Off-the-Record (OTR) Messaging

[George W. Maschke]

If you use an Internet messaging service such as AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN, or Google Talk (I am available through all four) and would like to protect the privacy of your communications, you might consider using Off-the-Record (OTR) Messaging encryption.

If you use Windows or Linux, you can easily configure the free, open source messaging client Gaim to use OTR encryption. Gaim will also allow you to log into multiple messaging accounts while running only a single program. I recommend it.

If you use the Macintosh operating system, you can use Adium X, which has OTR built-in, to manage your messaging accounts.

I am currently using OTR in conjunction with all my messaging services, so if you would like to get in touch with me privately, please consider using it.

For more on OTR, see:

http://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr/

[George W. Maschke]

With the enactment of the new FISA law vastly expanding the U.S. government's warrantless eavesdropping authority, it's an appropriate time to again point out that there are ways that we can help to protect the privacy of our communications against unwarranted intrusions. OTR encryption for text messaging is now easier than ever to set up. If you use text chat, now would be a good time to start protecting your privacy with encryption.

The Gaim text messenger client for Windows and Linux that I mentioned earlier has been re-named Pidgin, and it continues to support a wide range of chat protocols including AIM, Yahoo!, Google, and ICQ. A tutorial on how to configure Pidgin to use OTR encryption on Windows is available here:

http://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr/win-install/otr-setup.html

If you use a Macintosh, try Adium, an OSX implementation of the Pidgin code base. It comes with the OTR plugin pre-installed. All you need to do is enable it.