MegaChat: Kim Dotcom launches encrypted, browser-based voice and video chat app

Dotcom became famous for creating file-sharing site Megaupload and now wants to beat Skype

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, pictured here at the launch of his new file sharing venture 'Mega' in January, has started a new political party in New Zealand (Reuters)

A new chat service created by internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom hopes to kill off Skype.

The service, called MegaChat, works in a browser and is encrypted so that nobody can see the contents of video or voice chats.

Dotcom came to fame after creating file-sharing Megaupload. After that site was shut down, he founded a similar site, Mega, which was focused on privacy and encryption.

The new service, MegaChat, allows users to speak over voice and video calls through what is claimed to be a completely encrypted connection. Text chats and video conferences are set to be added later, and the service is currently in an experimental beta.

Dotcom has referred to the chat as a “Skype killer”.

Users can sign up to the site now, using a Mega username and password, and add other contacts.

Though Kim Dotcom has often made much of the privacy and security of Mega, which he refers to as a cyber locker, others have questioned the strength of the encryption that powers the site. Security experts have pointed out problems in the site’s encryption process, as Ars Technica reports.

But many of the other have little useful encryption, too. Skype, the most popular voice and text chat service, is said to have been regularly snooped on by government agencies.