glad we're at the stage of our cyberpunk hell-timeline that we have corporate botnets DDoSing the free software communities that they rely on, leading to an arms race between the biggest companies in the world and a virtual anime person developing a proof-of-work proxy with an anime girl mascot that's now deployed by the united nations
🔥9
Everything you say to #Alexa now becomes training material for #AI, and no, you cannot opt out
https://adguard.com/en/blog/your-voice-alexa-ai-training-material.html
#privacy #Amazon
https://adguard.com/en/blog/your-voice-alexa-ai-training-material.html
#privacy #Amazon
AdGuard
Everything you say to Alexa now becomes training material for AI, and no, you cannot opt out
Amazon has removed the "Do Not Send Voice Recordings" option for several Echo devices. This change means that all voice commands — and effectively everything your Echo hears — will now be transmitted to and processed in Amazon’s cloud.
👎2🤔1
"yea bro you can host your own relay" yeah i can, and i can host my own appview and my own pds. congrats. im no longer using bsky but my own atproto network i am hosting. this isn't decentralization. i don't have to host an entire fediverse to talk to my friends lol
🔥3
bluesky is decentralized if you decide that you want to host an entire bsky network. no more questions
🤣3❤1
Web Browser telemetry - 2025 edition
"An article about which browser has the most connections after a fresh install."
https://sizeof.cat/post/web-browser-telemetry-2025-edition/
"But I do believe that’s a huge amount of connections for some of the browsers since it’s actually the first start after installing."
#webdev
"An article about which browser has the most connections after a fresh install."
https://sizeof.cat/post/web-browser-telemetry-2025-edition/
"But I do believe that’s a huge amount of connections for some of the browsers since it’s actually the first start after installing."
#webdev
sizeof.cat
Web Browser telemetry - 2025 edition - sizeof(cat)
Testing various web browsers to see what network connection they open by default on the initial start.
👍3
@davidbisset@phpc.social I'm a bit confused about some of the article though. Like they show some such as LibreWolf making only three connections on initial install, but then go down to list a bunch of connections, most of which are obviously extensions making the connection.
They also say they're not talking about what is good or not, but then explicitly declare that making connections is bad and I must strongly disagree when some of those connections clearly shown are for uBlock Origin to download its blocklist (that's a minimum standard! You should never browse the Web without an ad blocker in 2025!) It's good for you to start off with a bare minimum safety margin, otherwise even just that quick lookup of something before initial setup is dangerous.
They also say they're not talking about what is good or not, but then explicitly declare that making connections is bad and I must strongly disagree when some of those connections clearly shown are for uBlock Origin to download its blocklist (that's a minimum standard! You should never browse the Web without an ad blocker in 2025!) It's good for you to start off with a bare minimum safety margin, otherwise even just that quick lookup of something before initial setup is dangerous.
👍2
We don't talk anywhere near enough about how the tech industry is fucking with the general public's understanding of consent.
Fairly often I will opt out of something that would have been obviously reasonable a few years ago, and people will look at me like I drove a truck through the room.
Things like:
- I won't be appearing on camera today
- I don't wish to speak on a recording to be published on the University website
- I won't be giving my personal details to an overseas third party just to use a notepad tool in one meeting
I see this seeping through into attitudes about consent in other everyday life contexts. People are so used to being walked all over by their tech that they're increasingly shocked by boundaries.
Fairly often I will opt out of something that would have been obviously reasonable a few years ago, and people will look at me like I drove a truck through the room.
Things like:
- I won't be appearing on camera today
- I don't wish to speak on a recording to be published on the University website
- I won't be giving my personal details to an overseas third party just to use a notepad tool in one meeting
I see this seeping through into attitudes about consent in other everyday life contexts. People are so used to being walked all over by their tech that they're increasingly shocked by boundaries.
👍5😢1
Good story why permissive licenses like MIT should not be encouraged, especially for larger projects: https://philiplaine.com/posts/getting-forked-by-microsoft/
Edit: seems microsoft even breaks the permissive licenses. Anyway, muting the convo, have fun i guess
Edit: seems microsoft even breaks the permissive licenses. Anyway, muting the convo, have fun i guess
Philip Laine
Getting Forked by Microsoft
Three years ago, I was part of a team responsible for developing and maintaining Kubernetes clusters for end user customers. A main source for downtime in customer environments occurred when image registries went down. The traditional way to solve this problem…
👍3
END OF 10
"Support for Windows 10 ends on October 14, 2025.
Microsoft wants you to buy a new computer.
But what if you could make your current one fast and secure again?
If you bought your computer after 2010, there's most likely no reason to throw it out. By just installing an up-to-date GNU/Linux operating system you can keep using it for years to come.
Installing an OS may sound difficult, but you don't have to go it alone! With any luck, there are people in your area ready to help!"
https://endof10.org/
#Microsoft #Windows #Windows10 #Windows11 #Linux #FOSS
"Support for Windows 10 ends on October 14, 2025.
Microsoft wants you to buy a new computer.
But what if you could make your current one fast and secure again?
If you bought your computer after 2010, there's most likely no reason to throw it out. By just installing an up-to-date GNU/Linux operating system you can keep using it for years to come.
Installing an OS may sound difficult, but you don't have to go it alone! With any luck, there are people in your area ready to help!"
https://endof10.org/
#Microsoft #Windows #Windows10 #Windows11 #Linux #FOSS
👏5
Follow-up: Two weeks ago I asked about how Firefox' new AI chatbot integration fares regarding privacy.
By accident I found information on it in Mozilla's knowledge base [1] and a related article by them on privacy and chatbots [2].
Short answer: Mozilla does not read conversations, but some metadata is collected. Chatting with chatbots has the usual implications.
Some answers in the FAQ [1] I found particularly helpful, see screenshot.
[1] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/ai-chatbot
[2] https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/how-to-protect-your-privacy-from-chatgpt-and-other-ai-chatbots/
By accident I found information on it in Mozilla's knowledge base [1] and a related article by them on privacy and chatbots [2].
Short answer: Mozilla does not read conversations, but some metadata is collected. Chatting with chatbots has the usual implications.
Some answers in the FAQ [1] I found particularly helpful, see screenshot.
[1] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/ai-chatbot
[2] https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/how-to-protect-your-privacy-from-chatgpt-and-other-ai-chatbots/
👍2
We're not far off from "I use Free Software because I don't have time to fiddle with computers" and most proprietary tools will be seen as the make-work exercises in futility they are.
RE: https://mastodon.pirateparty.be/users/surfhosting/statuses/114379020672804571
RE: https://mastodon.pirateparty.be/users/surfhosting/statuses/114379020672804571
Mastodon - PiratesBE
selfhosting.couchsurfing (@surfhosting@mastodon.pirateparty.be)
good case in point about why I stick with open source #selfhosted solutions whenever possible: I'm finally messing with Cloudflare for some work-related uses, I made a couple Turnstile widgets two days ago, first time ever using the platform, and now 2 days…
"Sempre più ragazzi ritengono che i social media siano dannosi, secondo un nuovo rapporto del Pew, centro studi statunitense che fornisce informazioni su problemi sociali e non solo. Infatti, un numero crescente di giovani afferma che i social media siano nocivi e occupino troppo del loro tempo. Il tutto avviene proprio mentre legislatori e regolatori richiedono alle piattaforme social di fare di più per tutelare la salute mentale dei loro utenti più giovani."
https://www.hdblog.it/applicazioni/articoli/n616009/adolescenti-preoccupati-effetti-social/#:~:text=Gli%20adolescenti%20sono%20sempre%20pi%C3%B9%20preoccupati%20per%20gli%20effetti%20dei%20social,-22%20Aprile%202025&text=Sempre%20pi%C3%B9%20ragazzi%20ritengono%20che,problemi%20sociali%20e%20non%20solo.
https://www.hdblog.it/applicazioni/articoli/n616009/adolescenti-preoccupati-effetti-social/#:~:text=Gli%20adolescenti%20sono%20sempre%20pi%C3%B9%20preoccupati%20per%20gli%20effetti%20dei%20social,-22%20Aprile%202025&text=Sempre%20pi%C3%B9%20ragazzi%20ritengono%20che,problemi%20sociali%20e%20non%20solo.
HDblog.it
Gli adolescenti sono sempre più preoccupati per gli effetti dei social
Numeri interessanti.
I encourage everyone to please sign this petition that asks #OpenSource Initiative to release the election results for #OSI's 2025 Board of Directors Election.
3 methods available to sign:
* email <sign@osi-petition.org>
* Pull request on Codeberg: https://codeberg.org/OSI-Concerns/election-results-2025
* Pull request on Github: https://github.com/OSI-Concerns/election-results-2025
I thank @wolftune@social.coop & @iank@hostux.social's leadership in shepherding the drafting of this petition.
OSI's work impacts everyone involved in #FOSS, so everyone is welcomed to sign.
3 methods available to sign:
* email <sign@osi-petition.org>
* Pull request on Codeberg: https://codeberg.org/OSI-Concerns/election-results-2025
* Pull request on Github: https://github.com/OSI-Concerns/election-results-2025
I thank @wolftune@social.coop & @iank@hostux.social's leadership in shepherding the drafting of this petition.
OSI's work impacts everyone involved in #FOSS, so everyone is welcomed to sign.
Codeberg.org
election-results-2025
Petition to Open Source Initiative to publish 2025 Board election results. Sign using pull request (see below).
👍1
Defend the Internet Archive. Protect the Wayback Machine. Drop the 78s lawsuit.
https://chng.it/d4D8XjN6zG
Liebe #CCC #chaos #38c3 Community: TEILEN ⚠️ EXPLIZIT ⚠️ GEWÜNSCHT
https://chng.it/d4D8XjN6zG
Liebe #CCC #chaos #38c3 Community: TEILEN ⚠️ EXPLIZIT ⚠️ GEWÜNSCHT
👍3
#GoEuropean: mailbox(dot)org offer for switching to the European alternative
https://mailbox.org/en/post/goeuropean-offer
#privacy #cybersecurity #email
https://mailbox.org/en/post/goeuropean-offer
#privacy #cybersecurity #email
mailbox.org
GoEuropean: Our offer for mailbox.org launches ‘GoEuropean’ promotion: 6 months free for new customers.the European alternative…
Your digital freedom is important. We want to support you in making the switch. 6 months free with the voucher code: GoEuropean ▶ Redeem now!
Fra esattamente 6 mesi sarà la fine di #Windows10 (#endOf10)
Cercasi aiuto per tradurre l'apposito sito per passare al #SoftwareLibero!
https://endof10.org/
Cercasi aiuto per tradurre l'apposito sito per passare al #SoftwareLibero!
https://endof10.org/
Today Melissa Lewis over on BlueSky pointed out that the font used nin the infamous "You wouldn't steal a car" anti-piracy campaign was actually designed by Just van Rossum, whose brother, Guido, created the Python programming language (bsky.app/profile/melissa.news/post/3ln7hx5rhcj2v)
She also pointed out that the font had been cloned and released illegally for free under the name "XBAND Rough". Naturally, it would be hilarious if the anti-piracy campaign actually turned out to have used this pirated font, so I went sleuthing and quickly found a PDF from the campaign site with the font embedded (web.archive.org/web/20051223202935/http://www.piracyisacrime.com:80/press/pdfs/150605_8PP_brochure.pdf).
So I chucked it into FontForge and yep, turns out the campaign used a pirated font the entire time!
She also pointed out that the font had been cloned and released illegally for free under the name "XBAND Rough". Naturally, it would be hilarious if the anti-piracy campaign actually turned out to have used this pirated font, so I went sleuthing and quickly found a PDF from the campaign site with the font embedded (web.archive.org/web/20051223202935/http://www.piracyisacrime.com:80/press/pdfs/150605_8PP_brochure.pdf).
So I chucked it into FontForge and yep, turns out the campaign used a pirated font the entire time!
🎮 Today, we filed a complaint against the video game company Ubisoft!
👉 Ubisoft forces its customers to connect to the internet when they launch a single-player game, which allows it to collect their gaming behaviour.
Find out more here 👇
https://noyb.eu/en/play-alone-ubisoft-still-watching-you
👉 Ubisoft forces its customers to connect to the internet when they launch a single-player game, which allows it to collect their gaming behaviour.
Find out more here 👇
https://noyb.eu/en/play-alone-ubisoft-still-watching-you
noyb.eu
Like to play alone? Ubisoft is still watching you!
Ubisoft forces people to connect to the internet before they can play a single player game
👍5
@signalapp@mastodon.world As a supporter of #Signal, it is important to point out a key detail: Signal's own code is #OpenSource, but Signal uses multiple #proprietary libraries from #Google. Those cannot be scrutinized since the source code is not open. We believe Signal should offer an actual open source version, and are ready to help. This exists already in the fork @MollyIM@fosstodon.org Also, apps like #Element #Threema #Wire are #FOSS, and have #ReproducibleBuilds on fdroidorg@floss.social #FDroid