Em Adespoton

It’s worth noting that a sizeable number of Tor exit nodes are actually run by the German government. Meaning: they know exactly what’s going through those nodes.

So all they need to do to unmask a Tor source IP is control the first hop too. They’re in a position where they can narrow searches down to activity they’re actually interested in without significantly decreasing the privacy of other Tor users, and then they can peel back the onion.

This has been the case since shortly after Tor was created.

Google implemented WebP because they can control it without having to pay anyone else. Apple then bungled the client-side implementation.

Funny… I did the same thing. Chose Grand Central as my provider… who were then acquired by Google and became Google Voice :-/

These days I still have my GV number as it’s a known number, but I never call out on it. When possible I use Signal; I’ve also got burner talkatone numbers that change regularly, and Matrix/Element for any regular communication.

I figure the combination means that no provider has a full picture and all of those providers are unlikely to aggregate to the same databases.

The Beelink ones come with Windows 11 Home; since this is a privacy community, it should be obvious that that’s not all that great for privacy.

For wireless keyboards; I just got a cheap Bluetooth one with a trackpad because I knew it would be abused.

Take a TV, strap a mini PC like one of those BeeLink ones to the back (it comes with mounting hardware), plug an HDMI cable between them. Connect a wireless keyboard with trackpad, and congrats! You’ve got a big screen computer.

The next bits really depend on your technical know-how. What I did was wiped Windows from the PC and installed Linux, then installed Jellyfin and Firefox.

Jellyfin works as a media server so I can stream my own collection of videos/images anywhere im my home, and Firefox with uBlock Origin means I can log in to any streaming service I want, without the ads. And I can log into my (on-device) Jellyfin server the same way.

I’ve tried all the interfaces like XBMC/Kodi and Plesk etc. and find it’s more of a headache than just having a keyboard handy.

I had this experience once in an Ikea, of all places. I calmly told the clerk that according to local laws (which I cited), it was illegal for them to demand that information from me (phone number and post code) to sell me anything, and if the computer wouldn’t let them do it, then they should call a manager for an override.

When the manager came, the clerk said “this person refuses to give me their info” — to which I added, “your computer refuses to comply with the law; please override and then notify HQ that they are in contravention of the law and liable for significant fines.”

The next time I went in, they still asked me for the info, but the clerk was able to override. I suspect they just put in fake info for everyone who refused to supply it.

Tor is indeed about providing cover. US Military and US and German covert operations use it, and hide in the noise. But in those situations, it’s a win/win, as they provide funding and everyone gets to have a somewhat secure channel.

I’d argue though that in any case where you don’t control the exit node, you have no expectation of real privacy. So it becomes a question of how much you’re willing to trade.

How do they know your phone number? Only a cryptographic hash of it is sent to their servers.

Signal is designed to collect meta-metadata. They don’t hold any information that can tie a person to their account, but they definitely know how those accounts interact via their servers.

Some people realized when Signal removed SMS support on Android that Signal is a private org that can make changes as they see fit, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Other people get stuck on the fact that Signal requires a legitimate phone number in order to operate.

In both of these situations, the people up in arms usually don’t understand WHY the changes were privacy and security improvements and make Signal a better platform. But the argument about not being fully in control still stands.

So it could be argued that Signal may keep you safer than if you try to roll your own Matrix or SimpleX server, and it’s definitely a better platform for anyone who wouldn’t have a clue how to set up and secure their own server. But people have definitely had reasons for leaving it.

Personally, I use both Signal and Matrix, and push average people towards Signal.

I thought people had been moving OFF signal lately?

Personally, I’m on signal, but never signed up for a Meta property because, well, it was obvious from the start that they had bad privacy controls that depended only on corporate promises.

Its main Western rivals like Samsung?

Actually, it may. The US has some odd laws where US companies have to enforce US restrictions globally. However, it wasn’t my understanding that Kaspersky was on any of the lists that would have resulted in this. Possibly it boils down to a Google ToS violation?

I’m sure we’ll be hearing more details this week.

That’s really interesting. I wonder if it’s due to Google being a US company?

I’m confused: Kaspersky just finished transferring its endpoint security software in these regions to a different company’s product via a software update. Kaspersky has sent messages out to customers saying that they are leaving this marketplace.

Given this context, I can see no reason why Google would leave their Android product available when they’re not technically allowed to sell it and Kaspersky has said that they won’t be selling it into these markets going forward. It does, of course, prevent Kaspersky from pulling another bait and switch and “updating” mobile devices to a third party product. That would be the reason for locking out the developer accounts.

Something Chuck Norris could support….

Or… Chinese robot industry struggles to develop high quality products.

All depends on how you spin it.

I get 4 weeks, plus sick days, plus parental leave, various types of training days and charitable days, plus a 2 week carry-over and I’m neither American nor European.

Why am I not seeing it on my new tab screens?

In reality, you can use any blogging solution; they can be hosted on I2P or TOR or WriteFreely or even Lemmy. A Lemmy community is essentially a P2P microblogging solution if used that way.

Then, just sign all your posts on the platform you choose.