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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: January 23rd, 2022

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  • aside from leaving them behind

    Why are we conforming to fit the software’s needs instead of vice-versa? Fuck the devs who can’t be assed to make it work for proton at the least. This isn’t my job, I’m not being paid to use software that goes against my values. There’s tens of thousands of games out there and I’m gonna let myself get so hung up on the few hundred that don’t work that i just go back to m$?

    Fuck. That. They deserve to get left behind. No piece of media is worth compronising on my values to consume.


  • BaumGeist@lemmy.mltoPrivacy@lemmy.ml*Permanently Deleted*
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    1 month ago

    He’s outspoken and the youtube algo seems to be pushing his content to everyone now. He used to be focused on Right To Repair, but has since branched out to privacy and FOSS

    He’s not particularly “bro”-y, but with the direction his rhetoric is headed, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him making guest appearances in the conspiracy corner of the grift-o-sphere

    references sexual assault when talking about the behavior of software vendors with their customers

    Yeah, that kinda pushed me away too. I get it, it’s an apt comparison for people who feel entitled to completely invade your privacy and do whatever they want inside your home, and it grabs the attention of the people who have just accepted no privacy as the norm… But it still makes me really uncomfortable


  • I’ll give you the most extreme solutions I can think of, and let you decide how much of each you want to enact.

    First and foremost: use a secure and privacy friendly OS—Qubes on a burner pc or GrapheneOS on a burner phone—with secure and privacy-friendly networking—use DNS-over-HTTPS, or self-host as much of the infrastructure as you can, consider a VPN, keep the device on an isolated VLAN—use a secure/private web browser like LibreWolf.

    General rules of online interaction apply for maintaining privacy within the servers: e.g. don’t talk specifics about your location, your age, your physical appearance, your childhood, your employer, etc.

    As with most modern apps, the web app is necessarily less intrusive than the installable binary. Use the web app when you can, and limit your usage to only when you can use the web app on a computer and network you own—privacy enforcing habits are more important than all the software stopgaps in the world.

    If you absolutely must use a binary, consider breaking Discord’s TOS and using a modified front-end: I know some people who use Aliucord for Android, and I just this moment learned about GoofCord for desktop

    don’t install/run any software without verifying the integrity of the developers/distributors and binaries yourself, or building from source and verifying the code

    It’s better to have Discord stealing your browsing data to sell you shit than have some random github malware rootkitting your phone.


  • I’m seeing a few comments suggesting OpenWRT, which is what I use and love: the correct response to this level of capitalist tomfoolery should absolutely be to 1. buy hardware that supports FOSS out of the box, or 2. install FOSS firmware.

    BUT: OpenWRT isn’t for everyone. Installation on supported devices is usually pretty easy, but it does require being invested in setup, maintenance, and understanding of the software. There is little built-in handholding, and most setup beyond basic functions requires reading the docs and wiki; sometimes, some functionality requires running commands directly on the device rather than the LuCI web-interface.

    This kind of understanding and investment should be the end-goal of all privacy-oriented tech users. Technology is complicated, and each layer of handholding that devs add also necessarily obfuscates behind-the-scenes functionality, which runs counter to privacy and security. That being said, the barrier for entry to privacy-respecting tech shouldn’t be “a masters in CompSci,” and thus any alternative to major tech brands is still a step up from just accepting what they give you. Just be aware that your current firmware may be a stepping stone towards software freedom, instead of a stopping point.


  • OpenWRT is really hard to get onto routers

    I bought the Nanopi R4S, and it was extremely easy to switch out their modified OpenWRT for vanilla (literally just use a command/program to install the image on an SDcard). Granted, I did have to find a solution for wifi, but even that was easy with the Belkin RT3200s and the instructions (more in-depth, but still hand-holding). I also flashed it onto a Netgear AC1200 using nmrpflash, which sounds imposing, but really just entailed installing the pre-reqs, hooking the router’s ethernet port directly to my PC’s and running the command.

    I did have to do my research to arrive at my decision to buy these specific models for their compatibility with OpenWRT. If you don’t, you might end up with something that requires popping open the shell and setting up serial comms, which is a pain.

    As far as I could find, out of the three Wifi6 enabled Asus models (RT-AX###) that are compatible with OpenWRT, 2 require ssh and running commands that are given in the guide; the other one, and all of the supported AC### models, seemed to work using ASUS’s built-in web-app to upload the OWRT image. I wouldn’t say any of it is easy, but I also can’t agree with “really hard.”

    Another consideration is setup and maintenance. Proprietary firmware tends toward being as “click here to set and forget everything, here are the only 3 pieces of info you need to know from now on”; OpenWRT is definitely more hands on and requires a lot of RTFMing and routine maintenance.





  • BaumGeist@lemmy.mltoPrivacy@lemmy.mlYoutube is now unusable without a frontend
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    3 months ago

    Louis Rossman is my Alex Jones. He’s angry, compelling, and talking about something that makes him seen like a conspiracy theorist to normies. Unlike Jones, though, he’s usually right (if not always, I haven’t fact checked everything he’s ever said). It’s extremely cathartic to see someone use such extreme rhetoric to talk about privacy and software ownership and right to repair; e.g. it’s not “advertiser’s entitlement,” it’s “rapist mentality.”

    Ironically, youtube’s inability to completely differentiate between people at the same IP has accidentally gotten my non-techie roommate into him too. I never shared his videos with her, never said anything about him, and one day I hear his voice as she browses the web. I’m so proud of her.


    My least favorite thing about the “engagement friendly” slop in youtube’s search results is that it takes up HALF of the results. Because clearly what I expect from SEARCHING for something is to dredge up a bunch of shit that ranges from tangentially related to completely unrelated.

    For example, I too just searched a song. Let’s see how that went:

    7 results
    4 “people also watched” videos
    5 results
    2 “More from [band name]” videos
    2 results
    3 “people also searched for” suggestions
    2 results
    3 “For you” vids (IS IT THE FUVKING SEARCH RESULTS I ASKED FOR??? BECAUSE IF NOT, IT’S NOT REALLY “FOR ME,” IS IT?)
    2 Results
    3 “From related searches”
    2 results

    That’s 20 results to 15 irrelevant pieces of ADHD triggering visual clutter. Luckily the results were actually relevant, unlike whatever you’re getting.

    To all the commenters saying “I have X, I don’t have this problem”: I have adblock, I don’t have this problem, YOU’RE MISSING THE POINT:

    YOUTUBE SEARCH IS BROKEN BY DEFAULT. The largest video sharing site on the internet is BROKEN BY DEFAULT. It shouldn’t require extra software to function properly when functioning properly requires less work on the server’s side




  • BaumGeist@lemmy.mltoPrivacy@lemmy.mlFuck ads at the gas pump
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    3 months ago

    also want to say that this is illegal in most places. The store may or may not press charges, but they have the right to and they will win that case if they do. So only do it if you know you can get away with it or have permission or don’t mind having the stain on your legal record and whatever fine they hit you with




  • From Graphene’s FAQ

    Many other devices are supported by GrapheneOS at a source level, and it can be built for them without modifications to the existing GrapheneOS source tree. Device support repositories for the Android Open Source Project can simply be dropped into the source tree, with at most minor modifications within them to support GrapheneOS. In most cases, substantial work beyond that will be needed to bring the support up to the same standards. For most devices, the hardware and firmware will prevent providing a reasonably secure device, regardless of the work put into device support.

    To get down to your actual reservations about privacy: when you flash a new Graphene ROM onto your phone, you’re replacing all the software down to the low level stuff. The AOSP devs, google devs, XDA devs, and graphene devs refer to it at flashing the firmware. The only google code you’re running is the Android bootloader, which goes for any smartphone.

    Further, if you look into it, “Google” pixels aren’t actually manufactured by Google. This means their hardware is about as trustworthy as any other phone’s. As to why Graphene only officially supports Pixels, I do not fully understand their needs/reasoning, just that they have determined it is the best for them.

    Basically my point boils down to: if you have issues with the hardware, the same should go for any smartphone. If you’re bothered by google software, you needn’t worry insofar as you trust the Graphene devs. If you consider the Pixels “tainted” by association to Google, then the same should go for Graphene and any other ROMs, since the kernel is based off of the AOSP—a google run project—and any android phone, for the same reason.

    All that being said, CalyxOS supports a slightly wider variety of devices.



  • Should you ignore any give AI? Yes.

    Can you? Also yes. Except the one your employer gets duped by.

    Should you ignore the technological revolution that is Machine Learning Algorithms in general? No, not if you’re willing to use other tech anyway despite its negative impact on privacy.

    Can you? Also probably no, not if you want to eat.

    Has AI affected my job? No, not yet. Well, not directly, although now every vendor uses AI to deal with customer service. If I worked at a larger company in my field, they’d probably include AI somewhere in the process.

    My thoughts on it all: let’s use the correct descriptor, Machine Learning Algorithms, since “AI” is just a marketing term to generate hype. I like MLAs, they’re a neat tool and cool toy. It’s also possible to own and run your own on your own PC in the privacy of your own home. Do that. Run the models, generate conrent, learn how to use the tool, learn the CS and math theory behind it, understand it, have fun. Be a scientist, learn by doing, get your hands dirty, understand that which you fear. Oftentimes our fears really just boil down to our lack of understanding.

    We’re in a painful growth stage rn. Operators are stillbtesting boundaries, and those of us affected are trying tonfind ways to reassert those boundaries. Whether it’s enhanced tracking algorithms, harvesting data for training, or stealing intellectual property, it’s all boundary testing. Give it a few years, and there will be more compromise and it will seem more mundane to see MLAs in the wild. So it’s best to make peace with them now than to be that boomer that still refuses to learn how to use the internet.

    Or if you prefer the privacy-oriented incentives: it’s called “Adversarial Machine Learning” and it’s cool as fuck. Sometimes it’s about figuring out how to craft inputs to exploit a MLA, other times it using your own MLA to fuck with someone else’s.

    The point is: you don’t learn anything by sitting around pontificating, you learn by engaging with things. If you want to learn about me or the users of c/Privacy, this is a great way. If you want to have your fears validated, this is a great way. If you want to grow as a person, lead your best life, and not be ruled by fear, then the only way is to learn about things you don’t already understand even if—no—especially if it’s things that are used to do evil.


  • so I don’t know if any of the new stuff holds up.

    I know it’s a contentious opinion, but I like the new stuff. I wouldn’t say it “holds up” in the sense that if you go in wanting it to be just like Mike/Kevin/Bill/Mary Jo or just like Joel/Trace/Frank/Kevin, you’ll be disappointed. It’s different in so many ways: the production value being so high that the intentional camp/cheese feels forced, the new cast, the fan service, the jokes felt more rapidfire and more… “approachable” (less in-jokes, more relevant cultural references), the only returning characters are the robots, and their personalities (and voices) have all changed slightly, the b-plots/interludes/“bits” weren’t as memorable.

    And yet, I still laughed like a maniac while warching it, so it at least passed the vibe check.