Antivirus software pioneer John McAfee has launched his very new own secure private messaging app Chadder. The app that focuses on encryption and security allows anyone to send private encrypted messages by using key server encryption.
The app is produced by Future Tense Private Systems (FTC), a company founded by McAfee that has previously developed the Dcentral1 app, in conjunction with a Rochester-based security company Etransfr.
The main purpose for the app is privacy. The app makes the recipient of the message the only person to be able to read the message - would-be interceptors will only see "garbled, encrypted text".
To ensure that the app means privacy, Chadder says that even it cannot read any messages which pass through its servers because it does not hold the cryptographic key which is sent to the recipient in order to decrypt the message. The app goes with a phrase "so private that we can't see it ourselves" that appears several times in the marketing materials.
The system works using public key cryptography, which makes it possible for the server to pass on the information, and the key, without the information that is held within being compromised. And because it's a public key, there is no complicated exchange of security sertificates. These keep everything secure, and the app simple.
Targeting Youngsters
Chadder - pronounced "chatter", is targeting a younger demographic by promising to keep messages safe from prying eyes by encrypting the content on their device and only decrypting it when it arrives on the phone of the intended recipient.
When first signing up, users should provide a nickname, username, and password. And when the user in logged in, they will be able to add email address and mobile numbers to help other people find them. Otherwise, users can generate a code to share and link it with others.
Etransfr founder Lexi Sprague said: "The social media industry is built around the consumer also being the product. Chadder is here to prove that young people want privacy just as much as adults do. The application is simple and straight forward with a lot of power given to the user."
Chadder adds another privacy-focused messaging app on the market, along with Telegram and other similar apps.
John McAfee first rose to prominence in the 1980s as a security software pioneer with his company McAfee Associates, one of the pioneers in the early days of computer security.
McAfee turned his back on the company he created however, selling his entire stake in the business which was subsequently sold to Intel, which has now retired the brand.
McAfee himself has become known for his behaviour in recent years, with the most recent incident where he ran from the authorities in Belize where he was wanted for questioning in relation to the murder of his neighbour Gregory Faull in November 2012.