发短信已取代通话成为电话的主要用途。对于那些想跟踪我们谈论的内容的人来说，这让他们的生活变得更简单。存储和处理纯文本比处理音频要容易得多。因此，也许使用安全的短信应用程序(secure texting app)是个好主意。
这就是 Signal 的用武之地。Signal 是一款适用于 Android、iPhone 和桌面的安全消息传递应用程序(Signal is a secure messaging app for Android, iPhone, and the desktop)。与大多数其他消息应用程序一样，Signal可用于发短信、语音和视频通话。
无论您如何使用它，它从离开您的手机的那一刻起就被加密，直到它在接收者的手机上的Signal应用程序中被解密。您仍然可以在没有Signal应用的情况下向他人发送消息，但不会加密。学习加密您的所有数据(Learn to encrypt all your data)。这是一个聪明的主意。
从桌面发短信(Texting From The Desktop)
如果您花费大量时间在计算机上，无论是工作还是休闲，能够从桌面发短信(text from the desktop)真是太好了。每隔几分钟就停下来拿起电话并给某人发消息很烦人。Signal的人知道这一点，所以他们将他们的应用程序变成了桌面应用程序。它适用于Windows、Mac和Linux。Signal 桌面应用程序可免费下载(Signal desktop app is a free download)。
我可以在 Signal 桌面应用程序上做什么？(What Can I Do On The Signal Desktop App?)
Signal桌面应用程序比手机应用程序更受限制。它只用于发短信。您可以发送图像、5 分钟以下的语音消息、视频和其他类型的文件。但是，您不能将其用于实时视频或语音消息(live video or voice messaging)。
Signal支持几乎所有你能想到的表情符号；人、动物、食物、活动、旅行、物体、符号和旗帜。
它带有两个贴纸包；法国斗牛犬佐佐和猫(Zozo)强盗。(Bandit)您还可以在Signal(Signal)中创建和上传自己的贴纸包。这不是一个因安全而瘫痪的无聊的纯文本应用程序。这是一个功能齐全的消息传递应用程序，恰好具有可靠的安全性。
Signal 桌面应用程序如何保护您的安全？(How Does The Signal Desktop App Protect Your Security?)
Signal 安全性的基石是端到端加密。当你的信息离开你的手机时，你看到的信息会变成难以理解的东西。
高端加密(High-End Encryption)
只有当它到达预期接收者的Signal(Signal)应用程序时，才能将其转回可读消息。通过Signal桌面应用程序的所有内容都会被加密。消息、文件、图片、视频、贴纸……一切都是加密的。
怎么加密的？Signal 使用自己的加密协议，该协议利用了几种不同的加密技术，这些技术本身就非常安全。AES-256 加密(AES-256 encryption)只是其中之一。
已验证连接到您的手机(Verified Connection To Your Phone)
电话应用程序已注册到您的电话号码，因此除非有人拥有您的电话，否则很难假装是您。Signal桌面应用程序直接绑定到您的手机。当您安装该应用程序时，它将打开一个大的二维码(QR code)屏幕，让您可以将其链接到您的手机。
由于该应用程序与您的手机绑定，并且您的电话号码已通过手机应用程序在Signal中注册，因此人们可以更轻松地验证消息是否真的来自您。
仅限于 Signal Phone 应用程序中的联系人(Limited To Contacts In Your Signal Phone App)
当您将Signal桌面应用程序与您的手机关联时，它会从您手机上的应用程序中导入联系人。这是让联系人进入桌面应用程序的唯一方法。此功能可防止您因拼写错误而意外将绝密消息发送给错误的人。
自毁消息(Self-Destructing Messages)
说到绝密消息，您还可以为从Signal(Signal)桌面应用程序发送的任何消息设置自毁计时器。单击(Click)三点菜单，然后单击Disappearing messages。现在您可以选择消息的持续时间。
倒计时在您发送消息后立即开始，而不是在您的朋友收到消息后立即开始。这样，如果其他人稍后拿起他们的电话，该消息就会消失。
双方都可以验证对话(Conversations Can Be Verified By Both People)
理想情况下，您还验证了您正在向朋友的应用发送消息，反之亦然。这可以通过转到三点(three-dots )菜单来完成。
点击查看安全号码(View safety number)，并检查他们在他们的应用程序上是否有相同的号码。每个Signal对话都有一个唯一的安全号码。
如果它们相同，您可以将您的安全编号标记为已验证。在对话中他们的名字旁边，您会在旁边看到一个带有已验证(Verified)的复选标记。现在您可以肯定地知道您是在向您的朋友发送消息，而不是被网络钓鱼。它还有助于防止中间人攻击。
可定制的桌面通知(Customizable Desktop Notifications)
还可以设置您收到的桌面通知类型或关闭通知。当您将应用程序最小化到桌面时，这很方便，可能是因为您在屏幕上向某人展示了一些东西。
点击通知可以设置为；发件人姓名和消息，只有发件人姓名，既没有姓名也没有消息，或禁用通知。您还可以设置音频通知，如果您关闭了视觉通知，这很方便。
使用信号，安全(Use Signal, Be Safe)
如果您担心信息安全，Signal桌面应用程序适合您。坦率地说(Frankly)，所有消息传递应用程序都应该具有这种级别的安全性。为了提高安全性，您可以单击File然后Clear Data。
您将收到一条警告，所有联系人和所有消息都将被删除且无法检索。在单击“删除所有数据( Delete all data)”按钮之前，请确保这是您想要执行的操作。
现在您知道Signal桌面应用程序如何帮助保护您的隐私以及Signal手机应用程序。同时使用这两种方法也可以为您提供最大的便利。
How the Signal Desktop App Can Help Protect Your Privacy
Texting has replaced talking as the primary use of a рhone. For those that would like to track what we talk about, that has made their life simpler. It’s а lot easіer to store and work with plain text than it іs to do with audio. So maybe υsing a secure texting app is a good idea.
That’s where Signal comes in. Signal is a secure messaging app for Android, iPhone, and the desktop. Like most other messaging apps, Signal can be used for texting, voice, and video calls.
However you’re using it, it’s encrypted from the moment it leaves your phone until it is decrypted on the recipient’s phone in their Signal app. You can still message people without the Signal app, but it won’t be encrypted. Learn to encrypt all your data. It’s a smart idea.
Texting From The Desktop
If you spend a lot of time on a computer, either for work or leisure, it’s nice to be able to text from the desktop. Stopping every few minutes to pick up the phone and message someone back is annoying. The folks at Signal know that so they made their app into a desktop app. It’s available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The Signal desktop app is a free download.
What Can I Do On The Signal Desktop App?
The Signal desktop app is a bit more limited than the phone app. It’s for texting only. You can send images, voice messages under 5 minutes long, videos, and other types of files. You can’t use it for live video or voice messaging though.
Signal supports just about every emoji you can think of; people, animals, food, activities, travel, objects, symbols, and flags.
It comes with two sticker packs; Zozo the french bulldog and Bandit the cat. You can also create and upload your own sticker packs in Signal. This is not a boring text-only app crippled by security. It’s a full-featured messaging app that happens to have solid security.
How Does The Signal Desktop App Protect Your Security?
The cornerstone of Signal’s security is the end-to-end encryption. What you see as your message gets turned into something indecipherable when it leaves your phone.
High-End Encryption
It can only be turned back into a readable message when it hits the intended recipient’s Signal app. Everything that goes through the Signal desktop app gets encrypted. Messages, files, pictures, videos, stickers…everything is encrypted.
How encrypted? Signal uses its own encryption protocol that utilizes several different encryption techniques that would be very secure on their own. AES-256 encryption is just one of them.
Verified Connection To Your Phone
The phone app is registered to your phone’s number, so it’s hard for someone to pretend to be you unless they have your phone. The Signal desktop app is tied directly to your phone. When you install the app, it will open with a large QR code screen to allow you to link it to your phone.
Because the app is tied to your phone, and your phone number is registered with Signal through the phone app, it’s easier for people to verify that message really came from you.
Limited To Contacts In Your Signal Phone App
When you link the Signal desktop app with your phone, it imports contacts from within the app on your phone. That’s the only way to get contacts into the desktop app. This feature prevents you from accidentally sending your top-secret messages to the wrong person because of a typo.
Self-Destructing Messages
Speaking of top-secret messages, you can also set a self-destruct timer on any messages sent from the Signal desktop app. Click on the three-dots menu and then click on Disappearing messages. Now you can choose how long a message will last.
The countdown begins as soon as you send the message, not as soon as your friend gets it. This way, if someone else picks up their phone later, that message is gone.
Conversations Can Be Verified By Both People
Ideally, you’ve also verified that you are messaging your friend’s app and vice versa. That can be done by going to the three-dots menu.
Click on View safety number, and check that they have the same number under you on their app. Each Signal conversation has a unique safety number.
If they are the same, you can mark your safety number as verified. Next to their name in the conversation, you’ll see a checkmark with Verified beside. Now you know for certain that you are messaging your friend and not getting phished. It also helps protect against man-in-the-middle attacks.
Customizable Desktop Notifications
There’s also the ability to set the type of desktop notification you get or turn off the notification. This is handy for when you minimize the app to the desktop, maybe because you’re showing someone something on your screen.
Click Notifications can be set to; Both sender name and message, only sender name, neither name nor message, or disable notifications. You can also set an audio notification, which is handy if you’ve turned off the visual notification.
Use Signal, Be Safe
If information security is a concern, the Signal desktop app is for you. Frankly, all messaging apps should have this level of security. For more security, you can click on File and then Clear Data.
You’ll get a warning that all contacts and all messages are about to be deleted and cannot be retrieved. Make sure that’s what you want to do before clicking the Delete all data button.
Now you know how the Signal desktop app can help protect your privacy as well as the Signal phone app. Using both gives you the highest convenience as well.
