The new app Haven created by Edward Snowden has struck up allot of controversy lately (I myself have done some bashing of the app), but it has been designed with Privacy and Security in mind. That being said I decided to write a review of the App explaining each of its features, how they can be used and additional security steps that every Haven user should take when using the app. This article will not be written for anonymity while using the app, but for using it safely and securely so you don’t have to worry about Hackers spying on you. If you would like to read an article on staying anonymous with Haven you can check out How to Securely Use the Haven App.
Who Is Edward Snowden
Most people in the PrivSec community will recognize his name from a mile away, but there are a lot of people out there that still don’t know who Edward Snowden is. After working for the CIA and NSA as a Government contractor Edward Snowden got feed up with the amount of intrusion that was done by the Government into peoples lives. He decided to steal unimportant documents from the NSA and expose how all telecom information was being sent to them. These documents showed that the NSA was secretly listening to all of your Phone calls, Text messages and more. The extent of the operation was far deeper, but this was the safest thing to be released to the General Public. After stealing these documents he was labeled a traitor of the United States Government and he went into hiding. He is now one of the biggest pro Internet Privacy and Security advocates and has done several talks on the subject. His high respect in the Industry alone gives this app a good reputation for being secure and private.
What is Haven
Haven was designed to be a physical security device that you can use to protect your belongings (electronic or not). This is done by using the Camera, Accelerometer (measures movement of the phone) and Mic to detect if anyone is near the device or moving it. If any of these alerts are triggered it will snap a picture of the intruder and save it locally on the device as well as send you a text message letting you know an alert has been triggered. This is very useful for anyone that has something precious to them that they would like to protect such as a laptop, notebook or diary. This App was without any doubt created with Whistle Blowers and Investigative Journalist in mind, but it can easily be used by anyone that has something to protect or keep secret.
Features of the Haven App
As I said previously this app does use the phones Camera, Accelerometer and Mic for basic functioning, but there are a few additional features that the App offers.
- Motion Sensor — Using the phones camera the app will detect if anyone is moving within camera shot.
- Movement Sensor — Using the Phones Accelerometer the app will detect if anyone is moving the device.
- Voice Sensor/Audio Detection — Using the Phones Mic the App will detect if anyone is speaking or making noise near the device.
- On Device Logs — Using the Camera if one of the three alerts above are triggered. The App will automatically take a picture of the disturbance and save them into a folder on your device.
- Camera Settings — This setting will allow you to control if you want to use the Front Camera, Back Camera or no Camera at all.
- Configuration-The app allows you to configure it’s sound sensitivity, movement sensitivity and it’s delay time (Amount of time after activation before the app starts working. Like a home security system)
- Texting alerts and Secure Texting alerts-This feature allows you to specify if you want to receive text alerts via encrypted messaging with Signal or using your phones default messaging service.
- Remote Access using TOR-This feature uses the TOR Network to allow you to anonymously access your Haven Phone from anywhere that has a TOR connection. It uses Orbot on your phone to open a Hidden Service giving the app a .onion address that you can go to on the TOR Network from anywhere in the world.
Haven Review
If Privacy, Security and Anonymity are your concern the main features that Haven uses can seem a little scary. It does everything that we assume the Government is already doing with our Phones, but it also shows just what can be done by using three simple features that come in every modern smart phone. Once you dig a little deeper into the App and all of the features that it provides you can see how it has been designed to give you as much control as possible over your Privacy. allowing you to turn off the Camera, specify if you want encrypted messaging and allowing access through the TOR Network. These are all things that we look for in the Internet Privacy and Security Community to judge the good from the bad. It also comes from a reputable source (that we hope isn't taking bribes from his former employer) giving it even more credibility. On top of all that it is an Open Source Project meaning anyone can view and read the code. All in all it does seem like a trustworthy app that should be used, but you should still take safety precautions. Safety is probably this biggest concern with this app and how safe it is can really only be determined by the Hackers. However there are measures you can take to make sure you are staying safe while using it.
Additional Safety Measures
The biggest concern with this app is what if someone Hacks it, turns it on and records you without your knowing. While this is an unlikely result do to the apps design (it saves logs on your device nowhere else) it is still possible. In order to keep your family safe while using this app here are some precautions that you should take.
- Install the app on a phone you don’t use or buy an new one — The New one option trumps any other because a new phone probably wont have any existing Viruses on it. The importance of this I can’t stress more because one you are only using half of the apps features if you only use one phone, but also because if you use it on your personal phone you now have an app that can spy on everything you do on your person at all times.
- Turn off and remove the Batteries from your Haven Phone — By doing this when your not using your Haven Phone, you will decrease the chances of some malicious Hacker Spying on you or your Family.
- Don’t use your Haven phone for anything else — Another very important security step. A Hacker can’t just type some code into a computer and install a Virus on your phone. Even though movies want you to believe otherwise. You have to present the oprtunity to them to download the Virus. This is done by going to Malicious websites, downloading content really just common use of the Internet all together. We want to eleminate that on these phones not use it at all and the Hacker might never have a chance to get a Virus on your Haven Phone
- Don’t use the remote access feature-While this is a safe feature and they do allow you to setup a password for it, if safety is your concern unless you need it don’t use it. This will just open up a door on your Haven Phone to let Hacker stroll/Kick their way in.
- Strong Passwords-This means no dogs, names or places of work. A strong password shouldn't have any words in it at all. The only feature on this app that is password protected is the Remote Access and it is the one you want to make sure is protected the most. The best way to do that is to use a very strong password. This would be a password over 12 characters long full of random letters, numbers symbols and capitalization. The best way to do this is with a random password generator and store the password somewhere safe, so you don’t forget it.
If you follow the above steps you should stay relatively safe while using the Haven app. This is a great app that will help lots of people, but it has potential to be a security risk on your phone. I for one trust the people behind the app and trust the app it’s self, but that doesn’t make it safe to use. You are the only one that can guarantee that.
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