Thanks wikihow, I hate you too

[ The Netherlands] "Europe must take much stricter action against China to stay afloat economically. That is one of the most important advice in a new report from the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR).

Europe should not be afraid that China will strike back and damage the European economy. Doing nothing is more risky in the longer term, says WRR scientist Haroon Sheikh. “And the alternative is for our industry to disappear.”

Note; Translation via Vivaldi of NOS article in Dutch. See comments for the rest of the translation of 'Dringend advies: 'EU moet China harder aanpakken, ook als dat economisch pijn doet"

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1361377/just-2-new-data-centres-will-pump-out-more-planet-heating-carbon-emissions-than-exxonmob

Second Wind is the journalist team formerly from The Escapist with a few additions. They cut themselves loose from their contracts to make gaming news and analysis videos independently. This video looks at the outrage cycle that’s evolved around video game releases since the 2010’s

Youtube link:www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcAXba_Uwmc

Pic is how I feel acquiring more software to replace my Big Tech dependency.

(Not all services could be listed here, obviously. Just the ones I personally use)

This was posted to cybersecurity and I am not sure how to make a proper crosspost. Or even if that is a thing I can do. So just dropping a lemmy link in the url. Hope that is OK. The external link is here -> malwarebytes.com/…/aliexpress-caught-using-silent…

Given how much fingerprinting relates to privacy, seems related for this group too. Yet Another Fingerprinting Technique. It doesn’t record the user, just a silent signal which still has variance due to the unique device.

researchers and browser maker Brave reported finding silent Web Audio processing on the site that could help fingerprint visitors’ devices.

on top of that, the traditional fingerprinting signals are used too,

The scripts also gathered information tied to canvas rendering, WebGL, display settings, hardware configuration, WebRTC behavior and user interactions. Together, those signals can create a more detailed profile of a device than any one signal would provide on its own.

Artist: Rable | pixiv | twitter | deviantart | danbooru

Full quality: .jpg 2 MB (1781 × 2344)

Minister says Arctic Barents Sea key to sustaining production

Norway aims to maintain current output at least until 2035

Rejects idea of Norway power as ‘green battery’ for Europe

Equinor CEO: can export oil, LNG anywhere in the world

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/51125980

www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/125159633

A map of where anime and manga are set rather than filmed, because nothing is filmed in a drawn show. 568 titles, 589 real places, 39 countries.

It has Washinomiya Shrine for Lucky Star and Hida-Furukawa Station for Your Name. It has nothing at all for Attack on Titan or One Piece, Slam Dunk is only Hiroshima, and about half the map is still just a city rather than the actual spot. (Working on it)

I have not gotten to the rest yet. If you know an exact spot, tell me and I might be able add it.

Free, no ads, no signup. Data is CC0.

thefilmmap.com

“Fast Pair” equals fast insecurity

Audio headsets that connect to computers wirelessly via Bluetooth demonstrate how quickly this loss of control turns into a security problem. Millions of Bluetooth-capable products utilize Google’s “Fast Pair” service, which is nonfree software that promises to make pairing of wearable devices easier. It uses Bluetooth Low Energy and Android’s location services to detect nearby Bluetooth devices automatically and prompts you to pair. Security researchers discovered this feature was really a bug, as it introduced a serious weakness across a wide range of devices. More…

was using tails at a cafe that blocks all videos (for some reason) i used a bridge (the easy default one) went to invidious but no videos worked because of the network. everything else on the site worked. does it know the contents of the page despite tor? (im not using a work or school given device i am using framework)

(i also have an unsafe home network and have to use a google wireless access point. also have someone who has a virus. (we dont share the same device just same network) i cant remove it because i get scolded for messing with her stuff and spying on her (??? yes the virus is spyware the irony lol)) (everything i do has to be on device because my family doesn’t want me messing with the wifi)

(also any qubes specific advice would help since i wont be using tails as my daily driver anymore since i learned its not for that. also not a fan of the gimmicks but thats just me.)

thanks for reading any commcnt helps more people see this )

Alt text. Bluesky post and reply

EmilyZhou@reversibledestiny.bsky.socialtoday in maria hernandez park i watched a baby squirrel fall dead from a tree and the two lesbians sitting next to me used it as an opportunity to introduce themselves to each other

one of them to the other: “the gay community has had a hard week. dolly parton, tim curry, that squirrel…”

Remember the original Quest headset that Meta (then Oculus) trumpeted back in 2019? Meta seems to hope you don’t, since the company officially stopped supporting the wireless VR headset in 2023 to focus on the more popular Quests 2 and 3. However, tinkerers haven’t abandoned the hardware and recently released a new root-access exploit and bootloader that gives “developers and enthusiasts full control over Quest 1 hardware.”

The QuestStack project integrates previously known vulnerabilities in the Quest’s Android fastboot process into a privilege escalation chain that leads easily to full root access on the device. The bootloading process is now streamlined enough that it can be completed without any downloads through a web interface after connecting the headset to a PC.

With this exploit, the original Quest hardware can now be officially divorced from any reliance on Meta’s servers or services to be useful. That means enterprising Quest owners should be able to sideload apps without needing to register for a Meta Developer account and activating Developer Mode through Meta’s mobile app. It also means users should be able to go through the initial setup and login steps for a fresh Quest headset even if and when Meta decides to shut down the servers that currently support this process.

Aug 26 (Reuters) - Tim Curry, the baritone-voiced British actor who pranced to movie fame as a singing, lingerie-clad “sweet transvestite” in the 1975 cult classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” has died at the age of 80, Variety and other outlets reported.

A cause of death was not immediately given, but Curry had been in ill health for some time.

Curry appeared in numerous movies, often as a hammy villain, was nominated three times for a Tony Award for Broadway roles, and performed voice work in many animated films and TV shows.

But his best-known role was Dr. Frank N. Furter, which came in his debut film, the outrageous, crowd-pleasing horror-comedy-musical “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” co-starring Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick.

In the book “The Rulers: Corporate Power in the Age of AI and the Cloud,” writer Cecilia Rikap examines how India, Brazil and China are taking on Big Tech companies.

Edit: forgot to mention that I’m based in Europe, which might be relevant for which devices are easily available.

Hi, I am a newbie looking for a new router, one where I can block ads and tracking (with AdGuard, PiHole or something similar), I can choose my own DNS, and hopefully tinker more once I learn more about routers and networks. I have a home server currently running only locally and would like to access it from outside my home, but I’m afraid of letting the door open to bots, hackers, etc.
I am currently using the router provided by my ISP, which has poor customization options and is also failing a lot lately (it loses internet connection at least once a week and needs restarting).

I have searched a bit around and I think something where I can install OpenWRT or other open source firmware would be good. On the OpenWRT forum I have seen recommended the GL·INet Flint 2 GL-MT6000 openwrt.org/toh/gl.inet/gl-mt6000. I also looked a bit more on GL·INet’s website and saw the GL·INet 3e (GL-BE6500) which has WiFi 7, and wondered if that could be a good upgrade, but seems it doesn’t support (yet) installing official OpenWRT.

As for me and my use case: I am comfortable with the Linux command line, my personal computer runs Linux and I have a home server running OpenMediaVault with a couple of services on Docker (Jellyfin, Navidrome, Radicale, Trilium, Calibre-Web, Wanderer), but I barely know anything about routers and networks. The router will serve to connect that server via Ethernet and use several devices (laptops, desktop PC, phones, tablets, AndroidTV…) via WiFi.

I wonder what the thoughts of people who know about routers and networks are.

• Are these good options for a first non-ISP router?
• Is the 3e (GL-BE6500) worth the update for WiFi 7 or is it overkill for my use-case? Maybe even a bad idea if it doesn’t support the official OpenWRT?
• Anything else I missed and should take into account?

In addition to the physical router recommendation, I have 2 more questions:

• from what I have read in other threads I believe I might need to keep my ISP’s router, or get another device to use as a modem before the router (I don’t know how to do that). Is that correct or can I just replace my ISP’s router with a router running OpenWRT (or similar) and be set?

• does anyone have any good resources to learn more about networks, modems, routers, etc.? for a newbie who is comfortable with the Linux command line but otherwise knows nothing about the topic.

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/51140134

My take from this Cybernews article about an Android toolkit to trick KYC verification significantly differs from theirs!

Them: “…the existence of such tools puts users and organizations at imminent risk.” “Not a tool for the masses”

Me: “Where can I find this amazing Privacy tool?” “A tool the masses everywhere need access to ASAP”

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/51140134

My take from this Cybernews article about an Android toolkit to trick KYC verification significantly differs from theirs!

Them: “…the existence of such tools puts users and organizations at imminent risk.” “Not a tool for the masses”

Me: “Where can I find this amazing Privacy tool?” “A tool the masses everywhere need access to ASAP”

Mozilla recently announced a partnership with the AI company Exa. They say:

Firefox is investing in partnerships with companies like Exa.ai to bring deep expertise in specific areas while sharing our commitment to user choice, privacy, and transparency.

They continue:

We’re picking partners for the same reason each time: people who think AI in a browser should work for you, not the other way around.

This is a little ironic when Exa’s CEO describes it differently:

We’re organizing the world’s knowledge, but this time for AI

…But I digress. Mozilla promises three things above.

1. User choice
2. Privacy
3. Transparency

I’ll be looking into privacy exclusively (and leave the fact Exa is an undisclosed member of the Andreesen Horowitz portfolio for another day).

A Privacy Audit

Exa’s privacy policy is short and troubling. It starts with an entitled attitude towards private data that might be available online:

Although publicly available data is not considered “personal information” under certain data privacy laws, we have nevertheless described how we collect, use and disclose such information…

This is an appeal to technical legality: common sense would dictate that a publicly leaked database of social security numbers would be personal information, but apparently the possibility that it’s not explicitly enumerated under some (unnamed) privacy laws irks the AI company.

Not a great start, but maybe things get better…

When you use or access the Services, we collect certain categories of information about you from different sources. In addition to the specific uses discussed below, we may use this information to provide and improve the Services and to maintain our business relationship… and protecting our rights and the rights of our employees, users or other individuals.

What other individuals need this company’a protection? How will information be used to “improve” their product? These questions are unanswered. But we do get told a bit more about sources:

We and third parties also automatically collect certain information about your interactions with the Services, including through cookies, pixels or other tracking technologies. This information is collected and used to better understand user interactions with the Services, run analytics, monitor and improve performance, measure engagement and to tailor and enhance user experience. Such information includes:

• Device information, such as device type, operating system, unique device identifier, and internet protocol (IP) address.

• Location information, such as approximate location based on IP address.

• Other information regarding your interaction with the Services, such as browser type, log data, date and time stamps, clickstream data (e.g., page requests, page views, how much time is spent on a page, content viewed or interacted with, text entered, etc.), interactions with marketing emails

That’s a ton of data!

Exa describes how they refuse to honor requests not to track you.

Your browser settings may allow you to transmit a “Do Not Track” signal when you visit various websites. Like many websites, our website is not designed to respond to “Do Not Track” signals received from browsers.

Exa admits they knowingly collect personal data by default, and it’s unclear how or if Firefox Smart Window uses can steer clear of the privacy problems.

On default plans, we use anonymized data…

[You can] opt out of Exa’s collection of brokered personal information, opt out of its database, or out of its certain sale of data customers…

Opt out of certain, but not all, sales.

Exa has a second privacy page that describes its compliance with requests to delete private data or opt out of selling it. It received 50 total requests to delete or opt out of selling private data, and “complied”, which can include incomplete compliance for some reason, with only 5 of them. That’s a 10% compliance rate.

[new] Exa monetized “finding” individual people

I just found out about another skeleton in Exa’s closet: the stalkerish People Search that scraped and started publicizing work information. From a LinkedIn post:

I can pull entire staff lists for companies. I can [get] an individual’s work history. I can pull lists of people with a particular job title in a geographical area. I can also combine all this with richer company information and web search data…

Exa are very brave as I can’t imagine LinkedIn likes it very much.

Does this fit Mozilla?

On privacy alone: no.

Mozilla promises a commitment to user privacy, and promises to only work with companies that share that commitment. Exa demonstrates hostility towards user privacy.

Maybe the New, AI-First Mozilla has abandoned this charter, but their website still says:

Individuals’ security and privacy on the internet are fundamental and must not be treated as optional.

Additional link from another source

politico.com/…/meta-kids-safety-features-settleme…