I'm an editor for a new magazine that covers digital entertainment. I was hoping to speak to users of Waste to find out how they use the program. Your annonymity is guaranteed. Please send email to blindedbyspam@mindspring.com.

Thanks so much.

Personally I don’t use Waste since it isn’t compatible with anything. But maybe You will be interested how some ppl use encrypted chat in general. I understand "how they use" as "what for it is for you" not "how to use it". So for me personally encrypted chat is for my very private conversations with my girlfriend and also when I chat about something which perhaps is not 100% legal...

When I ask ppl why you don’t use encryption, they say: I don’t care, if someone knows my uniportant things from life it is OK, what can person who sniff my messages/chat do me?

But such ppl don’t know who they will be e.g. 10 years later - maybe they will be politician or businessman, even small information which help to discredit person or help in discussion with this person (when they are discussing about BIG money) will be in value.

Simple example, there is large (500k users) communicator in Poland called Gadu-Gadu, for years GG any encryption was unsupported! One of LAN admins started special script on router to collect messages and SMS for years 2000 and 2001 IIRC of >20 users. So this admin had valuable information, e.g. for spammers, he can sell it. Just imagine - sniff your IM program to send profiled ads - something like latest Google mail in which Google checks e-mails for certain words and send profiled spam.

Same thing with e-mail! Thank God my e-mail provider use TLS encryption, but... e-mail provider see my e-mails, and he must (law in Poland) collect e-mails for 6 months IIRC for e.g. Police.

So I use client-to-client GnuPG asymmetric encryption in my Jabber/XMPP client called PSI (PSI also support client-to server SSL/TLS encryption). No one can see my messages - but my recipient can, because he/she has his/her private key. Encrypting or disabling history in IM program help also. Everyone in LAN know that our admin sniff our messages!

Also GnuPG in PSI supports digital signature for presence, so other side know that it is chating with ME not someone who e.g. hacked my account on Jabber server.

I hope I helped a bit! I can answer further question in this thread... if You want...

PS. Of course, if you decide to use information I wrote, correct any spelling/grammar etc. errors