CyberDust

Something that we didn't discuss in class was anonymous forums and apps and how unsafe/safe they can be and their pros and cons which I think would have been something interesting to cover and something related to this that caught my attention is the new app surfacing called Cyberdust. Cyberdust is an app that sends fully encrypted messages that immediately delete themselves and are never saved on a hard drive, or so they tell us. I am very skeptical of this kind of emerging technology, mainly because it goes against everything we have grown up being told about technology. Our parents have always told us the importance of thinking before we post because it will be there forever, even in class we talked about how even if you delete a picture off Facebook it still exists on different servers and can be retrieved at the click of a mouse. If suddenly there is an app that now deletes your messages immediately and there's no way to trace what you send this will change the game forever, cyberbullies will no longer be able to get caught because they will stop using these other sources to get their messages out and will now use this one that is untraceable. The law field will really have it's hands full because they will not be able to prove that these messages are from a certain person and so they will no longer hold up in court. These are just a few examples of how things will change now that these 'completely anonymous' messages can be sent, people are now not being forced to take responsibility for what they say online. However I am still skeptical that they will be able to keep these messages as anonymous as they claim they can.

Here's a link pretty much describing how the app got it's beginning and the appeal to be download
http://www.forbes.com/sites/maseenaziegler/2014/04/08/mark-cuban-wants-to-take-over-texting/

If we can just recall when Snapchat was first born, everyone was now able to send pictures to other people that only last a few seconds and then disapear forever. Well let's also remember how Snapchat leaked a lot of those pictures that supposedly weren't stored anywhere, there has to be somewhere to store these messages and pictures. I have a very hard time believing that they will be able to send these messages without storing them anywhere at all, also I don't think they will be able to remain fully anonymous. Yik Yak, what was supposedly an anonymous forum where people could say anything and you would only be able to know the location of where it was sent. Well that was clearly proven wrong when there was a bomb threat and they found the exact guy who posted it, obviously not that anonymous. I think that there are flaws with every single online forum but this one seems full of them, people are going to start using this trusting that it is in fact fully anonymous and encrypted but it may come back to bite them in the butt later on.

I personally will not be using the app, ever.  I believe that people should take responsibility for everything they have to say online and so I don't use anonymous sources to post my thoughts and opinions, and if I have something to text someone I don't really care who sees it because I am responsible for everything I send. I also have way too many concerns about how safe this app can be and the safety of any other anonymous app/forum as well. I guess I'm thinking more on the cyberbullying/legal side of things and I am just concious that everyone should have consequences to face if they chose to post online, I am also concious of how words can hurt, especially anonymous ones. I wouldn't want someone talking about me anonymously so why would I do the same thing to someone else?

If you have any questions about the app please refer to the link below
http://cyberdust.com/faqs.html