A comparison from privacyspreadsheet.com has a breakdown of all the technical details.
-
When selecting a messaging app, certain OPSEC criteria should be considered.
@@ -141,7 +141,6 @@ Deniability:
From the above comparison, we can see that only SimpleX meets all of the criteria. While we only focus on Privacy in this article, it doesn't hurt to have the other benefits of Anonymity and Plausible Deniability.
To download Simplex Desktop, you can go on https://simplex.chat/
+
+Then you can download the appimage here:
+
+And lastly once downloaded, you can simply make a shortcut with it and make sure it's executable:
+
+[ localhost ] [ /dev/pts/10 ] [~]
+→ cd .mullvad-browser/Downloads
+
+[ localhost ] [ /dev/pts/10 ] [~/.mullvad-browser/Downloads]
+→ ls
+simplex-desktop-x86_64.AppImage
+
+[ localhost ] [ /dev/pts/10 ] [~/.mullvad-browser/Downloads]
+→ mv simplex-desktop-x86_64.AppImage ~/Desktop/ (1)
+[ localhost ] [ /dev/pts/10 ] [~/.mullvad-browser/Downloads]
+→ sudo ln -s ~/Desktop/simplex-desktop-x86_64.AppImage /usr/bin/simplex
+
+[ localhost ] [ /dev/pts/10 ] [~/.mullvad-browser/Downloads]
+→ which simplex (130)
+/usr/bin/simplex
+
+[ localhost ] [ /dev/pts/10 ] [~/.mullvad-browser/Downloads]
+→ simplex
+
+And from there you'll land in the simplex chat app.
+Now if you're a tinfoil hatter, you may not trust the binaries being distributed by simplex, and you might want to compile it yourself, which is also possible, so let's showcase how you can do that aswell:
+
+$ apt install docker.io -y
+$ docker run --rm --privileged --name simplex-builder --device /dev/fuse -it ubuntu:22.04 bash
+
+$ apt update &&
+apt upgrade -y &&
+DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt install -y git \
+ curl \
+ build-essential \
+ libffi-dev \
+ libgmp-dev \
+ zlib1g-dev \
+ libssl-dev \
+ patchelf \
+ openjdk-17-jdk \
+ cmake \
+ desktop-file-utils \
+ wget \
+ fuse \
+ android-sdk \
+ sdkmanager \
+ file &&
+
+curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://get-ghcup.haskell.org | BOOTSTRAP_HASKELL_NONINTERACTIVE=1 BOOTSTRAP_HASKELL_GHC_VERSION=9.6.3 BOOTSTRAP_HASKELL_CABAL_VERSION=3.10.2 BOOTSTRAP_HASKELL_INSTALL_NO_STACK=1 sh &&
+cat /root/.ghcup/env >> /root/.bashrc &&
+source /root/.bashrc &&
+git clone https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat.git &&
+cd ./simplex-chat &&
+git checkout v6.3.2 &&
+
+cabal build all &&
+echo "ignore-project: False" >> cabal.project.local &&
+echo "package direct-sqlcipher" >> cabal.project.local &&
+echo " flags: +openssl" >> cabal.project.local &&
+./scripts/desktop/build-lib-linux.sh &&
+
+sed -i s/'":android", '// ./apps/multiplatform/settings.gradle.kts &&
+cd ./apps/multiplatform &&
+./gradlew createDistributable &&
+../../scripts/desktop/make-appimage-linux.sh
+Then copy the compiled simplex-desktop.appimage out of the ubuntu docker container:
+
+$ docker cp simplex-builder:/simplex-chat/apps/multiplatform/release/main/SimpleX_Chat-x86_64.AppImage
+
+Then make sure the appimage is executable and do the following libjpeg.so.8 workaround below to avoid having issues with the client itself:
+
+$ chmod +x SimpleX_Chat-x86_64.AppImage
+$ ./SimpleX_Chat-x86_64.AppImage --appimage-extract
+$ find squashfs-root/ | grep libjpeg
+squashfs-root/usr/lib/app/resources/vlc/vlc/plugins/codec/libjpeg_plugin.so
+squashfs-root/usr/lib/app/resources/vlc/vlc/plugins/codec/libjpeg_plugin.la
+squashfs-root/usr/lib/app/resources/vlc/libjpeg.so.8
+
+Then set the LD_LIBRARY_PATH manually to make it find the libjpeg.so.8 library, to run the binary:
+
+$ LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/home/oxeo/squashfs-root/usr/lib/app/resources/vlc ./SimpleX_Chat-x86_64.AppImage
+
+(edit the path accordingly, for me it was the following):
+
+$ LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/home/nihilist/simplexbuilder/squashfs-root/usr/lib/app/resources/vlc ./SimpleX_Chat-x86_64.AppImage
+
+
To start using SimpleX, we will start by installing it from F-Droid. Search for the app and then click Install. Navigate through the setup process, choose a username and click Create your profile.
-
With your profile complete, it's time to create a private group chat. Click on the pencil icon at the bottom of the screen and select Create group. Give your group a name and click Create group. Finally, skip inviting members for now.
-
Click on the group name to see some options. Click on Create group link. Finally, share the group link with your friends out-of-band.
-
Once your friends connect, you can start messaging.
-
Out of the box, SimpleX works perfectly fine. However, more advanced users may wish to tweak a few settings or self-host their own servers. @@ -185,7 +292,7 @@ Out of the box, SimpleX works perfectly fine. However, more advanced users may w
To start, we will need a domain name. A subdomain such as a free one obtained from https://freedns.afraid.org will also work. Create A record entries for smp.yourdomain.tld and xftp.yourdomain.tld and point them at the IP address of your VPS.
-
We will SSH into our VPS and set up our environment. @@ -362,7 +469,7 @@ xftp://t_H_I_h5Iz7X-ChxA3nJeyw0s_2PJIFkfSK7Ng6UulU=@xftp.xmronly.us.to
To add the newly created self-hosted SimpleX servers to your client, click on your profile on the top left, followed by Settings. Click on Network & servers. We will modify both the Message servers (SMP) and the Media & file servers (XFTP).
-
Click on Message servers and scroll down to Add server. Select Enter server manually. Paste in your SMP server address from above, click Test server and receive a green check mark. Finally, tick Use for new connections.
-
With our self-hosted SMP server set, it's time to remove the default SimpleX servers. Click on each of the presets, then click Delete server.
-
With only our self-hosted SMP server remaining, click the back arrow, then save changes.
-
We will now repeat the process for Media & file servers. Scroll down to Add server. Select Enter server manually. Paste in your XFTP server address from above, click Test server and receive a green check mark. Finally, tick Use for new connections.
-
With our self-hosted XFTP server set, it's time to remove the default SimpleX servers. Click on each of the presets, then click Delete server.
-
With only our self-hosted XFTP server remaining, click the back arrow, then save changes.
-
It is possible to self-host onion servers as well, but since this article is focusing on privacy and not anonymity, that part of the setup has been omitted. @@ -414,7 +521,7 @@ It is possible to self-host onion servers as well, but since this article is foc -
We need to ensure that everyone knows that with the correct technology, when used correctly, they cannot be silenced, oppressed, and governed anymore. We are directly going against the statist's panopticon propaganda, where they argue that supposedly nobody could hide, nor remain outside of their unjust laws.
Yes, this is an Anarchist blog. We are telling you how exactly you can become ungovernable. We don't care about what you intend to do with the setups we showcase, in fact we hope that you intend to use it to better the world with it, but one thing is for sure; the individual is free to do whatever they like, as long as their actions are protected from any possible repercussions, be it by implementing the appropriate setups that protect their Privacy, their Anonymity, or their Deniability.
+TLDR: Stop complaining that government/corporation/company did X, Y or Z. Learn about those tools that are here to protect your freedom, Learn how to use them, Implement them yourself, and just become free, you have 0 excuse to not choose to be free right now. All you need is to learn how to do it, and to just do it.
+