I miss the olden days when staying logged out of your account meant your recommendations weren't cluttered up by every post you read, video you watched or search you did across every device.

Any way to curb this?

So I just discovered that SmartTube had malware in it (yay) and so I reset my Chromecast I had it set up on.

What is weird though is that when I reset it now it disconnects from the WiFi all the time like seriously every 10 mins or so AND the Mullvad app was showing up back on it but the thing is I didn't reinstall it.

Is it possible this malware wasn't wiped from the factory reset? Or am I just paranoid?

Dont want to self promote, just looking for some feedback on a vpn im building and the thoughts and reasoning behind why i'm doing certain things.

Token instead of account username/password (pretty self explanatory) No 3rd party processor for XMR payments and running my own node Shared exits with 2 locations ( no obvious correlation between 1 user = 1 ip) Wireguard Only for smaller attack surface Endpoint flushing when a handshake is over 10 mins old on wg interface so the user's IP doesnt even live in RAM .onion mirror available which I encourge you to use

I explain other stuff mostly on the FAQ, i encourge everybody to read it please!

I have a Debian laptop that I use for most things and a Windows 11 laptop that only gets powered on when I need to use the Lockdown Browser for my weekly quiz.

Is there such thing as having a full Windows 11 installation on a thumb drive that I can save things on? I need to be able to save files and the Lockdown Browser on it. And finally of course the Lockdown Browser must work when I use it as well. Is there such thing as that? Is there a reputable place where I can buy one so that I don't waste many hours and probably fail trying to make one myself? Thanks in advance.

It seems the DeFlock website is offline (as of posting this). I know Flock sent a cease-and-desist letter in the past, so did it get its way; or is it simply a hosting issue? Anyone having more information regarding this?

Update: the website appears to be online once more, and the downtime likely hosting-related.

cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/45042331

Hello again!!

Sorry for the big delay in the announcements. I know it has been a long time I have not made any announcements but I will try my best next time this doesn't happen again.

So, through the medium of this post I would like to share with you all the v1.24.36 major release version of the websurfx project which was released on the 26th of January.

If you are new, and you don't know what is websurfx then I would suggest taking a look at my previous post here:

https://programming.dev/post/2678496

Which covers in depth about what the project is and why it exists.

Credits

Before I share with you the changelog, what this release version means and a preview on what we are planning to work on for the next major release v2.0.0. I would first like to thank all our contributors and maintainers because of whom this was all possible. Specially I would like to thank spencerjibz, MickLesk and SchweGELBin who have been invaluable to the project. Also, Websurfx would not have been possible without alamin655 and xffxff early involvement.

Thanks 💖 to all the people involved in the project

Now, let's dive straight into what this release version actually means.

What does this release version means

This new release version v1.24.36 updates the hybrid caching api to take advantage of the two layer caching solution which eliminates the round trip time delay of fetching the same results from the cache.

Changelog

The changelog of all the changes can be found here:

https://github.com/neon-mmd/websurfx/releases/tag/v1.24.36

Preview of the goals for the next major release

• Different levels of privacy to choose from with the help of rust's conditional compiling features (In progress).
• Even more engines will be supported.
• Categories would be added to search results like images, news, etc.
• More themes will be provided by default
• More animations for the websurfx frontend will be supported.
• Multi language support would be added.
• I2p and tor support will be provided.
• Reduce animations would be added for those who don't want animations and effects on the frontend.
• And lots more ✨.

Call To Action

If you love our project and want to see it move ahead and progress in the direction you want, then we would suggest contributing at our project

The recent federal raid on the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson isn’t merely an attack by the Trump administration on the free press. It’s also a warning to anyone with a smartphone.

Included in the search and seizure warrant for the raid on Natanson’s home is a section titled “Biometric Unlock,” which explicitly authorized law enforcement personnel to obtain Natanson’s phone and both hold the device in front of her face and to forcibly use her fingers to unlock it. In other words, a judge gave the FBI permission to attempt to bypass biometrics: the convenient shortcuts that let you unlock your phone by scanning your fingerprint or face.-

It is not clear if Natanson used biometric authentication on her devices, or if the law enforcement personnel attempted to use her face or fingers to unlock her devices. Natanson and the Washington Post did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The FBI declined to comment.

So apparently Purism has their own privacy e-mail and VPN services, like Proton. I'm just wondering if anyone has used them and what they think, since I have never heard about them before, have never seen them recommended.

Set up a framework to fully man-in-the-middle my own browsers' networking and see what they're up to beyond just looking at their DNS queries and encrypted tcp packets. We force the browser to trust our mitmproxy cacert so we can peek inside cleartext traffic and made it conveniently reproducible and extensible.

It has containers for official Firefox, its Debian version, and some other FF derivatives that market a focus on privacy or security. Might add a few more of those or do the chromium family later - if you read the thing and want more then please let us know what you want to see under the lens in a future update!

Tests were run against a basic protocol for each of them and results are aggregated at the end of the post.

Posting with ambition that this can trigger some follow-ups sharing derived or similar things. Maybe someone could make a viral blog post by doing some deeper tests and making their results digestible ;)

Cross-post. Original Thread @ https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/53845514

Received request from a friend in Minneapolis.

I suggested FairPhone/Murena and they found this Cape.co. The finding a compatible wireless carrier and managing a VPN piece thru them off. They need an easy solution that gives them peace of mind, but they are not techy at all. "Being able to research and pick a carrier, phone and OS was overwhelming."

This person is not nefarious, but they rightly believe the government is being nefarious in their town and they want to resist while being safe. The marketing from Cape hit the nail, but it's marketing.

I'm not there to help, so looking for experienced condensed advice on the device.

I should add - this will be a daily driver and I've already advised to leave the device home for protests, etc. due to tower tracking. We're at the next layer.

Can I ask the moderators of this instance to delete my posts without a trace so that they are not in the federation database?

Is there a way to chat safely on Lemmy? Alas, I like to communicate with different people from different countries, because I can't help myself, by the way, how then can I pass the keys to my matrix room to others or how can others give their keys?

Tips for online communication in a world where super-AI is perfect at finding people by their patterns and linking it to a person in a database.

How to reduce your dependence on tech companies step by step - with practical alternatives and background information. Read now and become more digitally self-determined: #UnplugBigTech: Your roadmap to a freer digital life - Part 1

To the surprise of no one...

cross-posted from: https://discuss.online/post/34598392

FBI Director Kash Patel said Monday that he had opened an investigation into the Signal group text chats that Minnesota residents are using to share information about federal immigration agents’ movements, launching a new front in the Trump administration’s conflict there with potential free speech implications.

Patel said in an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson that he wanted to know whether any Minnesota residents had put federal agents “in harm’s way” with activities such as sharing agents’ license plate numbers and locations.

Hi everyone.

I'm new to these kinds of innovative platforms, and I've come across Mastodon and Bluesky in particular. I've realized that both use different but equally free and open-source protocols, so my question is: are there any substantial differences between the two social networks? Should I choose one over the other?

Thanks for your replies, and have a great day.

To all Mexicans interested in privacy...

Mexico's gov. is narrowing down on surveillance quite a lot, and we need to talk about it, share opinions, and take actions!

Join c/privacidadmx!

It is kinda nuts that the alleged warnings of the past were just priming us into thinking it is all ok for them to do.

The issue I'm seeing with any free plans of email providers is that they either require an identifying verification, or don't allow the email to be used for services.

tutamail, for example, states that the free plan is not to be used to signup for services.

protonmail requires verification by email 'to prove you are human'.

Thank you

cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/44816610

I just finished setting up the hardware infrastructure to start hosting but I cannot find any specific information in the official documentation on how to set up a public Invidious instance. I understand the guide as far as just hosting an instance and watching YouTube through that goes, but how do I, for instance, give it a publicly searchable domain name that - in the best of worlds - is listed on Invidious' website?

I assume there is a better way than to start posting my instance's IP address throughout any forums that I might be active on?

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across this little device: https://www.waveshare.com/sim7600g-h-4g-dongle.htm. According to its documentation, it is able to write SMS, provide mobile internet, and allow making phone calls (which is quite rare). Does anyone have any experience with this device? And if yes, does it just work with Linux applications like gnome-calls (I know that this issue https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/calls/-/issues/680 exists, but it is basically inactive)?

My goal would be to replace my phone entirely. Currently, I only need my phone for Signal as a primary device as well as for basic smartphone stuff, such as SMS, mobile internet, and calls.

Im stuck with an s23 for a while yet. Is it even worth the trouble of trying to use f droid, shutting off google play services and disabling all the other shit on my phone, when at its core its all spyware?

I really wish an alternative existed that wasn't just a prototype or $1000.

Privacy for me has been incredibly rewarding, but when talking to people who haven't been introduced to privacy, there are occasionally some moments that make it exhausting. One conversation in particular is one that I've had to go through dozens of times, and it always goes along these lines:

• Alice: Why is your phone in airplane mode? / What's your phone number?
• Bob: I don't have a carrier.
• Alice: But you have a phone.
• Bob: Yes.
• Alice: How do you not have a carrier?
• Bob: Phones can come without a carrier.
• Alice: What do you use it for?
• Bob: Everything you use yours for.
• Alice: How do you talk to people?
• Bob: Messaging apps over Wi-Fi.
• Alice: What if you don't have Wi-Fi?
• Bob: Public Wi-Fi is everywhere. If I don't have Wi-Fi, I likely don't need to get in touch.
• Alice: What about emergencies?
• Bob: I can still contact emergency services.

Each time it happens, it has a unique flavor. One person accused me of lying and then fraud. I know people are just curious and don't mean to be rude, but it makes me die a little inside every time someone asks. I've begun trying to sidestep the conversation entirely:

• Alice: Why is your phone in airplane mode?
• Bob: To save battery.

or:

• Alice: What's your phone number?
• Bob: You can contact me with an app called Signal.

People seem to think that a phone automatically comes with a carrier and that it'll stop working if you don't have one. In reality, I'm saving hundreds of dollars per year while avoiding spam, fraud, breaches, surveillance, and being chronically online. People have a hard time coping with those who do things a little differently.

Question that I've been mulling over recently: My threat model dictates that I'm more likely to be surveilled by the US government than by the Chinese government. We can also assume that the Chinese government is not going to cooperate with the US government in any investigations of potential activist activity.

Would it not be best, then, to use a Chinese-made phone that, even though we know that information is going to China, we can also assume that any backdoors in the system are unknown to the US Gov?

I'm interested in everyone's take on this.