What does a lock mean in Telegram?
The padlock icon shows an open or closed chat with the user. To get into secret correspondence, you will need to enter a four-digit code. This makes communication with the interlocutor safe and inaccessible to third parties.
Software developers have made the security and confidentiality of communication the main priority of communication. To do this, they created a closed chat, the data of which does not go to the server. All data is stored on the gadget and is inaccessible to outsiders.
The private chat provides several useful options:
- Deleting a dialogue by one of the users. In this case, the correspondence of the second interlocutor will also be deleted.
- Prohibition on forwarding. Conversation messages cannot be copied or forwarded to another user.
- Automatic deletion of messages. The user can set a time interval, after which the correspondence will be deleted by the program.
- Screenshot protection. If one of the interlocutors attempts to perform an action, the second participant in the conversation will receive a notification.
Hidden chats can be created in unlimited quantities. In the dialog feed, they are highlighted in green and with an icon in the form of a closed padlock.
Why a padlock in the address bar is not always a sign of a secure site
It is believed that a lock icon or a “safe” mark in the address bar of a site indicates its security, however, according to information security experts, such visual cues should not be blindly trusted, since attackers also use them to deceive users.
According to research from the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), the second quarter of 2020 saw an uptick in phishing attacks, with the majority of them involving sites using the SSL cryptographic protocol. Typically, such sites have a padlock icon indicating that the browser is using a secure, encrypted connection to the server. However, according to APWG, 80% of phishing sites identified in the second quarter used SSL certificates.
“Since major browsers added SSL warnings to the address bar, bad guys have also started using SSL/TLS lock icons,” noted DigiCert specialist Dean Coclin.
If previously attackers more often used SSL certificates with domain validation (Domain Validated), which can be obtained for free from services such as Let's Encrypt, now it is a good idea to be wary of EV certificates that are considered more reliable, says APWG.
“The emergence of phishing sites using Extended Validation certificates is a stark reminder that phishers are increasingly turning security features against users,” the company’s report states.
According to a study by PhishLabs, 91% of identified phishing sites used SSL certificates with domain verification, 27 sites used EV certificates. According to experts, since an EV certificate is more difficult to obtain, attackers are hacking sites that already use such certificates.
Experts are concerned that SSL certificates offer criminals an easy way to carry out website spoofing, server spoofing, man-in-the-middle attacks and bypass corporate firewalls. Although many browser manufacturers have implemented measures against such attacks, they are not enough, and in order to solve the problem, the domain registration system needs to be reviewed, Cocklin said.
“I don't know why people are allowed to register fraudulent domains in the first place. The problem is that no one wants to solve this problem, but until then you have to look outside the castle,” the expert emphasized.
How to create a secret chat step by step?
The first step to communicate in a secret chat is to create it in the messenger. The function is available after downloading the official application installed on your phone or personal computer.
iPhone
Owners of gadgets based on the iOS operating system will need to complete the following steps:
Install the updated version of Telegram.
Click on the pencil icon in the upper corner.
Find the item “Create a secret chat”, click on it.
Find the person you are talking to from your contact list, click on his name.
A notification will then appear indicating the successful creation of a closed dialog.
In secret correspondence, standard options are available: creating text messages, sending audio and media files, photos, and calls.
Android
On a smartphone with the Android operating system, you will need to do the following:
Download and run the software on your phone.
Click on the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner.
Go to the section and click on “Create a secret chat”.
Select an interlocutor and add to the chat.
Is it possible to create a secret Telegram chat on a PC?
The classified correspondence function can be created using an application on a desktop computer or laptop. To do this, you must have the latest updated version of the software and the BlueStacks emulator installed.
Next you need to follow the step-by-step instructions:
Open messenger on your computer.
Go to the menu by clicking on the three stripes in the corner.
Select “New secret chat” from the list that opens.
Add a person from your contact list.
Start a dialogue with the selected user.
In private communication mode on a PC, there are additional options that you can use. For example, make a message unread. The messenger has an incognito mode, which, when activated, makes reading messages hidden. To read a message in incognito mode, just click on the invisible icon, and new messages from a friend will be marked as unread.
On your phone, you can use this function if you swipe the dialog to the right without opening it. The message will go into unread status. A blue circle will indicate that the message needs to be read.
How to restrict access to your VKontakte page?
Now let’s look at the question of how to limit access to your page on VKontakte :
- We go to the VKontakte , log in and go to our page
How to restrict access to your page in Contact How to close your VK page from strangers
- Next, click on your icon at the top right and in the drop-down menu go to the “ Settings ” item.
How to restrict access to your page in Contact How to close your VK page from strangers
- Once on the new page, in the right column go to the “ Privacy ”
How to restrict access to your page in Contact How to close your VK page from strangers
- Now we find ourselves on a page where we can deal with the issues of restricting access to our page according to certain parameters: hide your page, hide photos, hide the list of groups, hide gifts, and so on.
How to restrict access to your page in Contact How to close your VK page from strangers
- For example, we need to hide basic information on our page. Click on the drop-down menu next to the corresponding item. A window will open with a list: all users, only friends, some friends, etc. These points mean who exactly will not be able to see your page. Just select the desired item. There is no need to do any further actions.
How to restrict access to your page in Contact How to close your VK page from strangers
- Same with photos
How to restrict access to your page in Contact How to close your VK page from strangers
- The same goes for posts on your page.
How to restrict access to your page in Contact How to close your VK page from strangers
- You can hide your page from the eyes of unregistered VKontakte users or do as you wish.
How to restrict access to your page in Contact How to close your VK page from strangers
- To block access for certain users, they need to be placed on your blacklist. On the same page where we were now, go in the right column to the “ Black List ” item. This is the black list; all the users you added there are located here.
How to restrict access to your page in Contact How to close your VK page from strangers
- To blacklist a user, go to his page, under the avatar, click on the icon of three horizontal dots and in the drop-down list, click on “ Block... ”.
How to restrict access to your page in Contact How to close your VK page from strangers
- In this case and when you hide your page from all/some users, your page will look like this to those users.
How to restrict access to your page in Contact How to close your VK page from strangers
Setup and use
Secret communication can be configured at your discretion. To do this you will need to open the menu. The following options are available here:
- "Call";
- “Enable timer deletion”;
- "Clear the history";
- “Delete chat”;
- "Disable notifications."
The user can select a dialogue deletion timer from 1 second to 7 days. When you delete messages, they automatically disappear from the other person's phone. Correspondence is deleted in the same way as regular correspondence, after confirmation by the author.
How to close a wall in VK from your phone?
If you use a mobile application to log in to VKontakte, then you can close your wall as easily as if you were performing these manipulations from a PC. Here are the instructions:
Go to settings and privacy section
- Log in to your VK profile.
- At the top right there is a “wheel” - click on it.
- “Settings” page will open “Privacy” on it .
Set restrictions
- Then a page will appear with the ability to set restrictions. Click on the grayed-out entry on the second line, All Users .
Put "Only me"
- A new privacy window will open. Click "Only Me" if you want to close the wall from all friends.
Hiding posts from some friends
- If you need to hide posts only from some friends, then select at the bottom of the link: “Who is prohibited” or “Who is allowed” . Add your friends' last names.
When making changes to your phone, you don't need to save anything. Everything is saved automatically. Now your friends from whom you wanted to hide posts will not be able to view the wall on your page.
Who can use secret chats?
The option is relevant for entrepreneurs, as well as for those who want to save information from other people and intelligence agencies. You can create a secret dialogue on any device with an updated version of the Telegram application installed.
The Telegram communication platform is a modern portal for free and independent people who have great opportunities open to them. If the user learns to use the resource competently, the possibility of intrusion into his personal space is almost completely eliminated.
