Post B0WPMlKuJAdCUbelMW by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
(DIR) More posts by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
(DIR) Post #B0WNfsUzhZjOIjMUk4 by NebulaTide@mastodon.bsd.cafe
2025-11-18T21:09:13Z
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Wow, Vienna scientists received the complete WhatsApp member directory, containing 3.5 billion user entries. Yes, it’s just the directory, no messages, but the whole directory was available online - totally unprotected.Any more reasons for not using WhatsApp required #whatsapp #dataleak #privacy https://www.heise.de/en/news/3-5-Billion-Accounts-Complete-WhatsApp-Directory-Retrieved-and-Evaluated-11083244.html
(DIR) Post #B0WNfthREnHO1cBwmG by JohnnieMac@mastodon.scot
2025-11-19T15:16:28Z
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@NebulaTide What is the best replacement for WhatsApp?
(DIR) Post #B0WNfuhpUpBd97Nm1g by alisynthesis@io.waxandleather.com
2025-11-20T02:51:15Z
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@JohnnieMac @signalapp is your friend @NebulaTide
(DIR) Post #B0WNfvPmrOLfLRwsXg by contrapunctus@fe.disroot.org
2025-11-21T12:58:29.870560Z
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@alisynthesis @JohnnieMac @NebulaTide Y’all, using #Signal is a Bad Idea™, all because it is a centralized platform. Centralized platforms are vulnerable to changes in policies and management (see Twitter/X, Tumblr, Reddit, YouTube, …) vulnerable to downtime (see #Cloudflare and #AWS outages making large parts of the Internet inaccessible) at greater threat of backdoors, DDoS, and government pressure, since there’s much more to be gained than targeting smaller servers on federated networksYou’re using a federated social network, the Fediverse. Similarly, I use a federated platform as my primary means of chat and AV calls, and recommend you all do the same too. It’s called #Jabber a.k.a. #XMPP.The easiest way to start using it is to install Quicksy (Play Store, App Store, F-Droid) or Prāv (Play Store, F-Droid). They use your phone number for registration and contact discovery, similar to Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp.You also have many apps and servers which do not need a phone number - see my quick and easy user’s guide to XMPP to learn more.And, as with anything I recommend, they are #FreedomRespecting software a.k.a. #libre software (sometimes mistakenly called #OpenSource or #FOSS) - the only kind of software that is trustworthy and resistant to monopolies.PS I don’t know who needs to hear this, but please do better than just following the herd and installing whatever the people in your circle did. That’s how every abusive centralized big tech platform gets its power.#contraXMPP
(DIR) Post #B0WNfwr7VFo3oVkDmi by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2025-11-23T01:08:49Z
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@contrapunctus> I don’t know who needs to hear this, but please do better than just following the herd and installing whatever the people in your circle did. That’s how every abusive centralized big tech platform gets its power.This! Be wary of network effects can be exploited by the Dark Side.
(DIR) Post #B0WOczMtnxw0gwlHSC by joe@beige.party
2025-11-22T20:24:00Z
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@msavoritias @david_chisnall @contrapunctus @alisynthesis @NebulaTide @JohnnieMac we should not use signal because it might be bad in the future based on things that it's not doing today or has no plans for - this applies to all software of all time, ever and is really a distraction -- it's just fear mongering without anything solid or evidence based... I LOVE IT!! We can't use the viable solution in favor of a model that doesn't work, even in theory, because the solution might do things in the future that aren't planned but I'm afraid of. Wait until you use a web browser.
(DIR) Post #B0WOd0y9qvKfenCYAS by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2025-11-23T01:19:37Z
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(1/?)@joe> we should not use signal because it might be bad in the future based on things that it's not doing today or has no plans forHow do you know? You don't. We know nothing about what goes on under the hood. Every claim Signal makes about security or privacy has to be taken on trust.Unless there's some way to independently confirm that the server code they publish is exactly what they run?@msavoritias @david_chisnall @contrapunctus @alisynthesis @NebulaTide @JohnnieMac
(DIR) Post #B0WOd8Rq2yEWqs8qu0 by joe@beige.party
2025-11-22T20:27:17Z
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Talk about hero worship. You can't even use software that works because of the stupid non-word thing that gets thrown around without thought. This is why **that word** is ruining language. Here it is a fake distraction from something that works and is good. Stop ruining the language with that fucking word - it's not real and you're using it wrong - and using it against something doesn't make sense. Could the app go bad? Sure, is there evidence it will, not at all. But let's make shit up and use that fucking word to do it.
(DIR) Post #B0WP0yT0o9NEqW3evg by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2025-11-23T01:24:01Z
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(2/?)In a decentralised network, we can independently confirm whether a server is following a published protocol. By analysing what it's sending in server-to-server exchanges with a server running a different implementation. Or what it's sending in server-to-client exchanges with independent apps.It's precisely because of this transparency that it's so easy to identify and write blogs about areas where a decentralised network needs improvement.
(DIR) Post #B0WPMlKuJAdCUbelMW by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2025-11-23T01:27:58Z
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(3/3)This debate reminds me of nineties discussions where Windows fanboys would claim that Linux is less secure. Because there were security bugs reported against it than Windows Do I need to explain why this fact actually proves the opposite? That the transparency of Linux makes it more secure, by making it much easier to find and fix critical bugs? How many servers run Windows in 2025?
(DIR) Post #B0WVsRxaU0ltOGF3PU by joe@beige.party
2025-11-23T02:40:53Z
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@strypey DUDE you wasted a TON of time considering you're spreading fear and doubt without evidence lol. I guess Linux is "enshit" whatever the fuck your hero worship word is? You're UNHINGED
(DIR) Post #B0WW0Oi2SAGXcnl67U by joe@beige.party
2025-11-23T02:42:20Z
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@strypey @msavoritias @david_chisnall @contrapunctus @alisynthesis @NebulaTide @JohnnieMac Right, you replied with more lies, more FUD? It's not even about signal - what are you even doing? Spiraling because you think an app might suck....later? JFC stop worshiping these men and use your own head.
(DIR) Post #B0WXr7rBwN0WezkLQ0 by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2025-11-23T03:02:40Z
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If you can't follow a logical argument, that's not my problem.@joe @JFC > stop worshiping these men and use your own headMost of the fanboying around Signal is based on hero worship of Moxie Marlinspike. In your case it appears to be second-hand hero worship you're not even aware of. Maybe follow your own advice.Muted for a week, to improve signal-to-noise ratio.
(DIR) Post #B0WYPzMRWJ2ARhzJeS by joe@beige.party
2025-11-23T03:09:18Z
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@strypey lol it's not even about signal - you're a straight up liar all around
(DIR) Post #B0XKMmQ9yCZBFCGK0G by cherti@chaos.social
2025-11-23T09:47:45Z
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@strypey @joe @msavoritias @david_chisnall @contrapunctus @alisynthesis @NebulaTide @JohnnieMac Independently verifying that a server is running code that you know is impossible also in decentralized systems. You cannot know what the server is running, because it's outside of your control. Only on your own server, and then you either run your individual node (and don't know what everyone else is running), or you run a node for a lot of people, then you know, but everyone else doesn't, they …
(DIR) Post #B0XKMuoCmgYPG5Zdaq by cherti@chaos.social
2025-11-23T09:48:47Z
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@strypey @joe @msavoritias @david_chisnall @contrapunctus @alisynthesis @NebulaTide @JohnnieMac … have to trust you. Funnily enough, a centralized system addresses that by having a dedicated entity running the thing that you know, where in a decentralized system, by design, you usually don't know who the admins are.The ultimate solution for this is building a communication system as a trustless model.
(DIR) Post #B0XKN2lJDKzTvQHRBo by cherti@chaos.social
2025-11-23T09:50:18Z
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@strypey @joe @msavoritias @david_chisnall @contrapunctus @alisynthesis @NebulaTide @JohnnieMac And funnily enough, Signal is from the ground up designed around that principle, as if that was a deliberate concern by the people behind it, in contrast to the decentralized systems out there that I'm aware of, which are usually more server-focused. There is a lot of technical convenience to server-state, after all, and for some applications that are not privacy, that certainly also has advantages.