Posts by dmarti@federate.social
(DIR) Post #AXvYETEhDmLikDhNcu by dmarti@federate.social
2023-07-21T17:36:36Z
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the point of having "integrity" in a general-purpose browser is to require the use of in-browser ad features in an unmodified state. Without "integrity" you could tweak your browser to protect yourself from discrimination and finagle the ads in other ways (some would block ads entirely, I would tweak my info to get more ads for ecotourism and boating, fewer for ointment)
(DIR) Post #AXvYEV34TyEsMkH7mi by dmarti@federate.social
2023-07-21T17:39:19Z
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fwiw they could break out the system integrity checking into a separate tool, so admins could lock down their company-owned client systems without adding overhead+risks to people's personal browsers. Corporate IT depts. that use Google Chrome would probably prefer to do it this way anywayhttps://github.com/RupertBenWiser/Web-Environment-Integrity/issues/137
(DIR) Post #AY5XsrGJIAVBR3Pzma by dmarti@federate.social
2023-07-25T17:38:32Z
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@emma @pimterry yes, also any time a company has to sign a consent decree over any antitrust violation, boilerplate text stating that they will stay out of browser development should be in there
(DIR) Post #AaL44nJe8xEW9QpLJg by dmarti@federate.social
2023-10-01T18:26:00Z
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Sunday blog maintenance?icymi Google just added a robots.txt setting to disallow their "generative AI" training.IMHO if you want them not to take your site content for ML you probably also want them not to take browsing history from your visitors for ML, and vice versa, so if you recommend one setting please link to the other (one is in robots.txt, the other is in a Permissions-Policy header)Both are on my list of stuff to check: https://blog.zgp.org/google-chrome-checklist/(suggestions welcome)
(DIR) Post #Aahg4rF1yhkmQNMpyi by dmarti@federate.social
2023-10-12T19:22:24Z
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@IdahoLark I wonder if it's possible to carve a hole right where it will give the pumpkin an awesome squirrel-tail comb-over or mustache
(DIR) Post #AbZIg4q4l3zcjmzEUC by dmarti@federate.social
2023-09-29T13:59:34Z
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underground AI hackers are going to have an advantage finding the best content to train on, it'll be the sites that blocked GPTBot and Google-Extended in their robots.txt
(DIR) Post #AbZIg6cg7qSsGojYsi by dmarti@federate.social
2023-11-07T15:01:52Z
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@Mojeek Yes, but a lot of them will just use this as a signal of likely human-written material. Underground AI hackers will be able to claim that their generated content is UGC to take advantage of safe harbor laws, and be shocked to find out what "a user" was doinghttps://blog.zgp.org/generative-ai-antimoats/
(DIR) Post #AnR6MhRZgVLziKBxey by dmarti@federate.social
2024-10-27T15:43:46Z
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@aral @SecurityWriter Good point. Some ad blockers are security tools, some (like ABP) offer a false sense of security with paid allow-listing, and some are adware, malware, or subscription scams.The 2 tools I recommend are:Privacy Badger is simpler but since it's purely focused on tracking it will let more annoyances through.uBlock Origin does a lot moreI never recommend "an ad blocker" to users—the extensions that come up highest in Google are the ones that let the Google ads through
(DIR) Post #AraT2Za8d8Qf1fi5q4 by dmarti@federate.social
2025-02-28T19:35:44Z
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@aral good point. (and how much money would the USA's Big Tech companies owe in EU fines if the EU wasn't going easy on them because they rely on the USA's help for regional defense?)
(DIR) Post #As5gr041laNWwTpA5g by dmarti@federate.social
2025-03-15T21:09:50Z
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@futurebird @hjwp The industry doesn't want to pay attention to the studies that shows people who block ads don't just buy better stuff, they're happier in general. Most people in the USA report they're running an ad blocker now https://blog.zgp.org/b-l-o-c-k-in-the-u-s-a/
(DIR) Post #As78RLz2dh1BGo0krI by dmarti@federate.social
2025-03-16T13:50:15Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@futurebird @hjwp Also the "advertising" that people are blocking today is different from what "advertising" used to be. Fewer agency people, doing more ads each, means that each ad carries less info on brand quality and reputation, and it makes more sense to block themsource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vv7bWP7U0o
(DIR) Post #AszvcYMJGK2Ylo73tQ by dmarti@federate.social
2025-04-11T16:18:37Z
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Do not travel to the USA.If you're in, don't leave with the expectation of being able to come back.Subscribe to a legit news site that covers travel and security issues—if this changes, they'll cover it.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/11/australian-with-us-working-visa-detained-insulted-deported
(DIR) Post #AtzP8hbkGJWImqDIQK by dmarti@federate.social
2025-05-11T16:07:17Z
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@futurebird that's a really good point. I recently installed a new browser for work and Google on there was 2025 growth hacking Google, not the useful retro-ish Google I had set up on my regular browser, with blocks for big retailers and other over-SEOed sites. A huge difference (my setup: https://blog.zgp.org/fix-google-search/ )
(DIR) Post #Av2BqrIap1IO3UBO64 by dmarti@federate.social
2025-06-09T22:03:04Z
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Question for #Linux #beginners and educators: What are some good intro to Linux books?(Background: I'm organizing an #installfest at the public library and the Linux books on the shelf are from 2009-2012. I'd like to be able to recommend some up-to-date intro reading. The installfest isn't until Aug. 30 so we have time to get some books ordered and/or into the library purchase request system)
(DIR) Post #AwTWYVjo2Jar9XinQW by dmarti@federate.social
2025-07-24T23:53:15Z
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The #Alameda #Linux installfest flyer is in the Island Taqueria window...guess that makes it official, see you on Aug. 30 #endof10 https://www.alamedafree.org/Events-directory/Linux-Installfest-Alameda
(DIR) Post #AxjS0irTgVT6WUdU7k by dmarti@federate.social
2025-08-31T14:51:39Z
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@aral @Dss Lin et al. found that ad blocker users are more satisfied with the products and services they buy than non-users. There _is_ a theoretical economic role of advertising but surveillance advertising is failing at itLots of pro-surveillance advocacy from academics—but they don't cite some of the best sources in their own field, or some of the best points in the body copy of the papers they do cite—even Google refers to de-personalizing the ads as a "protection"https://blog.zgp.org/advertising-personalization-good-for-you/
(DIR) Post #Axqrd4DcaLmSj45riC by dmarti@federate.social
2025-09-03T14:40:47Z
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Google is not going to get broken up (too bad—Chrome optimized for usability and security, not ad $, would have been useful) but there are still some things users can do * udm14 to remove "AI" results * block search ads (see FBI warning) * turn off cross-context tracking ("personalization") * blocklist to hide SEO slop results * remove click tracking redirectsSounds like a lot but a cleaned-up Google still works better for me than the competitors (will retry)https://blog.zgp.org/fix-google-search/
(DIR) Post #AypwxLqA50QJEFeGGm by dmarti@federate.social
2025-10-03T15:59:39Z
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@BrodieOnLinux Here in #Alameda, #California, the local public library hosted and helped promote an #endof10 event: https://www.alamedafree.org/Events-directory/Linux-Installfest-Alameda
(DIR) Post #AzXVNSGIZw3auellFQ by dmarti@federate.social
2025-10-24T16:17:53Z
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@futurebird @albertcardona I have had the same experience. Sometimes I have been helping someone with a computer or printer problem and have had to ask them, please step away just for a minute, you're stressing it out. And when they stand back and take a deep breath the thing starts working
(DIR) Post #AzfwO0xztZkBhmXA6C by dmarti@federate.social
2025-10-28T16:30:25Z
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Is there a good secure hosted email provider that lets you bring your own client(s) and your own domain? I have heard good things about tuta.com but I don't think I want to switch all my MUAs(I can tolerate a situation where the administrator of the system could have access to the content of the mail, I don't think I need total e2e)