Bitcoin Forum

https://s12.directupload.net/images/200902/vlaelvgb.jpg (https://www.directupload.net)

Nope. I just found out through this topic that it's mentioned below the message textblock.

Are there any suggestions what's the easiest way to encrypt messages?

Some users use PGP encrypted message to communicate here see sample here (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4059348.0#post_encryptMsg), or just use end-to-end encrypted messaging app.

I'd be very careful trusting services like this. It's best to assume they keep and analyze all posts. There are also phishing sites (https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/06/privnotes-com-is-phishing-bitcoin-from-users-of-private-messaging-service-privnote-com/) trying to steal your Bitcoins.

this ^^

There are plenty of tools out to assist you with this.
IF you use a 2048 or 4096 bit RSA key, i'd like to see the hacker that decrypts your encrypted message without getting his/her hands on your private key first.

I wouldn't really trust services like privnote (to be honest, i used them once to pass on non-important information, but it was the receiver who insisted we used privnote... And since the info was not important to me, i complied), I haven't even read their TOS or technical documentation... Why would you trust an online service if it's super easy to generate a keypair, pass around your public key and receive messages only you can decrypt afterwards...

I'm sure that was referring to use PGP or similar, not the centralized privnote and I think that going on that direction is (almost?) off-topic.
I guess that nobody did care much of this, else we could have had already some helper scripts in the same way PGP can be used together with mail applications (I've even used that quite long ago).

It's not that easy, it takes a while to figure it out. If it would be super easy, everyone would be using it by now instead of sending unencrypted emails.
It would be really cool if some sort of client-side encryption can be added by default to PMs though. Maybe in Epochtalk?

Check Reputation for the thread

This is something that already exists (http://keys.gnupg.net/).

---

You should also be careful with using PGP. To my knowledge, the encryption cannot be broken with existing technology, but many people use it in an unsecure way. For example if you exchange keys with someone via PM, you really do not know who you are communicating with. The message containing the keys could be the subject of a MITM attack similar to what LoyceV describes is happening with privnotes [dot]com (scam site). You could send key ABC123 to someone, and the message they receive says your key is DEF456. Any message they send you encrypted to DEF456 could be automatically decrypted and subsequently encrypted to ABC123.

The only real way to guard against this is to meet the person in person and exchange keys after checking photo ID, and otherwise confirming you can trust the person.

The above is probably one reason why automatic encryption will never be implemented. It is superior for individual users to be responsible for their own privacy.

That only works if you actually know who you're talking with. I can already guarantee that anyone who shows an ID with the name "LoyceV" won't be me.
Here (https://twitter.com/HaraldDoornbos/status/644056427716345856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E644056427716345856%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rt.com%2Fnews%2F315591-fake-syrian-passport-journalist%2F)'s a fake ID for the Dutch Prime Minister (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_Netherlands):
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPAl6F7UsAAeNia?format=jpg

I'd say signing the PGP key from an old staked Bitcoin address means a lot more than a photo ID.

This has been requested quite a while back on the forum, and these were the replies from theymos;

If you want encrypted messages why not just move conversation from forum to encrypted email or signal app?
Its is more secure and more private.

I like to differentiate cryptographic identities from individuals, since this allows us a bit more granularity.

The core difference is that of verifiability: one is unable to link digital and analog identities without a lot of effort or without huge privacy holes, but when you separate the two, you can find links between the elements of each subset.

I never thought about it. Usually, I don't send PM's on Bitcointalk with very sensitive information, so, messages encryption wasn't really needed for me. If you really needed it, I think it's better to use external services like Telegram. Offcourse, when using similar services, you must be sure that's really safe to use and nobody else can't read that no one else can't read your message. Offcourse, it would be best to encrypt messages yourself, but I think it's for more advanced users - it doesn't looks very simple.

I’ve had my PGP fingerprint listed on my profile for a long time. Over the years a few users have utilized it to send me encrypted messages.

I use PGP-encrypted messages when communicating with several members via personal messages on the forum. However, to use PGP-encrypted, it is more convenient to use email software such as Thunderbird (https://www.thunderbird.net/en-GB/) + Enigmail (https://enigmail.net/index.php/en/).

I usually send PMs especially if I would to ask any personal nor sensitive messages through telegram. I haven't tried using encryption methods like the others have commented, but telegram, for me, is enough of the safety. And with bitcointalk PMs, once a user tried to contact you  and you think the conversation would take longer and must be secured, better take it on Telegram. But if you would simply tell them a long single message that contain some sensitive information but you're choice is PM, then better follow other's suggestion.

My instant reaction was "Why would you need to encrypt private messages sent via a public forum?". If you have a Windows computer, then it's a waste of time anyway.

Thank you all for responses. Reason I asked is because the way text was written it sounded like there is some setting in-built here on forum to encrypt messages.