Posts by bzdev@fosstodon.org
(DIR) Post #AvIbFxdzscEbVAvNpI by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@fsf The problem is not dependent on nonfree software: it can happen with any browser that supports ECMAScript and the DOM, which most do. To activate it, you are supposed to include some javascript on your web site that in turn downloads javascript from snap.licdn.com by creating a SCRIPT element. A user can probably use the NoScript extensions or something similar to block scripts from that domain (although you may then have trouble using LinkedIn if you have an account with them).
(DIR) Post #AvJw4lxlGKnSHcdRnk by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@hen @nextcloud The award will seem like a "side tangent" if you have ever seen that film!
(DIR) Post #Aw2k19qw2iVRsi9ImW by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff @cmcsherr About those ICE "uniforms" ... they are kind of ugly. Since they are bothering the LA area, could they at least drop by a film-industry shop and get themselves outfitted as Star Wars stormtroopers? It's a better design.
(DIR) Post #AwOiRajkmkkMMMNw6y by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@Tutanota I have a flash drive on my keyring (the one holding the house key), with a LUKS encrypted file system on it, to be mounted using the loopback device. The password is also on it but GPG encrypted, and my GPG keyring is not on this flash drive. The flash drive was reformatted so it contains an EXT4 file system, so someone plugging it in might not even be able to get started. Would that be illegal? I use it as an "in case the house burns down" backup.
(DIR) Post #AxTn17G9Y1fROpfe9A by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff If a mask and wig is not enough to fool "biometric age guessing", how would generative AI work - some device whose input is a web cam and whose output looks like a web cam but makes every face in the input look much older?
(DIR) Post #AyPmfIDlNjnOC2p3pI by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff Example of why widespread surveillance is bad news: last week, we saw an opera, riding e-scooters to a train station, taking a train to San Francisco, then e-scooters to a sandwich shop + Peet's, and then to the opera house. Clipper cards logged the use of the train, but we ran into a friend at the opera who gave us a ride to within a mile of home. We used the e-scooters for the last mile.It could look suspicious: records for getting to SF with no indication that we returned home.
(DIR) Post #AyWRiJkbPfg2sKVGiG by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff @legind @WIRED Another option is to take a device along with GPG on it, and with a single public key on its key ring. Use that to encrypt all your pictures. It will cost them a fortune to decrypt it, and you have a valid excuse for not helping: "I don't have the private key with me - it is at home."
(DIR) Post #Ayx0waIzD0FsmJ5BaK by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff @davidgreene @technologyreview There's a technical solution: give all these self-styled "law enforcement" types IDs they have to display. They can change the IDs each day, simply keeping a day-by-day record of who has what on a given day. Then if there are any abuses, the culprit can be tracked down. But you can't use the IDs to find where someone hangs out regularly as a means of identifying that person.
(DIR) Post #Az1Hfsu1HqFfO2rovo by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff @evacide @verge The Trumpistas probably want to scare immigrants so they won't say anything: some have moved here from countries that turned authoritarian, and the Trumpistas don't want us to be clued in on the tactics used to do that.
(DIR) Post #AzFhbU6ptxkx68j7aK by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff @pluralistic I just fixed (hopefully) a cookie setting issue with google - had been getting lots of youtube ads for some outfit named craftcloud after trying that site once. I wanted to 3-D print something for use at home. The problem? They said something (+ shipping) would cost $40 or so, But when I tried to complete the transaction, the price went up to over $180 because of some minimum order crap. My reaction? Bye-bye. I wanted a simple transaction, not game playing.
(DIR) Post #AzJfuWzvxmCKHcIBo8 by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff Then there's my "one liner" on how to protect your devices:turn them off (and leave what you don't need at home).
(DIR) Post #AzJtHjM9TotOg04qw4 by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff Hint: if you are worried about being tracked but want the convenience of not buying train/etc. tickets with cash, just get off a couple of miles from your event, and complete the trip using a bicycle, scooter, etc. that you brought along with you: those cannot be tracked.
(DIR) Post #AzutzirDsvBOig6YbI by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@nextcloud @FOSSForce I suspect that Austria did not say "auf Wiedersehen" to Microsoft - it means "see [you] later" and in this case, it appears they don't want to see Microsoft ever again.
(DIR) Post #Azx8p9g9i5MELeGcZE by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff How about responding in kind and using drones to follow ICE "agents"? To keep them entertained, the drones could play Darth Vader's music from Star Wars. With their dark clothing and masks, it might be a good fit.
(DIR) Post #B0HUxyo3aT3vO2m4hc by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@Tutanota Just out of curiosity, if you use your own email client and send GPG/PGP encrypted email, how does an email provider decrypt it?Sometimes encryption is a necessity even if privacy isn't an issue. Example: I've used encryption to send a JAR file to a friend for testing: he had a gmail account and Googledoesn't allow JAR files as email attachments to "protect the user". This hid it fromGoogle's software. It wasn't really secret - the password was in the email's text.
(DIR) Post #B0NoboENOEpMFSYBGa by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff There's a partial work-around: small, low-powered electric scooters that can be folded and easily carried in the trunk of a small car or on a bus or train. The one shown below has batteries that can be popped off the scooter in seconds, so it is easy to make a sizeable number of short trips per day.Parking 1 km or so from one's destination could make it more difficult for these cameras to track what you are actually doing.https://dynamicscooter.com/product/model-b/
(DIR) Post #B0YzfQkPsVZ0oF1dDM by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@Tutanota I'm getting spell checking with gmail and with "smart features" turned off. The trick is to use IMAP with an email client on your system. Then the spelling checks are done by software you've installed on your computer.
(DIR) Post #B11YULjd70CatnzG64 by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff "Cover your tracks" indicated that Firefox on my system has strong protection against tracking. I'm running the "NoScript" extension, so that may be part of it. I accepted what JS was on the Cover Your Tracks page so it would be able to execute some scripts, and that didn't change the results. Most web sites seem to use Javascript from multiple sources when the page loads, however.
(DIR) Post #B27KvbOzKqmd2EDwXY by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff The EFF article mentioned that you might want a phone off for one reason but would want it on to document something. There's another option: keep the phone off but use a small camera that can record video with no wifi, etc. Also, LCD-based displays emit polarized light. If you have a video camera set up in a store/coffee-shop/etc., a polarizing filter, with the correct orientation, can help hide whatever is being displayed on suitably oriented devices.
(DIR) Post #B2MRk5fWamvuTrocFc by bzdev@fosstodon.org
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@eff If for some strange reason the FBI descends on my home to seize a computer, they are going to have a serious problem: LUKS.I get full disk encryption out of the box thanks to #system76.