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BahdKo

Doom2.net Messenger released

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Starting today, Doom2.net is hosting Doom2.net Messenger, an instant messaging service similar in function to MSN, ICQ, etc.

Doom2.net Messenger was realized partly as a response to MSN being taken away in a few weeks by Microsoft (they want to streamline MSN users into Skype). Doom players were early adopters of Instant Messaging and tend to have MSN accounts and contacts. Skype is different from MSN and is generally less anonymous/more involved. Not all of us want to load our Doom contacts into Skype.

At the same time, some other IM services are no longer providing the simple IM which some of us want. Some of us don't want advertisements, or to have our real names thrown around the internet, and some of us are concerned about privacy and our personal data being stored.

To that end, Doom2.net Messenger is an XMPP-based IM utilizing the Openfire platform server-side, configured with a 2048-bit EU-authority-signed certificate for communication with clients. It's compatible with any XMPP-enabled IM client (although the configuration example on the web site is limited to just one client, Pidgin). It doesn't log chat content server side, but be aware that some chat clients are configured to save your conversations on your own hard drive by default, including Pidgin. The hardware hosting the service is located in Finland.

It's simply a free, open IM service, much like ICQ and MSN were in the beginning. Aside from the occasional server maintenance, it's intended to stay live for the forseeable future.

If it's something you find a use for (especially when MSN bites the dust soon), feel free to make an account and get the contacts you want to keep to come with you.

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Archy said:

Damn...

What's the surprise here, exactly? 2048 bit keys are pretty much standard for RSA, and 4096 bits are becoming common.

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I guess I'm just way behind, it's rare that I see anything above 256 bit encryption.

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fraggle said:

What's the surprise here, exactly? 2048 bit keys are pretty much standard for RSA, and 4096 bits are becoming common.


Now that you mention it: getting the signed cert to work within Openfire was a bitch. Java sucks for that and the error messages when a cert cannot import are crap. And, the default Java install won't even do 2048-bit encryption, you have to go to the developer's site and get the special 'SE' version of Java. I didn't really think about 4096 but maybe when I replace the cert next year I can see if the Java will work with it.

bcwood16 said:

Cool, will get this installed some time this week and check it out :)

Any screen shots of it?


On the linked site ya.

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BahdKo said:

Skype is different from MSN and is generally less anonymous/more involved.

I'm not here to plug Skype, but in what way is it less anonymous and more involved? It only displays what information about yourself you tell it to, and it takes like 2 minutes to install and/or import your Win Messenger contacts.

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DoomUK said:

I'm not here to plug Skype, but in what way is it less anonymous and more involved? It only displays what information about yourself you tell it to, and it takes like 2 minutes to install and/or import your Win Messenger contacts.


I feel like it's obvious, sorry.

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Are you allowing the server to connect to clients on other servers (I believe this is called "federation")? Google Talk is a public XMPP service so a lot of people would already have an account usable with this service if so.

As far as Skype is concerned, the problem I have with it is that they don't allow third party clients. At the moment Skype is the biggest memory user on my computer since it's the only 32-bit program I'm running. (Not that it really matters since I have way more memory than I need.)

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Blzut3 said:

Are you allowing the server to connect to clients on other servers (I believe this is called "federation")? Google Talk is a public XMPP service so a lot of people would already have an account usable with this service if so.


Nope, it's isolated. Not reaching out into any other chat networks. That's what IRC is for.. :)

What happens in Doom2.net Messenger.. stays in Doom2.net Messenger!

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BahdKo said:

That's what IRC is for.. :)

IRC requires an active connection to each server with separate isolated user accounts. This is the same as federated chat which allows me to use my own server to communicate users on others how?

But if that's the case I don't really intend to doom2.net's service. I would much rather move to a service where the risk of it shutting down is solely my own (I have an XMPP service on my own domain which is federated). As far as I know a federated server doesn't compromise privacy on internal messages, so I don't really understand what you have to lose, but whatever.

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Blzut3 said:

As far as I know a federated server doesn't compromise privacy on internal messages


Well, speaking strictly to the privacy part, any time the packets are not under your control in a server-server relationship, you can't know who's doing things with your stuff. I'd like to keep it simple and uncomplicated. Not letting it fart around with an unnecessary chat network is the right choice for my own expectations. Whether someone sees a value in its independent configuration (or instead thinks it's too much of a hassle to make a login), that's their deal.

Blzut3 said:

I would much rather move to a service where the risk of it shutting down is solely my own


It's all in what you want of course, but on the longevity thing, Doom2.net's been up for a really long time.

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mmmm, on the longevity front...

Wikipedia said:

The first version of MSN Messenger Service, version 1.0 (1.0.0863), was released July 22, 1999.

Whois said:

Domain name: DOOM2.NET
.. <snip>
Record created on 29-Sep-2000.


You could say that Doom2.net is one year and 2 months younger than MSN. Can't complain.

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I accidently broke the nameserver record for it once and didn't notice because I don't visit the site. But you know, its not like

MSN

never

had

any downtime over the years, right? :D

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Skype has been in the news a lot for retaining conversations / monitoring conversations. Even if it's only on a search warrant/subpoena basis for law enforcement, that's still disturbing to me.

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Vorpal said:

Skype has been in the news a lot for retaining conversations / monitoring conversations. Even if it's only on a search warrant/subpoena basis for law enforcement, that's still disturbing to me.

Glad to know that all Doom2.net messenger users are as clean as can be :D

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Lawyers and investigators would never, ever make any mistakes in their investigations and deductions. And certainly the idea of prosecuting an innocent to advance their own image would be unprecedented ;-)

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Archy said:

I guess I'm just way behind, it's rare that I see anything above 256 bit encryption.

You're comparing apples and oranges. 128-bit and 256-bit are common key sizes for symmetrical encryption algorithms like AES or (in the past) DES. For asymmetrical encryption (ie. RSA), the key sizes are much larger - 1024-bit is common (but now deprecated, 2048-bit is a good recommended size nowadays, 4096-bit if you're paranoid or just want something that's future-proof (my PGP key is 4096-bit).

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