to-peer mobile payment services are all the rage these days (eMarketer expects a 24 percent jump in US adoption in 2018), but which of them is actually the safest to use? Consumer Reports might have an idea. The publication has conducted its f...

Bittorrent’s Bleep is the Secure Chat App You’re Looking For

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Bittorrent just launched a new and alluring chat client, “Bleep,” and it just might be what the doctor ordered for those fleeing Facebook.

When Facebook bought Whatsapp, it had 450 million monthly active users. It just recently passwed the 600 million MAU mark, and Mark Zuckerberg says it might hit the 1 billion mark faster than Facebook did.

Despite this rapid growth, many people are not excited about Facebook managed chat services, especially after the social giant started forcing users to download a separate chat app with a sketchy user agreement.

As a result, many have started looking for secure alternatives to chat options from giants like Facebook and Google. That’s where Bittorrent’s Bleep comes in.  Bleep is a peer-to-peer chat client for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Since it’s peer-to-peer, there is no server broadcasting your messages. All chats are a direct connection between each participant, and the connection is also end to end encrypted, meaning the sender and receiver and the only eyes involved in teh conversation. All chat logs are also locally stored, so there is no cloud to even hack. Clearing your chat history eliminates all traces of the conversation.

It may sound like that’s all a little unecessary unless you’re taking part in some shady conversations, but with the recent privacy backlash, many people just want to know that their conversations aren’t being eavesdropped. It’s not only privacy against the likes of the NSA, but Bleep doesn’t collect any metadata, meaning the contents of your conversation aren’t analyzed for any topics for marketers.

The biggest drawback to something like Bleep is that it’s yet another account that needs to be opened, and you can only chat with other registered users that have added you to their address book. That might not seem like a big deal, but part of the appeal of the likes of Whatsapp and Facebook chat is the large user base. Many people are unwilling to go through the inconvenience of setting up a new account just for privacy’s sake.

The app itself (although still in an open alpha) is fairly innovative. Once an account is created, you can activate additional devices under your account simply by scanning a QR code in the settings menu, making it extremely difficult for a third party to gain access to your account. C

ontacts can also add each other through the same QR code scanning method, meaning you don’t have to give out your actual contact infromation to anyone, adding a layer of anonymity. It would be even slicker if this step could also be completed through NFC tapping, but the service is still new, so that very well may happen down the road.

At the end of the day, Bleep might not be for everyone, but for anyone who places a high value on privacy (and has friends who place a similar value on privacy), Bleep can provide the secure Facebook alternative you’ve been looking for.

Source: PCWorld

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CES 2014 in Las Vegas Highlights: P2P network technology for robot-to-robot communication from AZAPA Co


The much awaited Consumer Electronics Show (CES), also known as International CES is just only a few days away from now. We have been eagerly waiting for this event since last and can’t wait anymore...
    






BitTorrent Sync coming to iOS this week

BitTorrent Sync now available for iOS

BitTorrent promised that its Sync Beta service would get an iOS client, and the company is making good on its word with plans to launch the app this week. As with the Android release, iOS users will get to sync files of any size, send content to other mobile devices and back up photos. And if you're not carrying an Apple device, BitTorrent still has a small treat in store: it's rolling out a localization update that supports 10 major Asian and European languages. Whatever your platform of choice, you'll find more details at the source link.

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Source: BitTorrent Blog

Comcast rumored to have new, less punitive anti-piracy measure in the works

The Copyright Alert System, more popularly known as the "six strikes" policy, hasn't exactly received a warm welcome thanks to the disciplinary measures it calls for (like throttled connection speeds). According to Variety, Comcast is currently developing a new way of dealing with piracy that's arguably less punitive than CAS. In the proposed system, users that have been flagged for illegal downloads via peer-to-peer file sharing services or using the BitTorrent protocol would be provided with links to legal means of accessing the same content through Comcast's own Xfinity service or third party providers like Amazon. Unlike CAS, this system doesn't seem to focus on penalties so much as it would gently nudge subscribers towards legal options. While it's not likely that the program is intended to replace CAS, it could potentially signal a shift away from an unpopular policy. Though little information is known about Comcast's plans at this time, we'll keep you posted as we learn more.

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Source: Variety

BitTorrent Sync Beta launches with Android app, file versioning

BitTorrent Sync Beta launches with Android app, file versioning

BitTorrent Sync Alpha isn't ready to equal rivals like Dropbox or Google Drive without a mobile component. It's a good thing that BitTorrent just launched Sync Beta, then -- the more polished release includes an Android app that syncs with computers and shares files with fellow Android users. The update also brings versioning through SyncArchive, which stores previous file iterations in a folder. Sync Beta is available on both Android and the desktop today, and BitTorrent promises that an iOS equivalent is coming in the near future.

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Source: BitTorrent Labs, Google Play

BitTorrent Live now in open beta, brings live webcasting to the masses

BitTorrent Live now in open beta, brings live webcasting to the internet masses

Last November, BitTorrent put out a call to all "qualified broadcasters," seeking to build out a solid based for Live, its new P2P streaming protocol. Now, just four months later, the company's opening the beta service up to all users, giving a real-time platform to anyone with a webcam, a pulse and a broadcasting dream. The live streaming service works mainly the same way traditional BitTorrent does, utilizing BitTorrent clients throughout its user base to deliver a more solid and "resilient... stream." Effectively, the more people sign up for BitTorrent's virtual soapbox, the better quality your broadcast will be. So, if you've got a decent internet connection and a burning urge to express yourself, hit up the source and start sharing live.

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Via: The Next Web

Source: The Official BitTorrent Blog, BitTorrent Live

Copyright Alert System gets started, ISPs ready to lay the smack down on P2P piracy

DNP Copyright Alert System now up and running, ISPs ready to lay the smack down P2P piracy

The fight against online piracy just gained a new weapon in the form of the Copyright Alert System (CAS) aka the "six strikes" policy. Starting today, participating ISPs like Verizon, Time Warner Cable, AT&T and Comcast will begin issuing warnings to customers suspected of using illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing services that violate copyright laws. Initial notifications will be used to educate and direct customers to legal alternative content sources. If the first set of notifications go avoided, the ISP may take further action, which includes: throttling internet connection speeds and redirecting users to websites requiring acknowledgment of CAS alerts.

If a person wishes to contest their ISP's findings, they will have 14 calendar days to request an independent review by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) for a fee of $35. If the investigation finds that no copyright violations have taken place, the alerts will be removed from the customer's account and they will receive a refund for the filing fee. However, should the organization's research rule otherwise, the internet service provider may proceed with taking action against its account holder. To get a closer look at the CAS and its inner workings, "redirect" your browser to the source links below.

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Source: Center for Copyright Information (1), (2)

Silent Circle’s encryption app could revolutionize mobile privacy, if Uncle Sam lets it

Silent Circle's encryption app could revolutionize mobile privacy, if Uncle Sam lets it

If CEO Mike Janke's boasts are to be believed, his company Silent Circle and its eponymous encryption apps could stand to "revolutionize... privacy and security." And he's willing to push the tech forward at all costs, even if that means raising the ire of the federal government. While the feds have yet to officially weigh in on his startup's novel software -- and Janke's certain they will -- others who've tested the peer-to-peer service's new Silent Text app claim its benefits for human rights activism worldwide far outweigh its potential use as a criminal aid.

This isn't the company's first crack at the mobile security space, though. A prior version of Silent Circle's subscription-based app was released last fall, granting Android and iOS users secure transmission of texts, as well as voice and video calls. But now, the controversial app in question has been beefed up, adding the ability to send encrypted files (up to 60MB) with a set "burn" (read: deletion) time. And since Silent Circle doesn't host the required encryption key on its servers, there's no way for the company to access users' data. What's more, the company's also pledged to not cooperate with surveillance requests from law enforcement, nor will it compromise the service's integrity by introducing a "backdoor" for the FBI.

That's a mighty strong stance to take against Uncle Sam, but Janke's not concerned. If the United States government does eventually prove an impediment, he's ready to move Silent Circle's shop to a locale that understands "...every [citizens'] right to communicate... without the fear of it being... used by criminals, stored by governments, and aggregated by companies that sell it." Based on that quote alone, we'd say Janke's what you might call a freedom fighter. For now, the souped up app's set to launch on the App Store February 8th, with an Android release to follow soon after. When it lands, we'd advise you to get it while it's hot -- preferably, before Capitol Hill deems it too hot to handle.

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Source: Slate