Privacy Services in the Wall Street Journal!

Web Privacy Start-Ups Struggle
The Wall Street Journal
by C Tuna

Looking to tap into Web surfers' privacy concerns, new companies are popping up to help people browse the Internet and send messages anonymously.

But these companies face a major challenge: getting people to pay for Web-privacy software.

The majority of Internet users remain unaware of how visible their Web behavior can be to marketers, identity thieves and others, say executives at Web-privacy companies. And those who are concerned about privacy are often reluctant to trust an unfamiliar company with their information, they say.


Much more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...J_business_LeftSecondHighlights#ixzz0yzWsojQT

 

I've honestly never heard of Vaporstream, one of the companies mentioned in the WSJ. It looks quite interesting. https://www.vaporstream.com/product/

Vaporstream is marketed to large companies. I see that they really market heavily to healthcare companies and that it satisfies all HIPAA requirements. But they also have personal accounts for individuals at $7.50 a month. At first glance, it looks very innovative.

from their website;
It is safe and designed not to be stored or documented.

In tech speak, a VaporStream conversation uses 256 bit encryption, resides in RAM and the header and body of the message are split in transit so the message cannot be forwarded, printed or saved. Unlike e-mail, which is "electronic documentation," VaporStream is safe, secure and intentionally not stored or documented—just like a verbal conversation, with similar advantages. Unlike e-mail or IM, which is electronic documentation, VaporStream is electronic conversation.
https://www.vaporstream.com/product/features/

Actually, quite fascinating setup................................................

edit: Until you read the fine print from the TOS:

You acknowledge that Vaporstream does not pre-screen Content, but that Vaporstream and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to refuse to transmit or move any Content that is available via the Service. Without limiting the foregoing, Vaporstream and its designees shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the TOS or is otherwise objectionable. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content. In this regard, you "acknowledge" that you may not rely on any Content you may receive in connection with the Service.

You acknowledge and agree that Vaporstream may preserve Content and may also disclose Content if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the TOS; (c) respond to claims that any Content violates the Rights of third-parties; or (d) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Vaporstream, its users and the public.

Now, excuse me, but how can they share the content if their whole marketing strategy is claiming that nothing can be saved because it's RAM-based, la la la.

 

No thoughts? It's not very often we see privacy services written about in any mainstream newspaper, much less the Wall Street Journal!

Also, the complete disconnect between VaporStream's marketing and their TOS (one saying information simply cannot be saved, while the TOS says information will be saved if they are ordered to do so or to police the Terms of Service) is one of the more blatant marketing lies I have seen in the electronic privacy industry.

 

Nailed it. More hype over substance?

 

The implication here is that they don't log or save any client traffic under "normal" operating conditions, but that they do have the capacity to initiate some sort of proactive logging on a specific customer in the event that they are forced to do so by a court order. But as long as clients' communications remain untraceable from a retroactive standpoint, then basically the service is working as advertised. In fact, a lot of VPN providers (Xerobank, VPN4All, etc.) have a very similar policy as this.

 

Re: VaporStream Electronic Conversation

Sorry the point about snapshot/screen scrape comes across as BS. One can certainly do a screen capture. But, please recognize the capture is Either the Header (to/from) info, Or the Message. Both are never displayed together. The message cannot be attributed to an author if it is written without identifying information -- like a signature Attachments could indeed be screen scraped, so require some foresight (trust) before sending.

Image attachments (.jpg, .gif etal...) are now supported. Try it! Web site's a little behind...