Rentmen Instant Messenger

[+ harey]

I noticed RM recently added instant messaging to the contact options. Has anyone found this useful?

[+ nycman]

It's annoying.

 

I guess if I was trying to get laid NOW....I might feel otherwise.

[+ LIguy]

It doesn't work for me and I have to exit Rentmen window and then go back in.

[+ harey]

It doesn't work for me and I have to exit Rentmen window and then go back in.

How annoying.

[rvwnsd]

It would be less annoying if there was a way to disable the stupid pop-up.

[Guest MikeThomas]

How annoying.

I didn't understand why you found it annoying... until I went to the site... super annoying!

[Perth]

It also appears that you can’t find the phone number info in the updated interface.....

[+ Keith30309]

Uhm... yeah... about this app....

 

THIS is just the stuff they disclose. God knows what actually happens to anything you do in this app which you allow to be embedded into the device which holds (for many of us) every bit of personal & financial information that can exist.

 

2. Personal Data Collected in the Register

2. The following types of personal data are kept in the Register:

2.1. Names, phone number, email address, personal preferences, pictures, GPS position, IP addresses, information about device used.

6.2. The Company also may use these technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or other online services (behavioral tracking).

:oops:

(

are you fucking kidding me?!

)

8.3. No consent is required if the processing of the personal data is only carried out by or under the control of a competent state authority for personal data relating to the commission of legal offenses, administrative offenses or unauthorized access. Such persons shall be granted access to the personal data and, where necessary, shall be provided with appropriate working conditions in the premises of the company.

(I.E., anyone threatens us with something that sounds scary.)

 

AND... "We (the cyber-geeks of Rentmen, Inc.) promise to try really, really hard to make our systems secure from hackers, as long as it's not too much trouble or expensive" (sarcasm)

 

 

I think using this app would be an extraordinarily bad idea.

[Blade9]

Oops...I already did. Now what? How much of the info they collect has already been collected by Google, etc?

 

B

[FunGuyUS]

Well if you read the privacy policy on the RM web site for the site

it is the same

[AshburyGuy]

It also appears that you can’t find the phone number info in the updated interface.....

Phone numbers are still showing up for me.

[+ harey]

Uhm... yeah... about this app....

 

THIS is just the stuff they disclose. God knows what actually happens to anything you do in this app which you allow to be embedded into the device which holds (for many of us) every bit of personal & financial information that can exist.

 

2. Personal Data Collected in the Register

2. The following types of personal data are kept in the Register:

2.1. Names, phone number, email address, personal preferences, pictures, GPS position, IP addresses, information about device used.

6.2. The Company also may use these technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or other online services (behavioral tracking).

:oops:

(

are you fucking kidding me?!

)

8.3. No consent is required if the processing of the personal data is only carried out by or under the control of a competent state authority for personal data relating to the commission of legal offenses, administrative offenses or unauthorized access. Such persons shall be granted access to the personal data and, where necessary, shall be provided with appropriate working conditions in the premises of the company.

(I.E., anyone threatens us with something that sounds scary.)

 

AND... "We (the cyber-geeks of Rentmen, Inc.) promise to try really, really hard to make our systems secure from hackers, as long as it's not too much trouble or expensive" (sarcasm)

 

 

I think using this app would be an extraordinarily bad idea.

Excellent points. I was thinking the same. They also added Video Call functionality, as if I want the RM admins to know what I look like and have live video.

[DallasClient]

I'm not sure what function was missing this new feature is supposed to provide. I've done just fine with the email inside of RM and texting using my phone has been fine. I understand the provider may be with a client so it's never like I'm staring at my phone waiting for a reply. It's not like I'm having some kind of emergency LOL

[Pepper Young]

I think I'll skip this one and just contact the old-fashioned way, by text.

[+ Keith30309]

And, as long as we're on the topic of messaging privacy, I'll put another plug out there for Telegram: https://telegram.org/ It's FREE !

 

Think about all of the information (and underlying meta data) that you send via text message to people you don't know and what could happen if it fell into the wrong hands. Conventional messaging is completely porous, unencrypted and entirely unprotected.

 

This is old news: https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/27/border-deny-entry-united-states-social-media/ and personal privacy rights are not getting stronger.

 

PROVIDERS: It is not a stretch to foresee domestic Homeland Security airport screeners request access to your phone given what is happening to international arrivals. Illegal search and seizure? Oh, ok... you can wait in the windowless room while my supervisor gets back from lunch. Sorry you'll miss your flight. Or you can just unlock your phone and let me write down the names and numbers of all your clients, financial payments, travel plans and everything else I can find.

 

CLIENTS: How much are you willing to put at stake in entrusting details of your personal life to the guys you don't know who you message? Assume that everything that you send was published in whole in the newspaper.

 

Use a messaging app that is secure and let you control what happens with your info when it leaves your device.

<end rant>

[+ Snbrd]

I would rather RM offered a "Map Me" that actually points to a location than a new messaging feature.

[+ Snbrd]

I would rather RM offered a "Map Me" that actually points to a location than a new messaging feature.

[+ OliverSaks]

Any thoughts on Signal?

 

I think you’re way ahead of the curve on opsec and it is so sexy.

 

And, as long as we're on the topic of messaging privacy, I'll put another plug out there for Telegram: https://telegram.org/ It's FREE !

 

Think about all of the information (and underlying meta data) that you send via text message to people you don't know and what could happen if it fell into the wrong hands. Conventional messaging is completely porous, unencrypted and entirely unprotected.

 

This is old news: https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/27/border-deny-entry-united-states-social-media/ and personal privacy rights are not getting stronger.

 

PROVIDERS: It is not a stretch to foresee domestic Homeland Security airport screeners request access to your phone given what is happening to international arrivals. Illegal search and seizure? Oh, ok... you can wait in the windowless room while my supervisor gets back from lunch. Sorry you'll miss your flight. Or you can just unlock your phone and let me write down the names and numbers of all your clients, financial payments, travel plans and everything else I can find.

 

CLIENTS: How much are you willing to put at stake in entrusting details of your personal life to the guys you don't know who you message? Assume that everything that you send was published in whole in the newspaper.

 

Use a messaging app that is secure and let you control what happens with your info when it leaves your device.

<end rant>

[+ OliverSaks]

Any thoughts on Signal?

 

I think you’re way ahead of the curve on opsec and it is so sexy.

 

And, as long as we're on the topic of messaging privacy, I'll put another plug out there for Telegram: https://telegram.org/ It's FREE !

 

Think about all of the information (and underlying meta data) that you send via text message to people you don't know and what could happen if it fell into the wrong hands. Conventional messaging is completely porous, unencrypted and entirely unprotected.

 

This is old news: https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/27/border-deny-entry-united-states-social-media/ and personal privacy rights are not getting stronger.

 

PROVIDERS: It is not a stretch to foresee domestic Homeland Security airport screeners request access to your phone given what is happening to international arrivals. Illegal search and seizure? Oh, ok... you can wait in the windowless room while my supervisor gets back from lunch. Sorry you'll miss your flight. Or you can just unlock your phone and let me write down the names and numbers of all your clients, financial payments, travel plans and everything else I can find.

 

CLIENTS: How much are you willing to put at stake in entrusting details of your personal life to the guys you don't know who you message? Assume that everything that you send was published in whole in the newspaper.

 

Use a messaging app that is secure and let you control what happens with your info when it leaves your device.

<end rant>

[+ Keith30309]

Any thoughts on Signal?

I’m not an expert and I’d recommend that anyone serious about security research and understand their options and make an informed decision that meets their needs.

 

Here is a good comparison.

 

Both Signal and Telegram have pros and cons and share some cool features (like the ability to set a chat to self-destruct on both devices after a set period of time and prevent screen-capture) but the fundamental difference is that Signal is point-to-point with default encryption whereas Telegram is cloud based with optional encryption. There may be differences that are important to some people.

(And WhatsApp is definitely not private... the recent hacking of Jeff Bezos’s iPhone is rumored to have been via WhatsApp by the Saudis.).

 

Proton mail seems to be the defacto standard for email.

 

The problem with all these solutions is that the privacy of your communication is only as good as the resolve of the person you’re communicating with. I’ve found my younger friends much more receptive to downloading a messaging app than older friends.

[+ Keith30309]

Any thoughts on Signal?

I’m not an expert and I’d recommend that anyone serious about security research and understand their options and make an informed decision that meets their needs.

 

Here is a good comparison.

 

Both Signal and Telegram have pros and cons and share some cool features (like the ability to set a chat to self-destruct on both devices after a set period of time and prevent screen-capture) but the fundamental difference is that Signal is point-to-point with default encryption whereas Telegram is cloud based with optional encryption. There may be differences that are important to some people.

(And WhatsApp is definitely not private... the recent hacking of Jeff Bezos’s iPhone is rumored to have been via WhatsApp by the Saudis.).

 

Proton mail seems to be the defacto standard for email.

 

The problem with all these solutions is that the privacy of your communication is only as good as the resolve of the person you’re communicating with. I’ve found my younger friends much more receptive to downloading a messaging app than older friends.

[mike carey]

(And WhatsApp is definitely not private... the recent hacking of Jeff Bezos’s iPhone is rumored to have been via WhatsApp by the Saudis.).

I heard a discussion of this on a tech show (Download This Show, ABC RN Friday 31 Jan, https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/downloadthisshow/the-curious-case-of-jeff-bezos/11909208). Apparently he was sent a piece of malware via WhatsApp and it was able to infect his phone regardless of whether he had even opened the WhatApp message. (It's not clear whether he did or not.) So the privacy of what was sent wasn't compromised, and everything was encrypted from other parties, but that doesn't prevent the app from causing problems. That indicates to me that for the purposes we are discussing, WhatsApp is fine.

[+ Keith30309]

.....he was sent a piece of malware via WhatsApp ..... WhatsApp is fine.

I’m scratching my noggin on this one

[mike carey]

I’m scratching my noggin on this one

My point is that if you are looking for secure communications with someone, then the point to point comms using it are secure. That is the purpose for which it was designed. Where it does not provide protection, and this may be seen as being beyond the scope of what it was intended to do, is where another WhatsApp user sends you something: whether it is someone you have already established communications with, or as this case seems to indicate, someone who can find out your WhatsApp address.

 

The other point to bear in mind is that if something you have sent or received via WhatsApp is still on your phone, the point of failure has become your phone not the app. If someone, be that a bad actor or the authorities, either has your phone, or has electronic access to its data, the fact that you might have received something via WhatsApp or any other secure means is irrelevant. They can read or copy it. If you want to ensure that doesn't happen, delete the data or copy it to somewhere that is safer.