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BrikoX

@BrikoX@lemmy.zip

Have strong opinions, but I welcome any civil fact-based discussion.

Alt account: /u/BrikoX@lemmy.sdf.org

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

What email provider do you use for sign ups?

I used to use Protonmail, however the verification steps become tedious when creating unique emails for sign ups. I've switched to Tutanota despite it contravening their one account policy. What do you all use for one off emails (for sign ups etc )? Or do you prefer one of those 10 minute email sites?

BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

They offer integrated aliases via Proton Pass now.

Why Your VPN May Not Be As Secure As It Claims ( krebsonsecurity.com )

Virtual private networking (VPN) companies market their services as a way to prevent anyone from snooping on your Internet usage. But new research suggests this is a dangerous assumption when connecting to a VPN via an untrusted network, because attackers on the same network could force a target’s traffic off of the protection...

BrikoX OP , (edited )
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

You are absolutely right about metadata, but as far as protests, just having encryption is enough to prevent anyone from accessing the data. Extracting metadata from 3rd party companies or extracting a phone requires a lot more resources than cops can spare.

The Best Secure Email Providers in 2024 ( blog.thenewoil.org )

Like it or not, email is a critical part of our digital lives. It’s how we sign up for accounts, get notifications, and communicate with a wide range of entities online. Critics of email rightfully point out that email suffers from a significant number of flaws that make it less than ideal, but that doesn’t change the...

BrikoX OP ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

No company executive will go to jail for you. Give any company a court signed order and they will comply. Hence, the companies that orient around privacy limit the data they retain so that when they get a court order, they have nothing to give. Email is flawed by design, so some metadata always has to be stored for it to be functional.

BrikoX OP ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

You thinking it's a honeypot is a win for the government. All they need to do is spread some propaganda instead of actually bothering to run a service that is hard to keep alive. And if they were to run a honeypot, having it outside 14 eyes countries would be the most stupid decision the government could make.

BrikoX OP ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

Good point, but I didn't think of it that way just because, I saw things and read stuff that made me suspect it...

There is "speculation" spread about every single "privacy" focused service for exactly that reason. If you don't trust them, you are not using them. I'm not saying don't be suspicious, but also look at facts that make it unlikely of it being a honeypot.

But they did, and it worked for them before, and it'll always work unless no one start using that service, so there's no point in keeping servers operational.. time for a rebrand. plus they're getting paid.

Right, but there are plenty of easier services to target that provide more sensitive information. If you are a honeypot, you have to be profitable and expand your services or people will move somewhere else. That all takes time and work. Buying other services like SimpleLogin or Standard Notes and integrating their staff into your scheme would be unnecessary complication.

having it outside 14 eyes countries would be the most stupid decision the government could make.

It's not a story. So called 5 eyes, 9 eyes and 14 eyes refers to country agreements to share intelligence and make cooperation instant instead of having to go through proper channels that take time. I'm sure there are many conspiracy theories about specific things that might not be true, but there is no dispute that these agreements exist.

Government run honeypots are usually facilitated by federal agencies, INTERPOL, or EUROPOL, and if they want to run something in a country where they are not welcome it has to be court approved. Hence, it being run in 14 eyes countries, make it easy. Switzerland on the other hand not only requires everything to be approved by their courts, but also require using their specific privacy laws when making determination, which are the strongest in the world.

You only need to look at previous known honeypots to see where they originate and what they target.

BrikoX OP ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

Hi. Could you add a link to your Lemmy account to any other source? The website/GitHub/Mastodon/Liberapay doesn't mention this account.

BrikoX OP ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

Some options are listed here https://www.oss.fund/categories/bounties/

BrikoX OP ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

Updated.

Why is Matrix mentioned more often than XMPP in self hosted forums?

I'm looking into hosting one of these for the first time. From my limited research, XMPP seems to win in every way, which makes me think I must be missing something. Matrix is almost always mentioned as the de-facto standard, but I rarely saw arguments why it is better than XMPP?...

BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

Google killed XMPP momentum. And while Matrix has many issues it needs to figure out, especially the development being almost exclusively supported by a for-profit company, they seem to slowly (very slowly) work towards more independence.

Matrix did some things right. Going with JSON spec instead of XML, having Element as uniform cross-platform client, offering bridges as a way to stay connected with your family and friends without needing to convince them to move (XMPP offers transports, but they function entirely differently) and offering end-to-end encryption by default.

XMPP in true open source fashion doesn't have any uniformity from user perspective. Different ways to do the same thing on different clients, different clients on different platforms. That is a benefit for a savvy tech nerd, but it's a huge inconvenience for a non-techie family member or friend.

BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

Why is JSON better than XML? It's more modern, sure, but from technical perspective it is not objectively better right? Not something worth switching protocols for.

XML is unnecessarily complicated. By trying to cram everything into the spec, it's cumbersome and hard to parse.

You mention XMPP has transports as opposed to Matrix bridges. I thought they give you roughly the same outcome. What's the difference?

The goal is the same, but the way they archive that is different. For transport to work, you need an account on each platform you are using the transport on. It relays the messages through that account by mimicking the client. While bridges work by relaying the messages between rooms and not specific users.

My understanding is limited, so if you are interested, please do your own research.

BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

All platforms that don't have public API access will require a way to relay that information, but I was talking about the difference in how the messages are relayed. Matrix bridges work fundamentally on each platform/protocol having its own room and relaying the messages through the bridged room instead of the user as XMPP does. That's why you can relay the same messages to multiple rooms on Matrix, but can't do the same on XMPP.

BrikoX OP , (edited )
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

Have you bothered to read before commenting? They were compelled to release the source code before, but then they stopped doing that in December 20th, 2022.

Defending Your Dollars: Essential Tips for Financial Security and Identity Protection ( blog.thenewoil.org )

This weekend in the United States, taxes are due. For the more responsible readers – aka “everyone but me” – this was probably already done weeks – if not months – ago. But don’t worry. Taxes will roll around again the same time next year, as inevitable as death itself as the famous philosopher noted, and our...

BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

If your old laptop has a VGA port, you can get a VGA to HDMI adapter (with audio). Something like this (double check they support audio and have correct male/female ports since they are directional).

Should You Pay For An Identity Theft Protection Service? ( blog.thenewoil.org )

Identity theft is a common cause of anxiety in modern society, and it's pretty justifiable. According to a recent survey from US News, almost three quarters of adults have experienced at least one case of identity theft, and 27% have experienced more than one. In 2022 there were more than 1.1 million reports of identity theft,...

Best article about XZ backdoor?

Hey, I've been hearing a LOT about the xz backdoor. Crazy story, but rather than reading 10 different articles about it from 3 days ago when the story was quite new, does anybody know a high quality write-up that has all the juicy details and facts? I really like in-depth guides that cover every aspect of the story....

BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

It's the same type of microtransactions that they had in Resident Evil 4 Remake, so it's probably not so much a test as a limit they found where backlash is small enough that it still makes sense. But there are 2 big differences with Dragon's Dogma 2.

  1. They fucked up the PC port.
  2. They increased the base game price.

Anyone that tries to justify microtransactions in a paid game is a moron. They were literally introduced in free to play games to finance the game development. In paid game, it's just pure greed.

BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

Quad9 if you just want to set it and forget about it.

NextDNS is you don't mind doing some tinkering.

Google Allows Creditors to Brick Your Phone ( lemmy.world )

I installed NetGuard about a month ago and blocked all internet to apps, unless they're on a whitelist. No notifications from this particular system app (that can't be disabled) until recently when it started making internet connection requests to google servers. Does anyone know when this became a thing?...

BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

In 2020 Google claimed it was supposed to be limited to a single region in partnership with a single carrier. And was never meant to be put up on Play Store.

A spokesperson from Google reached out to clarify some details about the Device Lock Controller app. To start with, Google says they launched this app in collaboration with a Kenyan carrier called Safaricom.

Google has confirmed that the Device Lock Controller app should not be listed on the Google Play Store for users in the U.S., and they will work to take down the listing.

Source: https://www.xda-developers.com/google-device-lock-controller-banks-payments/

Of course, it was a lie since it's still on Play Store an of today and in use.

BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar
BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

So they region locked it from US, but it can still be pre-installed as a system app from AOSP. And it's available in EU, while was meant to be in Kenya only.

BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

Rules in question stated as a reason for removing the comments and temporary ban:

  1. No bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia. Code of Conduct.
  2. Be respectful, especially when disagreeing. Everyone should feel welcome here.

https://lemmy.zip/pictrs/image/9dee0eb9-f0be-4ff4-98ed-233a995607fe.webp

People can make their own conclusions.

BrikoX OP ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

In a vacuum, maybe. But there is a difference between adding new features to a paid plan and removing features from a free plan.

BrikoX OP ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

I know they recently published the code for their clients, so that's a plus. But I can't find any independent audits for their architecture or clients.

While all mentioned options does have independent audits done.

Using Disinformation Like A Pro ( yewtu.be )

Disinformation is a criminally underrated technique for protecting yourself against doxing, data breaches, and tracking. But it’s important to use it right to be both effective and a law-abiding citizen. In this video, I share my tips and techniques gathered over the year to protect your privacy where tools fall just a little...

[Discussion] How do you feel about age verification on Porn sites? ( lemmings.world )

Porn sites Pornhub, XVideos, and Stripchat face stricter requirements to verify the ages of their users after being officially designated as “Very Large Online Platforms” (VLOPs) under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA)....

BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

But I also feel that any random kid shouldn’t be able to just go to these sites and see porn freely.

So they will just go to another site that doesn’t have age verification and doesn’t implement any security measures instead. Big sites are required to age check people before they are allowed to upload anything, that is not the case for most of the internet.

All age verification does is aggregate personal information and make it easy target for bad actors to steal. Instead of needing to go thought 100 sites, now that information & identities will be tied to a single database.

It’s also a slippery slope, since the same adult content is available not just on dedicated adult sites, but mainstream social media. Lemmy, Mastodon, Twitter, TikTok, Twitch (just recently wanted to allow nudity). Do you really want to have your identity tied to your online activity?

BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

In very limited circumstances. While copyright applies automatically, it has to be registered with the Copyright Office for you to be able to enforce it. I doubt Lemmy posters register each of their posts with the Copyright Office.

BrikoX ,
@BrikoX@lemmy.zip avatar

That’s what I said.

While copyright applies automatically

You can’t enforce it without it being registered. Courts will reject any claim that is filled with unregistered copyright.

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